How to uninstall SwitchHosts on Windows
This record covers SwitchHosts 5.0.2, installed per user through oldj.switchhosts. Close the app, then remove it from Windows Installed apps.
Close the app
Close the app window and tray entry, then check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for switchhosts.exe.
Data and settings
Back up these folders when keeping local data or settings. data for review them only after deciding they are no longer needed; a surviving data folder does not mean the uninstall failed.
| Location | Action |
|---|---|
%LOCALAPPDATA%\net.oldj.switchhosts |
Inspect contents; keep or back up local data |
%USERPROFILE%\.SwitchHosts |
Preferences and hosts backups; keep or back up before removal |
Uninstall with winget
winget uninstall --id oldj.switchhosts --exact
The --id and --exact options are documented in Microsoft’s uninstall reference.
Check the result
Get-Process -Name 'switchhosts' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id oldj.switchhosts --exact
Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\net.oldj.switchhosts"
Test-Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.SwitchHosts"
No process output means only that the process is not running. A completed winget query with no match means this package is no longer listed; a query error does not prove removal. Test-Path returns True when the data folder remains and False when that path is absent. True is expected when keeping data.
What Mole lists
The review selects the program folder and shortcuts. %LOCALAPPDATA%\net.oldj.switchhosts and its user registry settings are unchecked, with logs listed separately as selected rows. The app was launched without changing hosts configuration. A failed program-folder recycle and later retest are recorded separately; removing usage records does not prove the program folder was recycled.
%USERPROFILE%\.SwitchHosts is also listed but not selected; keep hosts backups you still need.
What this test covered
Recorded on 2026-10-03 for version 5.0.2, using vendor NSIS uninstaller.
Measured with a source test build in a Windows 11 ARM64 VM. Account sign-in, synced data and other installation channels were not tested. Delayed external-uninstall checks are recorded separately; a Mole uninstall does not prove those checks.
In the 2026-10-04 retake, the Status page displayed SwitchHosts, the registration was absent, the program folder result was Missing and the data folder was recycled. The shared-desktop shortcut still returned 0x32 and is not counted as recycled.
On 2026-10-04, the added residue rules were checked with controlled files in the Windows VM using the current source: exact ownership, another installed copy and source-path absence after recycling. This did not repeat the vendor uninstall or verify a released package.