How to uninstall Slack on Mac completely
Slack keeps its data and several caches in your Library folder, and they stay after you drag the app to the Trash. Here is how to remove all of it. Your messages and files are not lost: they are stored in your Slack workspaces.
- Open MacWashing and choose Uninstaller in the sidebar.
- Click Show Apps and check Slack 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
Uninstall Slack the way Slack’s help describes
Slack’s help article on updating the desktop app gives the steps for removing it before a fresh install: delete every copy of the app and the contents of its data folder.
- Quit Slack: choose Slack › Quit Slack in the menu bar.
- Open Finder and search for Slack. Set the search to This Mac and the kind to Application, so you find every copy, not only the one in Applications.
- Move every copy of Slack to the Trash.
- Choose Go › Go to Folder (Shift-Command-G), type
~/Library/Application Support/Slackand press Return. - Move everything in that folder to the Trash, then empty the Trash.
If you installed Slack from the App Store, Slack’s help points to a different data folder, inside the app’s container. The other steps are the same.
What Slack leaves behind
Slack’s steps cover the first item. The others stay. All of them are in the Library folder inside your home folder:
~/Library/Application Support/Slack— Slack’s data. Its caches (Cache,Code Cache,GPUCache) are inside.~/Library/Preferences/com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap.plist— settings.~/Library/Logs/Slack— logs.~/Library/Cookies/com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap.binarycookies— cookies.~/Library/WebKit/com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap— data of the app’s built-in web views.~/Library/Application Scripts/com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap— a service folder macOS creates for the app.~/Library/Saved Application State/com.tinyspeck.slackmacgap.savedState— the window position macOS restores on launch.
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.
Slack isn’t the only app that leaves files behind: see how to uninstall apps on Mac completely.
With MacWashing, it’s one click
The Uninstaller in MacWashing knows the files Slack 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 Slack?
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 Slack 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 Slack 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 I lose my messages and files?
No. Messages, channels and shared files are stored in your Slack workspaces. Sign in after a reinstall, or in a browser, and they are all there. Files you downloaded from Slack stay where you saved them.
Does uninstalling Slack leave my workspaces?
No. You stay a member of your workspaces. Removing the app only signs this Mac out. To use Slack again, sign in to each workspace.
Can I install Slack again later?
Yes. Download it from slack.com/downloads/mac or the App Store and sign in to your workspaces. Your channels and messages are waiting there.