Show hidden files to remove leftover app data

You dragged an app to the Trash, but its settings, caches, and support folders are still sitting on your disk — most of them tucked inside hidden folders you can't normally see. To clean up properly you first need to reveal those folders, then delete only the ones that belong to the app you removed. Turn on hidden files, and the leftovers come into view.

Reveal the hidden folders first

App leftovers live mostly in your Library folder, which macOS keeps hidden. Show hidden items so you can navigate freely:

• Quick way: in any Finder window press Cmd+Shift+. (Command-Shift-Period) to toggle hidden files on. Press it again when you're done.
• Permanent way: run the command below in Terminal if you'll be cleaning up several apps.

# Show hidden files while you clean up
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool true
killall Finder

When the cleanup is finished, put things back so Finder stays uncluttered day to day:

# Hide them again afterwards
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -bool false
killall Finder

Where the leftovers hide

Open your Library folder — hold Option and choose Library from Finder's Go menu, or press Cmd+Shift+G and type ~/Library. Check these spots for folders and files named after the app or its maker:

• Application Support — the app's main data folder, usually its full name.
• Caches — temporary files, often named with a bundle ID like com.maker.appname.
• Preferences — a .plist settings file, again by bundle ID.
• Containers and Group Containers — sandboxed data for App Store and modern apps.
• LaunchAgents — background helpers the app may have installed to start at login.
• Logs and Saved Application State — smaller odds and ends the app left behind.

Some apps also drop a hidden dot-folder straight in your Home folder, like ~/.appname — with hidden files on, those are now visible too. Drag anything that clearly belongs to the removed app to the Trash.

Delete carefully — this is the one risk

With hidden files showing, you'll also see system items like .DS_Store, .localized, and folders macOS relies on. The rule that keeps you safe: only remove items named after the specific app you uninstalled. If a folder's name doesn't obviously match, leave it — an unfamiliar bundle ID may belong to something still installed. Move items to the Trash rather than deleting instantly, so you can restore anything you were unsure about before you empty it. And never touch items outside your user Library that you didn't put there.

A cleaner uninstall next time

Catching leftovers after the fact works, but removing an app and its files together is tidier. See our guide to finding an app's leftover files on Mac for a full checklist of every place an app can hide data.