How to uninstall WinSCP on Windows

WinSCP keeps its site list and settings in the registry, not in a data folder, so a plain uninstall does not clear your saved connections. This guide covers WinSCP installed machine-wide from the WinSCP.WinSCP winget package, which ships as an x86 build even on 64-bit and arm64 Windows.

Quit WinSCP first

Close every WinSCP window and any active transfer. Check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for WinSCP.exe before you uninstall.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

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

winget uninstall --id WinSCP.WinSCP

Back up your saved sites first

Your saved site list, passwords (if you chose to save them) and preferences live in the registry, not in a file. Open regedit, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2, and export that key (File › Export) before you uninstall if you want to keep your sites.

Where the data lives

Location	What it holds	What to do
`HKCU\SOFTWARE\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2`	Saved sites, passwords you chose to save, and preferences	Export this key first; the uninstaller does not touch it
`%APPDATA%\winscp.rnd`	A random seed file WinSCP writes for its cryptography	Safe to remove; it regenerates on the next run

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process WinSCP -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id WinSCP.WinSCP
Test-Path "${env:ProgramFiles(x86)}\WinSCP"
Get-Item "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

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 False means the program folder is gone; True means files remain there.
Get-Item on the registry key prints something only if you had saved sites or changed preferences; it is not touched by uninstalling the app, so remove it yourself once you have backed it up, if you want a clean start.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs the same Inno Setup uninstaller Settings › Apps uses and removes the same program files; it never touches your saved sites or preferences in the registry.

What Mole lists

For WinSCP installed machine-wide from winget:

The program folder, the public Start Menu shortcut and the public Desktop shortcut are selected by default.
Your saved sites in HKCU\SOFTWARE\Martin Prikryl\WinSCP 2, and the winscp.rnd seed file, are not currently listed. WinSCP's own protocol registrations for dav, davs, ftpes, ftps, s3, scp, sftp and ssh are shared naming that other apps can also register, so Mole leaves those alone.

What this test covered

Tested with WinSCP 6.5.6 installed through winget from the x86 Inno Setup package, machine scope. No sites were saved during the test.