Uninstall ChatGPT on Mac

First check that conversations you need are accessible on the ChatGPT website and save local attachments. The ChatGPT desktop app Mole checked (version 26.730) identifies itself as com.openai.codex, but it still keeps your local conversation data under the older com.openai.chat name, so that folder is not a leftover from an old version. Quit the desktop app and move it from Applications to the Trash. Deleting local files is separate from deleting conversations in your account, and removing the app does not cancel a ChatGPT subscription; manage a paid plan in your account’s subscription settings. This guide covers the desktop app downloaded from OpenAI and the Homebrew cask chatgpt.

Remove the app

  1. Save local attachments you need and confirm your conversations on the website.
  2. Quit ChatGPT, then check Activity Monitor for ChatGPT processes and quit any that remain.
  3. Move ChatGPT from Finder’s Applications folder to the Trash.

Keep ~/.codex. It belongs to the separate Codex command-line tool, and removing the desktop app does not require touching it.

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 chatgpt cask’s zap list covers the com.openai.codex and Codex support folders, caches and preferences, including ~/Library/Application Support/Codex and ~/Library/Application Support/OpenAI/Codex, plus the system file /Library/Application Support/CodexComputerUseAuthorizationPlugin. It only removes ~/.codex if that folder is empty. Running brew uninstall --cask --zap chatgpt yourself runs that list without following Mole’s checkboxes. The zap list does not include the com.openai.chat folders below, so they remain after a Homebrew removal. To keep the Codex support folders, remove only the app:

brew uninstall --cask chatgpt

Source: Homebrew’s chatgpt cask.

Review local data

Open these locations individually with Shift + Command + G in Finder and skip any that are absent.

Location What it is What to do
~/Library/Application Support/com.openai.chat The desktop app’s local data, including conversations Copy what you need; remove it only once you no longer want the local copy
~/Library/Caches/com.openai.chat Cache Safe to remove after quitting
~/Library/Preferences/com.openai.chat.plist Preferences Remove only for a clean start
~/Library/HTTPStorages/com.openai.chat Network storage Remove with the app
~/Library/Caches/ChatGPTHelper, ~/Library/Preferences/ChatGPTHelper.plist, ~/Library/HTTPStorages/ChatGPTHelper and ~/Library/HTTPStorages/ChatGPTHelper.binarycookies Files written by ChatGPTHelper Remove with the app
~/.codex Codex command-line tool data Keep while you use Codex

Copy desktop settings or local data you want to keep first; signing back in does not prove every local file was synced. Do not sweep up data from other OpenAI tools based on a name search.

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the app is in the Trash:

pgrep -lf ChatGPT.app
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Application Support/com.openai.chat" ~/.codex
  • No output from pgrep means no process is running from ChatGPT.app. A listed process means the app or a helper is still open.
  • ls -d prints each folder that still exists. A surviving com.openai.chat folder proves only that the directory exists; inspect actual local files or a usable backup to check conversation data. A missing-path error concerns that path alone, while a permission or other read error leaves its state unknown. A surviving ~/.codex belongs to the Codex tool and is expected.

Chatting in a browser after removal is normal because the account and website remain available.

What Mole lists

For the desktop app downloaded from OpenAI:

  • ~/Library/Application Support/com.openai.chat and the other com.openai.chat and ChatGPTHelper rows in the table above are reviewed data, unselected while Remove data and settings with apps is off, the default. Enabling it can preselect eligible app-owned review rows; untick data you want to keep. Shared stores and agent archives retain their separate protection. Mole’s Clean tab never treats the conversation folder as cache.
  • Caches, preferences, web storage and saved window state filed under com.openai.codex are selected by default.
  • ~/.codex and /Library/Application Support/CodexComputerUseAuthorizationPlugin are not listed.

What this test covered

ChatGPT is installed on the test Mac and was not uninstalled. On September 22 and 23, 2026, a development build of Mole previewed its uninstall list for that installation without removing anything: on September 23 it listed 68 items, 51 of them selected by default, and left out ~/.codex (24 GB of Codex data on that Mac) on purpose. The Homebrew cask, the website account and subscription changes were not tested.