How to uninstall MongoDB Compass on Windows

MongoDB Compass connects to a MongoDB deployment; your data and the connection itself live wherever your database runs, not in the app, so removing Compass never touches either. Compass keeps its own settings and cache on this PC, and stores server passwords, SSH tunnel passwords and TLS passphrases through Windows Credential Manager rather than in a file, so uninstalling never clears those either. This guide covers MongoDB Compass installed machine-wide from the MongoDB.Compass.Full winget MSI package.

Quit MongoDB Compass first

Close every Compass window and check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for any MongoDB Compass process still listed. In the October 3 retest, Mole identified %ProgramFiles%\MongoDB Compass and its running processes even though the install registration had no InstallLocation.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

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

winget uninstall --id MongoDB.Compass.Full

If the uninstaller asks for a restart, save your work and restart before checking again. A matching app row or remaining files can have other causes too; a restart alone does not prove the uninstall finished.

Where the data lives

Location	What it holds	What to do
`%APPDATA%\MongoDB Compass`	Settings and support files	Look it over before removing; back this up if you want the same setup after reinstalling
`%LOCALAPPDATA%\mongodb\compass`	Local cache and support data	Look it over before removing
Windows Credential Manager	Saved server passwords, SSH tunnel passwords and TLS passphrases, per MongoDB's own documentation	Not removed by uninstalling or by Mole; open Credential Manager and remove entries yourself if you want them gone

Compass FAQ

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process MongoDBCompass -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id MongoDB.Compass.Full
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\MongoDB Compass"
Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\mongodb\compass"

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.
Test-Path returning True for either folder means that data is still on this PC, which is expected unless you removed it yourself.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs the same MSI uninstall Settings › Apps uses and removes the same program files; it does not touch %APPDATA%\MongoDB Compass, %LOCALAPPDATA%\mongodb\compass or Credential Manager on its own.

What Mole lists

For MongoDB Compass installed machine-wide from winget:

%APPDATA%\MongoDB Compass is listed but not selected by default; the cache folders inside it are listed on their own and selected.
%LOCALAPPDATA%\mongodb\compass is listed but not selected by default.
The Start Menu folder and the registry key HKCU\SOFTWARE\MongoDB\MongoDB Compass are listed.
Mole identifies the program folder from Windows Installer component records to measure its size and find its processes. Those records do not make the component folders themselves removable leftovers.
Windows Credential Manager entries are never listed.

What this test covered

Retested on October 3, 2026 with MongoDB Compass 1.52.0.0 installed machine-wide through winget as an MSI package, on an ARM64 VM. Mole identified the program folder and five running processes; all review rows were selected and no app-owned leftovers remained in the measured snapshot. Signing in to a real database and an installer downloaded directly from mongodb.com were not tested.