How to uninstall Arduino IDE on Windows

This guide covers the official Arduino IDE 2.3.10 x64 machine MSI installer, registered as 2.3.10.0.

Back up sketches and configuration first

Keep your sketches and back up %USERPROFILE%.arduinoIDE before uninstalling. Mole lists that exact configuration folder as personal data, unchecked by default and excluded from bulk data selection.

Uninstall the app

Quit Arduino IDE, then uninstall it from Windows Settings. The measured program directory was %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\arduino-ide.

Check the result

Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\arduino-ide"
Test-Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.arduinoIDE"
Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Arduino15"

The program was absent; the personal configuration and Arduino15 remained. Arduino CLI uses Arduino15 for board/tool data and indexes, so it stays outside this IDE configuration rule (configuration documentation). A query error does not prove absence.

What Mole lists

Regenerable Electron caches and shortcuts are selected by default. Ordinary roaming preferences are unchecked Review rows. The personal configuration remains unchecked after Select all for ordinary review data.

What this test covered

Tested on October 7, 2026, in a Windows 11 ARM64 VM with a source-built Mole. The real editor and native icon, size, Status, Startup and review were observed. One vendor removal completed with eight selected outcomes: two Removed and six Missing. Independent registration, program and user/SYSTEM process readbacks confirmed removal. All 20 unselected configuration files retained their hashes. A complete provider check offered no Arduino update; this proves neither latest version nor an upgrade. Sketch editing, boards, compilation, upload, external uninstall, restoration and the released Mole package were not tested.