How to uninstall minikube on Windows

Uninstalling the minikube command and deleting a Kubernetes cluster are different operations. Back up application data and persistent volumes before considering any cluster deletion.

Save your data and quit

Run minikube profile list while the tool is still installed to identify the profiles you actually use. If you intend to retire one, export its workloads and data first. The official minikube delete command deletes a local cluster and associated files; --all and --purge expand its scope, so they are not a routine cache-cleanup step. Do not remove Docker or another VM backend just to remove this command.

Uninstall the tested package

In Windows 11, open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find minikube, 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 Kubernetes.minikube --exact

If the successful query shows the intended installation, remove that package:

winget uninstall --id Kubernetes.minikube --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.

See minikube’s official documentation.

Check the outcome

winget list --id Kubernetes.minikube --exact
Test-Path -LiteralPath "$env:USERPROFILE\.minikube"
Test-Path -LiteralPath "$env:ProgramFiles\Kubernetes"

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 test removed the package registration and owned usage information; its program directory and shortcut were already gone. The empty Kubernetes parent directory was retained. This does not mean Mole deleted or backed up a Kubernetes cluster.

What this test covered

The machine-wide NSIS package was removed, followed by a check for leftovers. No trusted older package was available for an upgrade comparison. Workload recovery, volume backups and alternate drivers were not tested.

These results are from a development build of Mole. Other released builds were not individually tested.