How to uninstall Obsidian on Mac completely
Your Obsidian notes are not inside the app: each vault is an ordinary folder you chose, and deleting Obsidian leaves it where it is. What the app leaves behind are its global settings, caches and window state in your Library folder. Here is how to remove them and what to keep.
- Open MacWashing and choose Uninstaller in the sidebar.
- Click Show Apps and check Obsidian in the list.
- Click Remove and confirm. Files that may be yours are listed as Possible and stay unchecked.
Free trial · macOS 14 or later
Your vaults stay where they are
Obsidian stores notes as plain Markdown files in a vault — a folder anywhere on your Mac, in iCloud Drive or another synced folder. Neither deleting the app nor the folders below touches your vaults.
Each vault has a hidden .obsidian folder inside it with that vault’s own settings: hotkeys, themes and community plugins. It belongs to the vault and stays with it. Delete it only if you want to reset that vault’s settings. In Finder, press Shift-Command-. (period) to see hidden folders.
Delete Obsidian in Finder
You remove Obsidian like most apps:
- Quit Obsidian: right-click its icon in the Dock and choose Quit.
- Open Finder › Applications and drag Obsidian to the Trash.
- Enter your administrator password if macOS asks for it.
What Obsidian leaves behind
All of it is in the Library folder inside your home folder:
~/Library/Application Support/obsidian— Obsidian’s global settings, shared by all your vaults, and the app’s own files.~/Library/Application Support/obsidian/Cache,~/Library/Application Support/obsidian/Code Cacheand~/Library/Application Support/obsidian/GPUCache— caches inside that folder.~/Library/Preferences/md.obsidian.plist— settings.~/Library/Saved Application State/md.obsidian.savedState— the saved window state.
Remove the leftovers by hand
- In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G), type a path from the list above and press Return.
- Move the folder or file to the Trash.
- Repeat for the other paths.
- Restart your Mac, then empty the Trash.
Obsidian isn’t the only app that leaves files behind: see how to uninstall apps on Mac completely.
If you turned on the command line interface
If you enabled Command line interface in Obsidian’s settings, Obsidian created a link at /usr/local/bin/obsidian that points into the app. After the app is gone, the link leads nowhere: move it to the Trash too, with your administrator password. If you registered the command with an older Obsidian version, Obsidian’s help also says you can delete the lines starting with # Added by Obsidian from the ~/.zprofile file.
With MacWashing, it’s one click
The Uninstaller in MacWashing knows the files Obsidian creates in your Library folder and removes them together with the app.
Free trial · macOS 14 or later
Questions and answers
Will MacWashing delete my own files when it removes Obsidian?
No. The Uninstaller checks only what belongs to the app: its settings, caches, logs and background items. Folders that may hold your own files are listed as Possible and stay unchecked until you check them yourself, and apps go to the Trash by default, so you can put them back.
What if Obsidian is still running?
MacWashing waits for it to quit, or quits it at your request, and only then removes its files.
Is it free to uninstall Obsidian with MacWashing?
Yes, within the free trial: System Junk and the Uninstaller free up to 25 GB in total, with no account or card needed.
Will uninstalling Obsidian delete my notes?
No. Your notes are Markdown files in vault folders you chose. They stay where they are, and you can open them in any text editor.
Are my plugins and themes removed with the app?
No. Community plugins, themes and hotkeys are stored in each vault’s .obsidian folder, so they stay with the vault.
Can I reinstall Obsidian later?
Yes. Install it again and open your vault folder as a vault: its notes and its own settings are still there.