How to uninstall Azure Data Studio on Mac

Microsoft retired Azure Data Studio on February 28, 2026 and now points users to Visual Studio Code, so back up anything you still need from its settings before you start; these uninstall steps do not transfer it to VS Code. This guide covers the official arm64 zip build and the Homebrew cask azure-data-studio.

Quit Azure Data Studio and remove the app

  1. Save open work and quit Azure Data Studio from its application menu.
  2. Check Activity Monitor for a lingering Azure Data Studio or Azure Data Studio Helper process.
  3. In Finder's Applications folder, move Azure Data Studio to the Trash. Microsoft's own download and install page covers only the general macOS steps of dragging an app to the Trash; it does not document Azure Data Studio's own data paths, which come from the local test below instead.

Where its data lives

After quitting and verifying your backup, use Shift + Command + G in Finder to inspect each existing path. For a full local removal, move only the listed app-owned items you no longer need to the Trash.

Location What it holds What to do
~/Library/Application Support/azuredatastudio The app's data folder, about 19.8 MB after first run in the test Back it up before deleting if you still want your settings; review its selection.
~/.azuredatastudio A small item in your home folder, 8 KB in the test Review before removal; the data setting can preselect it
~/Library/Preferences/com.azuredatastudio.oss.plist App preferences Selected by default
~/Library/Preferences/com.azuredatastudio.oss.helper.plist Helper process preferences Selected by default
~/Library/Saved Application State/com.azuredatastudio.oss.savedState Window state Selected by default

Before removing, note the servers you connect to so you can add them again in another tool; the connection details you saved were not examined in this test.

If you installed it with Homebrew

Mole checks the cask's zap list first: when it reaches a row you left unticked, Mole drops --zap and still cleans up the rows you selected through its own recoverable Trash step.

The azure-data-studio cask's zap list matches Application Support/azuredatastudio plus the two preference files and saved state above. With Remove data and settings with apps off, the settings folder starts unchecked; while unchecked, Mole uses brew uninstall --cask azure-data-studio without --zap. Turning the setting on can preselect eligible app-owned data, so review it before removal.

The cask also links an azuredatastudio command; Homebrew removes it together with the app.

Running the zap step yourself moves the cask-listed support folder, preferences and saved state to the Trash regardless of Mole’s checkboxes. It does not name ~/.azuredatastudio:

brew uninstall --cask --zap azure-data-studio

To keep your settings, back up Application Support/azuredatastudio first, or remove only the app:

brew uninstall --cask azure-data-studio

Check the result

pgrep -ifl "Azure Data Studio.app"
command -v azuredatastudio
ls -d ~/Library/Application\ Support/azuredatastudio ~/.azuredatastudio
  • If pgrep completes without errors and prints nothing, no full command line matched Azure Data Studio.app. Separately named helpers are outside this match; inspect any matching PID and executable path in Activity Monitor before quitting it.
  • No output from command -v means the azuredatastudio command was not found in this shell's PATH. Output means it still resolves somewhere; check that location separately if you removed the app another way.
  • ls -d prints each folder that still exists and reports "No such file or directory" for the rest.

What Mole lists

For Azure Data Studio installed from the official download:

  • ~/Library/Application Support/azuredatastudio and ~/.azuredatastudio start unchecked with Remove data and settings with apps off. Turning it on can preselect eligible app-owned data; verify your backup and review both rows before removal.
  • The preferences filed under com.azuredatastudio.oss and the saved window state are selected by default.
  • Mole does not claim Visual Studio Code's own Code/ folder or ~/.vscode for Azure Data Studio.

For a Homebrew install, the zap list reaches the settings folder, so keeping that row unchecked suppresses --zap, whether it started unchecked or was preselected by the data setting.

What this test covered

On September 21, 2026, Azure Data Studio 1.52.0 was copied from the official download into Applications, opened, and removed with a Preview build of Mole 1.15 (build 282) with every listed row ticked; there was no Homebrew receipt. The app, its preferences and Application Support/azuredatastudio (about 19.8 MB) went to the Trash. The 8 KB ~/.azuredatastudio was not listed and stayed on disk after the app was removed; the review row above was added to Mole after this test. Connecting to a server, extensions and the Homebrew cask were not tested.