How to uninstall foobar2000 on Windows

foobar2000 keeps its whole profile in one folder: the media library index, playlists, settings and any components you added. Your music files stay wherever you keep them and are never touched. Copy the profile folder first if you might reinstall. This guide covers foobar2000 installed machine-wide from the installer listed in the PeterPawlowski.foobar2000 winget manifest.

Quit foobar2000 first

Stop playback and close the window. foobar2000 has no service or startup entry of its own; check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for any foobar2000.exe still listed.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

Go to Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find foobar2000, and choose Uninstall, or run:

winget uninstall --id PeterPawlowski.foobar2000

The uninstaller shows a confirmation page even when started silently, with two options: remove the program folder completely, and remove the configuration data in %APPDATA%\foobar2000-v2. Leave the second one unticked to keep your library and playlists. With both unticked, the program folder and the profile stayed on disk in this test.

Where the data lives

Location	What it holds	What to do
`%ProgramFiles%\foobar2000`	Program files	Removed when "Remove the folder completely" is ticked; otherwise remove it after the uninstall
`%APPDATA%\foobar2000-v2`	Library index, playlists, settings and components	Back it up if you will reinstall; remove it for a clean start
Start Menu and public desktop shortcuts	Shortcuts	Removed by the uninstaller
`HKLM\Software\Classes\foobar2000.*`, `HKLM\Software\foobar2000` and the `Fb2kShellExt` shell extension keys	Machine-wide file type registrations and the right-click menu extension	These stayed after the uninstall; they do nothing without the program, so leave them unless you are comfortable editing machine-wide registry keys
Windows Firewall rules named foobar2000	Network access rules for the program	They stayed after the uninstall; remove them in Windows Defender Firewall's advanced settings if you want

Check the result

Get-Process foobar2000 -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id PeterPawlowski.foobar2000
Test-Path "$env:ProgramFiles\foobar2000"
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\foobar2000-v2"
Test-Path "HKLM:\Software\foobar2000"

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.
Test-Path "$env:ProgramFiles\foobar2000" returning True means the program folder was kept; it is safe to remove now that the uninstall finished.
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\foobar2000-v2" returning True means your profile is still there, which is expected if you left that option unticked.
Test-Path "HKLM:\Software\foobar2000" returning True means the machine-wide registrations are still there, which is what this test found.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs the same uninstaller and shows the same confirmation page; it does not remove the profile unless you tick that option.

What Mole lists

For foobar2000 installed machine-wide:

The program folder, the Start Menu and public desktop shortcuts, and a row grouping Windows' own records of when you opened the program are selected by default.
%APPDATA%\foobar2000-v2 is listed but not selected, since it holds your library and playlists.
The two firewall rules for the program appear in the result as a report; Mole does not remove them.
The machine-wide file type registrations under HKLM are not listed.

What this test covered

Tested on September 28, 2026 with foobar2000 2.25.10 (ARM64EC) installed from the installer in its winget manifest, machine scope. The confirmation page was accepted without changing either option, and every listed row was then ticked and removed. Not verified: a real music library, added components, or the x64 build.