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How to uninstall Sublime Text on Mac completely

Sublime Text is a single app in Applications, but your settings, packages and license live in a separate data folder in your Library. Deleting the app leaves all of that behind. Here is how to remove everything — and what to save first, because some of those files are your own work.

Uninstaller: a list of apps sorted by size with when each was last opened, Google Chrome selected with its app and cache sizes
  1. Open MacWashing and choose Uninstaller in the sidebar.
  2. Click Show Apps and check Sublime Text in the list.
  3. Click Remove and confirm. Files that may be yours are listed as Possible and stay unchecked.
Download MacWashingHow it works

Free trial · macOS 14 or later

Before you start: save your settings

Your preferences, key bindings, snippets and other customisations are in the Packages/User folder inside the data folder. If you might use Sublime Text again, or move to another Mac, copy that folder somewhere safe first.

  1. In Sublime Text, choose Preferences › Browse Packages. Finder opens the Packages folder.
  2. Copy the User folder to another place, for example to Documents.
  3. Find your license key in your purchase email: you will enter it again if you reinstall.

Delete Sublime Text in Finder

  1. Quit Sublime Text: right-click its icon in the Dock and choose Quit.
  2. Open Finder › Applications and drag Sublime Text to the Trash.

Sublime Text has no uninstaller of its own. Its developer documents the data folder as the place that holds your settings and packages. It stays after you delete the app.

What Sublime Text leaves behind

All of these are in the Library folder inside your home folder:

  • ~/Library/Application Support/Sublime Text — the data folder: settings, packages and the license.
  • ~/Library/Caches/Sublime Text and ~/Library/Caches/com.sublimetext.4 — caches.
  • ~/Library/Preferences/com.sublimetext.4.plist — the app’s macOS settings.
  • ~/Library/Saved Application State/com.sublimetext.4.savedState — the saved window state.
  • ~/Library/HTTPStorages/com.sublimetext.4 — data the app keeps for its network connections.
  • ~/Library/Application Support/Sublime Text 3 — the data folder of Sublime Text 3, if you used it before.

Inside the data folder, Packages/User holds your own settings, key bindings and snippets, Installed Packages holds the packages you added, and Local holds the license. They are yours, not leftovers: copy what you want to keep before deleting the data folder.

Remove the leftovers by hand

  1. In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G), type a path from the list above and press Return.
  2. Move the folder or file to the Trash.
  3. Repeat for the other paths.
  4. Restart your Mac, then empty the Trash.

Sublime Text isn’t the only app that leaves files behind: see how to uninstall apps on Mac completely.

If you set up the subl command

Sublime Text’s documentation sets up the subl command by adding the app’s bin folder to your PATH in ~/.zprofile (or ~/.bash_profile for Bash). After the app is gone, that line points nowhere.

  1. Open ~/.zprofile (or ~/.bash_profile) in any text editor.
  2. Delete the line that contains Sublime Text.app/Contents/SharedSupport/bin and save the file.
  3. Open a new Terminal window for the change to take effect.

With MacWashing, it’s one click

Uninstaller: a list of apps sorted by size with when each was last opened, Google Chrome selected with its app and cache sizes

The Uninstaller in MacWashing knows the files Sublime Text creates in your Library folder and removes them together with the app. Folders that may hold your own files, like your settings and packages, are listed as Possible and stay unchecked until you check them yourself.

Download MacWashingHow it works

Free trial · macOS 14 or later

Questions and answers

Will MacWashing delete my own files when it removes Sublime Text?

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 Sublime Text 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 Sublime Text 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.

Does deleting Sublime Text delete my settings?

No. Deleting the app leaves the data folder in ~/Library/Application Support/Sublime Text, so a reinstall picks up your settings and packages again. They are lost only if you delete that folder.

Will I need my license key again?

If you delete the data folder, yes: the license is stored there. Keep the key from your purchase email and enter it again after reinstalling.

How do I reset Sublime Text instead of removing it?

Quit the app and move the data folder somewhere else. On the next start Sublime Text creates a fresh one, as on a new install. You can copy back what you need from the old folder.