How to uninstall ZeroTier One on Windows

ZeroTier One's node identity and network memberships live in the service's working folder, %ProgramData%\ZeroTier\One, not in the program folder. If you might reinstall and want this PC to keep the same node address, back that folder up first; otherwise the next install creates a new identity and every network has to authorize the PC again. This guide covers ZeroTier One installed machine-wide from the ZeroTier.ZeroTierOne winget package, which is a Windows Installer (MSI) package.

Quit the tray app and let the service stop

ZeroTier One has two parts: the tray app, zerotier_desktop_ui.exe, which asked for administrator access when it started in this test, and the "ZeroTier One" Windows service, which shows in Mole's Startup list rather than in Settings › Apps › Startup. Quit the tray app from its icon; the uninstaller stops and removes the service. Check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for zerotier_desktop_ui.exe or zerotier-one_x64.exe before and after.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

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

winget uninstall --id ZeroTier.ZeroTierOne

The Windows Installer package asks for administrator access, since it was installed for all users.

Where the data lives

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process zerotier* -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Get-Service "ZeroTier One" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id ZeroTier.ZeroTierOne
Test-Path "${env:ProgramFiles(x86)}\ZeroTier\One"
Test-Path "$env:ProgramData\ZeroTier\One"
Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\ZeroTier"
Get-NetFirewallRule -DisplayName "ZeroTier One" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue

• No output from Get-Process only means this query observed no matching process; a suppressed error leaves the running state unknown.
• If Get-Service succeeds without suppressed errors, no match means the service is gone; a result means it is still registered.
• 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 on the program folder returning True means files remain there; remove the folder yourself once the service is gone.
• Test-Path "$env:ProgramData\ZeroTier\One" returning True means the identity and network configuration are still there, which is expected unless you removed them yourself.
• Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\ZeroTier" returning True means the tray app's settings are still there.
• A rule printed by Get-NetFirewallRule means the firewall rule is still there; no matching output from a confirmed successful query means it is gone.

Networks and account

Uninstalling does not remove this PC from the networks it joined. In ZeroTier Central, or whatever controller runs your network, deauthorize or delete the member if the PC should no longer have access, and leave networks from the tray app first if you can.

What Mole lists

For ZeroTier One installed machine-wide from winget:

• The program folder goes with the app row. The Start Menu shortcut and a row grouping Windows' own records of when you opened the program are selected by default. Removing files under Program Files and ProgramData needs one administrator prompt.
• %ProgramData%\regid.2010-01.com.zerotier is listed but not selected.
• The "ZeroTier One" firewall rule is reported after the uninstall and never removed.
• %ProgramData%\ZeroTier\One and %LOCALAPPDATA%\ZeroTier are not listed; check them and remove them yourself after the uninstall.

What this test covered

Tested on 2026-09-28 with ZeroTier One 1.16.2 installed through winget, machine-wide. The Windows Installer uninstaller removed the service and the entry, and every listed row was ticked. The program folder was still on disk afterwards and Mole's result showed that row as failed. Not verified: joining a network, a restored identity after reinstalling, or an x64 PC.