How to uninstall darktable on Windows

darktable never touches your photos when you remove it, but its library database, styles, presets and preferences live in %LOCALAPPDATA%\darktable, which the uninstaller leaves in place. Your edits are also written to .xmp files next to each photo by default, so they survive either way, but copy that folder first if you want the same library, tags and styles after reinstalling. This guide covers darktable installed machine-wide with the official x64 installer, the one the darktable.darktable winget package uses.

Quit darktable first

Close darktable and wait for it to finish writing its library. It runs a helper, gdbus.exe, next to darktable.exe; check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) that neither is still listed before you uninstall. It adds no startup entry.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

Go to Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find darktable, and choose Uninstall, or run:

winget uninstall --id darktable.darktable

A machine-wide install asks for administrator access.

Where the data lives

Location	What it holds	What to do
`%ProgramFiles%\darktable`	The program	Removed by the uninstaller; remove what remains once it has finished
`%LOCALAPPDATA%\darktable`	Library database, styles, presets and preferences	Back this up first; remove it only for a clean start
Start Menu `darktable` folder	Shortcuts	Removed by the uninstaller
`%USERPROFILE%\.dbus-keyrings`	A small keyring folder darktable's `gdbus` helper created	Other programs built on the same libraries can use it too; leave it unless you know nothing else does
File types darktable registered for the whole machine (`.exr`, `.hdr`, `.fits` and others)	Extension entries every photo app shares	Leave them

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process darktable, gdbus -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id darktable.darktable
Test-Path "$env:ProgramFiles\darktable"
Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\darktable"

No output from Get-Process only means this query observed no matching process; a suppressed error leaves the running state unknown.
A completed winget list query with no match means the package record is gone; a matching row means the uninstall did not finish.
The first Test-Path returning False means the program folder is gone; True means files remain there.
The second returning True means your library and settings are still there, which is expected unless you removed them yourself.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs the same Inno Setup uninstaller Settings › Apps uses and removes the same program files; it does not touch %LOCALAPPDATA%\darktable or your photos.

What Mole lists

For darktable installed machine-wide:

The program folder goes with the app row. The Start Menu darktable folder and a row grouping Windows' own records of when you opened the program are selected by default.
%LOCALAPPDATA%\darktable is listed but not selected, since it holds your library database.
%USERPROFILE%\.dbus-keyrings is not listed, and the machine-wide file type entries are left alone.
Photos and their .xmp files are never part of the list.

What this test covered

Tested on September 27, 2026 with darktable 5.6.1, the x64 Inno Setup installer from the winget manifest, machine scope. Its uninstaller ran silently and removed the Start Menu folder; the program folder was still there when Mole's step ran, so Mole moved it to the Recycle Bin. Every listed row was ticked and removed in this test. Not verified: a library with imported photos, and restoring it after a reinstall.