How to uninstall Xmind on Mac

Your mind maps are .xmind files saved wherever you chose, and removing Xmind leaves them in place. Before you uninstall, save any open map, and if you are signed in, free this Mac's device slot: Xmind limits how many computers one account can use at once. This guide covers Xmind downloaded from xmind.com and the Homebrew cask xmind.

Free the device slot

Sign out of Xmind on this Mac before removing it, or do it later from the web: sign in at xmind.app/account, find the Devices List and click Sign Out next to this Mac. The free plan allows two computers and paid plans five, so a forgotten Mac can block a new one. Xmind: how many devices can I use

Uninstalling does not cancel an Xmind subscription. Where you turn off auto-renewal depends on where you bought it: the Xmind website, or your Apple Account subscriptions for an App Store purchase. Xmind: cancel auto-renewal

Quit and remove the app

  1. Save your maps and quit Xmind.
  2. Search Activity Monitor for Xmind and check that it has exited.
  3. Move Xmind from Applications to the Trash.
  4. Open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions and turn off any Xmind entry that is still listed. In the recorded test Xmind's entry disappeared once the app was gone.

Where Xmind keeps its data

Press Shift + Command + G in Finder and open each location, skipping any that is missing. Xmind does not document these paths; they come from the recorded test and Homebrew's cask.

Location What it holds What to do
Wherever you saved your .xmind files Your maps Keep them; they open in a reinstalled Xmind or on another computer
~/Library/Application Support/Xmind The app's own data folder, 2 MB in the test Remove it once you no longer need Xmind on this Mac
Caches, preferences and saved state named net.xmind.vana.app Regenerable app data Remove with the app
~/Library/XMind and ~/Library/Saved Application State/org.xmind.cathy.application.savedState Folders from older XMind versions, named in Homebrew's zap list Check them only if you ever used an older XMind; the current app did not create ~/Library/XMind in the test

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the app is in the Trash:

pgrep -il xmind
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Xmind" ~/Library/XMind
  • No output from pgrep means Xmind is not running. A listed process means it is still open.
  • ls -d prints each folder that still exists. A surviving Application Support/Xmind is expected if you left it for a reinstall. "No such file or directory" for ~/Library/XMind is normal for a current install.

If you installed it with Homebrew

Mole skips --zap when the zap list reaches data you left unchecked, a path another installed app uses, or anything Mole cannot check, and it still cleans the leftovers you selected.

The xmind cask's zap list names only ~/Library/XMind and the saved state of the older org.xmind.cathy.application app. It does not name ~/Library/Application Support/Xmind, so brew uninstall --cask --zap xmind leaves the current app's data folder behind and you check that folder yourself. Neither command touches your .xmind files. To remove only the app:

brew uninstall --cask xmind

Homebrew's xmind cask

What Mole lists

For Xmind downloaded from xmind.com:

  • ~/Library/Application Support/Xmind is listed but not selected.
  • Caches, preferences and saved state filed under net.xmind.vana.app are selected by default.
  • The containers and Application Scripts folders of Xmind's Quick Look extensions, net.xmind.vana.app.preview and net.xmind.vana.app.thumbnail, are selected by default, because they ship inside the app.
  • The uninstall scan excludes personal folders such as Documents, Desktop and Downloads.
  • Login items are not edited; turn them off in System Settings if one remains.

What this test covered

On September 20, 2026, Xmind 26.05 was copied from the official download into Applications, without Homebrew, and uninstalled with Mole 1.15 Preview build 280, with every listed item ticked for the test. The app and the 2 MB Application Support/Xmind folder went to the Trash, while the empty container of Xmind's extension could not be moved for lack of permission. Xmind's login item was gone from System Settings afterwards, and ~/Library/XMind was never created. On September 26, 2026, the same version was installed again from the official download and removed with a development build of Mole with every row ticked: the app and nine listed items went to the Trash, both extension containers included, and an empty ~/Library/Application Scripts/net.xmind.vana.app.preview folder stayed because it was not in that list. Neither test involved a signed-in account or saved maps, and the Homebrew cask was not tested.