How to uninstall Beyond Compare on Mac
Quit Beyond Compare before removing it, and keep a copy of your license key if you plan to reinstall: the key is entered through Beyond Compare › Enter Key and registers only the current user account. Its settings folder is separate from the files and folders you were comparing. This guide covers the Mac app downloaded from scootersoftware.com and the Homebrew cask beyond-compare.
Quit Beyond Compare and remove the app
Before quitting, Tools › Export Settings can save wanted settings outside all removal folders; verify that file and retain the license key privately.
- Quit Beyond Compare from its application menu, then check Activity Monitor for a remaining Beyond Compare process.
- Find Beyond Compare in Finder's Applications folder and move it to the Trash.
Where Beyond Compare keeps its data
Press Shift + Command + G in Finder and open each location that exists. The current cask includes versioned settings folders, and Scooter Software's transfer guide locates the Beyond Compare 5 single-user license there. Beyond Compare 5 keeps its settings in ~/Library/Application Support/Beyond Compare 5, and Beyond Compare 4 in ~/Library/Application Support/Beyond Compare.
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| ~/Library/Application Support/Beyond Compare 5 | Beyond Compare 5's settings. | Review and back up first, then remove with the app. |
| ~/Library/Caches/com.ScooterSoftware.BeyondCompare | Regenerable cache. | Safe to remove. |
| ~/Library/Preferences/com.ScooterSoftware.BeyondCompare.plist | App preferences. | Remove for a clean start. |
| ~/Library/Saved Application State/com.ScooterSoftware.BeyondCompare.savedState | Saved window state. | Remove after quitting. |
| ~/Library/Containers/com.ScooterSoftware.BeyondCompare.BCFinder | The container of Beyond Compare's Finder extension. | Remove it with the app; if macOS refuses to move it, move it to the Trash in Finder. |
After quitting, copy any other wanted state from the settings folder to an independent backup and verify it. Use Finder's Go to Folder to open the table paths and move only unwanted Beyond Compare items to the Trash. The current cask also names ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpd/Generated/Beyond Compare Help* and ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpd/Generated/com.ScooterSoftware.BeyondCompare.help*; open their parent and remove only actual matching Beyond Compare help-cache entries. Keep the shared Generated parent and settings for retained versions.
A license key saved as /etc/BC5Key.txt, which the Mac support page describes for registering every user account on the Mac, sits outside your home folder and outside what an app uninstall touches; remove that file yourself only if no other account still uses Beyond Compare.
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.
The beyond-compare cask's zap list includes ~/Library/Application Support/Beyond Compare*, which covers the settings folder above and the Beyond Compare 4 folder too, plus the Finder extension container and the help-book caches macOS generated under ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpd/Generated. With Remove data and settings with apps off, the settings review row starts unchecked; with it on, an eligible existing own unshared row may start checked. Leave settings you want to retain unchecked, and Mole's Homebrew removal drops --zap and removes only the rows you left ticked. Running brew uninstall --cask --zap beyond-compare yourself moves all of it to the Trash regardless of what you ticked in Mole; to keep your settings, back them up first or remove only the app:
brew uninstall --cask beyond-compare
The cask links bcomp inside the active Homebrew prefix's bin folder, normally /opt/homebrew/bin on Apple silicon or /usr/local/bin on Intel; it targets the app bundle and ordinary cask removal removes that managed link.
Check the result
pgrep -ilf "Beyond Compare.app"
command -v bcomp
ls -d ~/Library/Application\ Support/Beyond\ Compare\ 5
No output from pgrep means no command line matched this pattern; separately check Activity Monitor for processes confirmed to belong to Beyond Compare and quit any that remain. command -v bcomp may return a path, alias or function. For a filesystem path, inspect that exact item with ls -l or Finder's Get Info; move only a link confirmed to target this removed app copy to the Trash, preserving other copies' tools. No match only means this shell did not resolve the command. ls -d prints the folder if your settings are still there and reports "No such file or directory" once removed.
What Mole lists
For a Beyond Compare app installed from scootersoftware.com's own download:
~/Library/Application Support/Beyond Compare 5is a review row: unchecked with Remove data and settings with apps off, and eligible own unshared data may start checked with it on. Back up wanted settings and leave retained data unchecked.~/Library/Caches/com.ScooterSoftware.BeyondCompare,~/Library/Preferences/com.ScooterSoftware.BeyondCompare.plistand~/Library/Saved Application State/com.ScooterSoftware.BeyondCompare.savedStateare selected by default when they exist.~/Library/Containers/com.ScooterSoftware.BeyondCompare.BCFinderis selected by default when Mole finds the Finder extension it belongs to inside the app. macOS can still refuse to move a container to the Trash, in which case it stays until you remove it in Finder./etc/BC5Key.txtis not listed.
What this test covered
Beyond Compare 5.2.5 was copied into Applications from the scootersoftware.com download and uninstalled on September 20, 2026, with Mole 1.15 Preview (build 280); there was no Homebrew receipt. Every row in the review list was ticked. ~/Library/Application Support/Beyond Compare 5 (16 KB) was recognized as this app's folder despite the version number in its name and went to the Trash with the app. The Finder extension container (8 KB) was in the list, but macOS refused to move it to the Trash with a permission error, so it stayed. A registered license, /etc/BC5Key.txt and the Homebrew cask were not tested.