How to uninstall GIMP on Windows
Keep original images, XCF projects and custom brushes before removing GIMP. A saved export is not a substitute for an editable XCF project with its layers intact.
Save your data and quit
Save each open project, then check GIMP preferences for any custom resource folders. Copy wanted resources outside the configuration directory and quit GIMP after its saves finish. The official manual identifies the Windows GIMP 3 configuration directory separately from the program files.
Uninstall the tested package
In Windows 11, open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find GIMP, and choose Uninstall. In Windows 10, use Settings › Apps › Apps & features. Keep the installed program folder intact until its uninstaller finishes. If this was the winget package, first confirm its exact identity:
winget list --id GIMP.GIMP.3 --exact
If the successful query shows the intended installation, remove that package:
winget uninstall --id GIMP.GIMP.3 --exact
This follows the package’s registered removal method; portable packages use their package-manager removal instead. An error or a missing winget match is not proof that the app is absent: check the Windows app list and the original installation method. Follow any vendor confirmation or restart request after saving other work. See Microsoft’s uninstall command documentation.
Data and components to check
The following locations or components need separate decisions. A remaining folder is not automatically disposable.
| Location or component | What to keep or check |
|---|---|
%APPDATA%\GIMP\3.0 |
GIMP 3 configuration and user resources. Back up before optional removal; do not apply this path to a different major version. |
| XCF projects and source images | Keep them wherever you chose to save them. Check a copied XCF opens before retiring the original. |
See GIMP’s official documentation.
Check the outcome
winget list --id GIMP.GIMP.3 --exact
Test-Path -LiteralPath "$env:APPDATA\GIMP\3.0"
A successful package query with no matching row means that package registration was not found. A matching row means it still exists; an error leaves the result unknown. For each Test-Path, True means that exact location remains and False means it was not found; an access error does not mean it was removed. Keep deliberately retained data. Check Task Manager for a process whose executable belongs to this installation, and distinguish another version or a separate companion app before acting.
What Mole lists
The review kept two data items unselected by default. Program-related rows and owned registrations were reviewed separately. Desktop backups, shared runtimes and empty shared file-association containers were retained; a file association is not the image file itself.
What this test covered
GIMP 3.2.6.0 was launched after its initial plug-in scan on an x64 PC, then uninstalled from the user account. The program folder and registration disappeared. Paid plug-ins, all custom resource locations and version upgrading were not tested.
These results are from a development build of Mole. Other released builds were not individually tested.