How to uninstall Espanso on Mac

Espanso is a text expander that runs in the background. Your matches, config files and installed packages live in one folder, ~/Library/Application Support/espanso, whose selection needs checking because the app-data setting can preselect it, so back it up before removing the app if you have written any expansions. This guide covers the official download for macOS and the Homebrew cask espanso.

Back up your matches

Espanso's configuration docs give the macOS config folder as ~/Library/Application Support/espanso; the ~/.config/espanso location they mention is the Linux one. Copy that folder somewhere outside ~/Library if you want to keep your matches.

Stop Espanso and remove the app

1. Click Espanso's icon in the menu bar and quit it. If you use the espanso command, espanso stop stops the background service instead, as described in the command-line reference.
2. In Finder's Applications folder, move Espanso to the Trash.
3. Open System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions. If Espanso is still listed there, turn it off.

Where its data lives

After stopping Espanso and checking your backup, open each existing path with Shift + Command + G in Finder. Move only the app-owned data you no longer need to the Trash. Confirm the service has stopped before removing its LaunchAgent; deleting the plist alone does not stop a loaded job.

Check the result

pgrep -il espanso
launchctl list | grep -i espanso
ls -d ~/Library/Application\ Support/espanso

• No output from pgrep means no Espanso process is running.
• If launchctl list succeeds and the filter prints nothing, this current-user job list has no line matching espanso; it does not rule out every job or another user’s session. An error leaves the result unresolved. A line containing com.federicoterzi.espanso means the background service is still registered; log out and back in after the LaunchAgent file is gone.
• ls -d printing "No such file or directory" means your config folder is gone. A printed path means it is still there, which is expected if you left that row unticked.

If you installed it with Homebrew

The espanso cask links an espanso command and removes it with the app. Its zap list includes ~/Library/Application Support/espanso, the cache, the LaunchAgent, the preferences above, two more preference items named espanso and the saved window state. With Remove data and settings with apps off, the config folder starts unchecked; turning it on can preselect eligible app-owned data. While the row remains unchecked, Mole skips --zap, and still moves the rows you selected to the Trash itself.

Running the zap step yourself moves your matches and config to the Trash whatever you ticked in Mole:

brew uninstall --cask --zap espanso

To keep them, copy ~/Library/Application Support/espanso first, or remove only the app:

brew uninstall --cask espanso

What Mole lists

For Espanso installed from the official download:

• ~/Library/Application Support/espanso starts unchecked with Remove data and settings with apps off; turning it on can preselect eligible app-owned data. Back up matches and review this row before removal.
• ~/Library/Caches/espanso, ~/Library/Preferences/com.federicoterzi.espanso.plist and the com.federicoterzi.espanso LaunchAgent are selected by default when they exist.
• ~/.config/espanso is not listed on a Mac.

For a Homebrew install, the zap list reaches your config 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 19, 2026, Espanso was copied from the official download into Applications, opened, and removed with a Preview build of Mole 1.15 (build 277); there was no Homebrew receipt. On first run it created an empty Application Support/espanso and did not write ~/.config/espanso. No matches were configured, the background service was not registered from the command line, and the Homebrew cask was not tested.