How to uninstall Emacs on Windows

This guide covers the official GNU Emacs 31.1 x64 machine NSIS installer.

Back up configuration and source files first

Back up %APPDATA%.emacs.d and your own Lisp/source files before removing them. Mole lists this configuration root as personal data, unchecked by default and excluded from bulk data selection.

Uninstall the app

Quit GNU Emacs, then uninstall it from Windows Settings. The measured program root was C:\Program Files\Emacs.

Check the result

Test-Path 'C:\Program Files\Emacs'
Test-Path 'C:\Program Files\Emacs\emacs-31.1'
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\.emacs.d"

The program roots were absent and the unselected empty configuration directory remained. A query error does not prove absence.

What Mole lists

The vendor application is selected by default. The configuration directory is personal Review and stays unchecked. With no ordinary Review rows, no Select all for review data is offered.

What this test covered

Tested on October 7, 2026, in a Windows 11 ARM64 VM with a source-built Mole. The real welcome window, native icon, size, Status, Startup and review were observed. One normal vendor removal completed; the unselected configuration remained empty. Independent registration, program and user/SYSTEM process readbacks confirmed removal. A complete provider check offered no Emacs update, which proves neither latest version nor an upgrade. Real Lisp editing, source/recovery-state retention, external uninstall, restoration and the released Mole package were not tested.