How to uninstall LocalSend on Windows

Files someone sent you through LocalSend land in an ordinary folder, your Downloads folder unless you chose another in LocalSend's settings, so back up anything you received and still need; uninstalling LocalSend never touches those files. Its own data folder holds only settings such as your device name. This guide covers LocalSend installed per-user from the LocalSend.LocalSend winget package. LocalSend on GitHub

Quit LocalSend first

Finish or cancel any transfer, then quit LocalSend from its tray icon or window; closing the window may leave it running in the tray. Check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for any localsend_app.exe still listed before you uninstall.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

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

winget uninstall --id LocalSend.LocalSend

The uninstaller removes the program folder and the Start Menu shortcut.

Where the data lives

Location	What it holds	What to do
Your Downloads folder, or the folder you set	Files you received	Keep them; they are not part of the app
`%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\LocalSend`	Program files	The uninstaller removes it
`%APPDATA%\LocalSend`	Settings, including your device name and save location	Remove it for a clean start; keep it if you are reinstalling soon
A Windows Firewall rule for `localsend_app.exe`	The network access rule created when LocalSend first started	Remove it in Windows Defender Firewall if you want; it does nothing once the program is gone

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process localsend_app -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id LocalSend.LocalSend
Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\LocalSend"
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\LocalSend"
Get-NetFirewallApplicationFilter | Where-Object Program -like "*localsend*"

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.
The second Test-Path returning True means your settings are still there, which is expected unless you removed them yourself.
Lines from the last command are firewall rules still pointing at the removed program.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs the same uninstaller Settings › Apps uses and removes the same program files; it does not touch %APPDATA%\LocalSend, the firewall rule or files you received.

What Mole lists

For LocalSend installed per-user from winget:

The program folder goes with the app row. The Start Menu shortcut and a row grouping Windows' own records of when you opened the program are selected by default.
%APPDATA%\LocalSend is listed but not selected, since it holds your settings.
The firewall rule is reported in the result, not removed.
Received files are never listed.

What this test covered

Tested on September 28, 2026 with LocalSend 1.18.2 installed through winget, per-user scope. The test installed it from an elevated session, so its uninstaller asked for administrator access; a normal per-user install does not. Windows asked once, on first start, whether to allow LocalSend on public and private networks; that prompt was closed without a choice. Every listed row was ticked and removed in this test. No file was sent or received.