How to uninstall PyCharm on Windows

Removing PyCharm and clearing its data are separate decisions. Settings, caches and indexes live in version-named folders under a shared JetBrains parent, and neither goes away when you uninstall the app. Back up what you want first. This guide covers PyCharm Community installed machine-wide from the JetBrains.PyCharm.Community winget package, and it never touches your projects, virtual environments or .idea folders, which live wherever you keep them on disk.

Quit PyCharm first

Close every project window from the IDE's own menu, then check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for any PyCharm process still listed.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

Go to Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find PyCharm Community Edition, and choose Uninstall, or replace <version> below with the installed version and run its uninstaller directly:

& "C:\Program Files\JetBrains\PyCharm Community Edition <version>\bin\Uninstall.exe"

JetBrains documents both routes in its uninstall guide and says the default IDE directories are preserved so your settings are ready if you reinstall; you delete them yourself if you want a clean slate.

Where the data lives

Each installed version keeps its own subfolder, named PyCharmCE<year>.<release> (for example PyCharmCE2025.2), under the shared JetBrains folders. JetBrains documents these locations in its directories used by the IDE page.

The shared JetBrains parent folders under %APPDATA% and %LOCALAPPDATA% hold every other JetBrains product's data too; never delete those folders themselves, only the version-named subfolder, and never delete Program Files\JetBrains itself.

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process -Name "pycharm64" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Test-Path "C:\Program Files\JetBrains\PyCharm Community Edition <version>"
Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\JetBrains\PyCharmCE<year>.<release>"
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\JetBrains\PyCharmCE<year>.<release>"

• No output from Get-Process only means this query observed no matching process; a suppressed error leaves the running state unknown.
• The first Test-Path returning False means the program folder is gone; True means files remain there.
• The last two returning True means your caches and settings are still there, which is expected unless you remove them yourself.

Account and subscription

Uninstalling does not cancel a JetBrains subscription or sign you out of your JetBrains Account. Settings synced through JetBrains' Settings Sync stay in your account and reapply the next time you sign in anywhere.

What Mole lists

For PyCharm Community installed machine-wide from winget:

• The program folder and the Start Menu shortcut are selected by default.
• The Local version directory holds caches, indexes, logs and Local History; it is listed as personal data and unchecked by default.
• %APPDATA%\JetBrains\PyCharmCE<year>.<release> (your settings) is listed but not selected.
• While another install of the same PyCharm version is on the machine, neither of those folders is listed, since it would still be in use.
• The shared JetBrains parent folders, and the top-level PermanentDeviceId, PermanentUserId and consentOptions files every JetBrains product shares, are never listed.

Both versioned Local and Roaming directories are personal data, unchecked by default and excluded from bulk selection. Removing either requires selecting its row individually; Local History and scratch files do not regenerate with caches. Another installed copy of the same IDE version keeps both directories.

What this test covered

Tested with PyCharm Community Edition 2025.2.6.1 installed machine-wide through winget. The vendor's NSIS uninstaller has no registered silent-uninstall command, and Mole ran it with its own silent switch without showing a window; both data folders were listed, selected, and removed in this test. Not verified: a user-scope install, the direct download from jetbrains.com, or an install managed through JetBrains Toolbox.

The October 4, 2026 review added a product-specific positive test for both personal-data directories, another installed copy and bulk-selection exclusion. Real history and scratch-file retention was retested in IntelliJ IDEA; this product was not separately retested with real history. Earlier explicitly selected data-removal runs do not prove data retention. The released download was not verified.