Uninstall 1Password on Mac
Sign in to 1Password on the web or another device and open a recently added or edited item before uninstalling the Mac app. This checks that your vault is available elsewhere with its latest changes. These steps cover the direct download and the Homebrew cask.
Keep what you need to sign in
Keep your account password, Secret Key, and access to your two-factor authentication method. An Emergency Kit helps you sign in; it is not a vault backup and does not prove that recent items have synced. What an Emergency Kit contains
If you cannot sign in elsewhere or recent items are missing, resolve that first and keep the local data.
Quit 1Password completely
Quit 1Password, including its menu bar icon, then check Activity Monitor for any remaining 1Password process. The app also runs a launcher and a browser helper in the background; the Homebrew cask stops them by their labels, com.1password.1password-launcher and 2BUA8C4S2C.com.1password.browser-helper. Then move 1Password from Applications to the Trash in Finder.
Handle browser extensions separately. For Safari, open Safari › Settings › Extensions, select 1Password for Safari, choose Uninstall then Show in Finder, and move the host app Safari identifies to the Trash; a separately installed 1Password for Safari can survive removal of the main Mac app. Save important browsing information first: the vendor’s complete Safari procedure also empties the Trash and uses Safari › Clear History › All History, which deletes browser history. Remove Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Brave extensions in their own extension managers if you want them removed too. Official browser-removal instructions.
Where 1Password keeps local data
Do not treat any of these as a cache; an app-matching name does not mean a folder contains no passwords.
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Group Containers/2BUA8C4S2C.com.1password |
1Password's local data, shared by the app and its helpers | Keep it until access elsewhere is proven |
~/Library/Containers/com.1password.1password |
The app's sandboxed data | Same as above |
~/Library/Application Support/1Password |
Support data | Same as above |
~/Library/Logs/1Password |
Logs | Remove when you no longer need them for troubleshooting |
| The exact browser connection files listed below | Let a browser extension talk to the app | Inspect their JSON path; remove only a file pointing into the app you removed |
These paths come from the Homebrew 1Password cask’s cleanup list. Not every Mac has every entry. Open each applicable file with Finder’s Go to Folder, check its JSON path, and keep all other files and the browser profile parent:
~/Library/Application Support/Arc/User Data/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome Beta/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome Canary/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json~/Library/Application Support/Google/Chrome Dev/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft Edge/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft Edge Beta/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft Edge Canary/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft Edge Dev/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json~/Library/Application Support/Mozilla/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json~/Library/Application Support/Vivaldi/NativeMessagingHosts/com.1password.1password.json
Check the result
Run these read-only commands in Terminal:
pgrep -ilf "1Password"
launchctl list | grep -i 1password
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/2BUA8C4S2C.com.1password"
No output from pgrep means no 1Password process is running; a line with a process ID means one is still open, often the menu bar item. No output from launchctl list means the launcher and browser helper are no longer loaded. For ls, "No such file or directory" means the local data folder is gone; a listed path means it is still on the Mac, which is what you want until access elsewhere is confirmed.
Open the vault again on the device or website you kept and check your items. Removing the app neither cancels your subscription nor deletes your account.
If you cannot sign in elsewhere
If the web vault or another device lacks recently changed items, investigate sync first. Use your Emergency Kit and two-step verification method to confirm you can actually sign in; possessing the Secret Key alone is not a recovery test. Keep this Mac's app and data until access elsewhere is proven. Reinstalling is not a way to test an incomplete backup.
Autofill still working in a browser may mean its extension is active, not that the desktop app is running.
If you installed it with Homebrew
Mole skips --zap when its list reaches unchecked or shared data, or cannot be fully checked, and still cleans the leftovers you selected.
Running brew uninstall --cask --zap 1password yourself runs the cask's zap list on its own, whatever you selected in Mole. It includes ~/Library/Group Containers/2BUA8C4S2C.com.1password, the older ~/Library/Group Containers/2BUA8C4S2C.com.agilebits, every ~/Library/Containers/com.1password.1password* container, ~/Library/Application Support/1Password and the browser connection files for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Arc and Vivaldi. Confirm access elsewhere before you run it. Homebrew 1Password cask
To remove the app and leave that local data in place:
brew uninstall --cask 1password
What Mole lists
Mole marks 1Password as a data-heavy app and shows a notice to review its data before removing it. In the inspected installation it listed 23 rows and selected 12 of them by default. ~/Library/Group Containers/2BUA8C4S2C.com.1password is not selected by default.
What this test covered
1Password was inspected, not uninstalled. On September 22 and 23, 2026, a development build of Mole 1.15 previewed the removal plan for an existing installation and nothing was deleted. The preview did not test vault access, sync or browser extensions.