How to uninstall Youdao Note on Windows

Youdao Note, 有道云笔记, syncs ordinary notes to your Youdao account, so they stay on the server when you remove the Windows client. Local notes (本地笔记) are different: Youdao's help centre says a local note is saved only on the client where you created it and cannot be synced, and a note showing a red exclamation mark has not been saved. Copy local notes into synced notes, or out of the app, and fix any red marks before you uninstall. This guide covers the client installed per-machine from the NetEase.YoudaoNote winget package. Youdao Dictionary (有道词典) is a separate app.

Quit Youdao Note first

Save any local notes and quit 有道云笔记, then check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for any 有道云笔记.exe still listed before you uninstall.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

Go to Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find 有道云笔记, and choose Uninstall, or run:

winget uninstall --id NetEase.YoudaoNote

Where the data lives

Location	What it holds	What to do
`%APPDATA%\ynote-desktop`	Local data and caches	In this test the uninstaller removed it on its own
`%LOCALAPPDATA%\ynote-desktop-updater`	Downloaded update installers	Safe to remove
`%ProgramFiles%\ynote-desktop`	The program folder; the uninstaller removes the app files from it but can leave the empty folder behind	Safe to delete the empty folder yourself in File Explorer
`HKCU\SOFTWARE\Classes\ynote`	A `ynote://` link registration	Points at the removed program after uninstalling; safe to remove yourself in the Registry Editor if you want it gone
`HKCU\SOFTWARE\ynote-desktop`	A device id and a couple of version strings, no note content	Safe to remove yourself in the Registry Editor

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process "有道云笔记" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id NetEase.YoudaoNote
Test-Path "$env:ProgramFiles\ynote-desktop"
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\ynote-desktop"
Get-ItemProperty "HKCU:\SOFTWARE\Classes\ynote" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

No output from Get-Process only means this query observed no matching process; a suppressed error leaves the running state unknown. A listed process means a window is still open.
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 "$env:ProgramFiles\ynote-desktop" returning True with an empty folder is expected; the app files themselves are already gone. False means the folder itself is gone too.
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\ynote-desktop" returning True means local data is still there; False is expected, since the uninstaller removes this folder itself.
Get-ItemProperty returning values means the entry remains. With no output, check for permission or other query errors before deciding that it is absent.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs the same NSIS uninstaller Settings › Apps uses and removes the same program files; it does not touch the registry keys above on its own.

What Mole lists

For 有道云笔记 installed per-machine from winget:

The Start Menu shortcut and the desktop shortcut are selected by default.
%APPDATA%\ynote-desktop is listed but not selected; in this test the uninstaller had already removed it on its own before Mole's own step ran.
%LOCALAPPDATA%\ynote-desktop-updater, which holds only downloaded update installers, is selected by default.
The program folder and the ynote:// link registration are listed and selected by default in the September 29 retest. HKCU\SOFTWARE\ynote-desktop was not listed; check that key yourself if you want it gone.

What this test covered

Tested with 有道云笔记 8.2.81 installed through winget, machine scope, using its NSIS uninstaller (Uninstall 有道云笔记.exe /allusers /S). Retested on September 29, 2026; the program folder and ynote:// registration were removed, with no app-owned leftovers in the measured snapshot. No account was signed in and no notes were created.