Uninstall GIMP on Mac
Back up any custom brushes, scripts or plug-ins you added to GIMP before removing it. These steps cover GIMP installed from the official disk image and from the Homebrew cask gimp; the recorded test used the Homebrew cask.
Quit and remove the app
Quit GIMP from its app menu, then move GIMP from Applications to the Trash (official download), or let Homebrew remove it (see below).
Where GIMP keeps its data
GIMP files its configuration under a per-version folder, and stores its current preferences file both with and without a version number.
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Application Support/GIMP/<version> (for example 3.2) |
Your customized brushes, scripts, plug-ins and other per-version settings | Back it up if you added anything of your own; otherwise safe to remove |
~/Library/Caches/GIMP |
Regenerable cache | Safe to remove |
~/Library/Preferences/org.gimp.gimp.plist |
Current preferences | Safe to remove |
~/Library/Preferences/org.gimp.gimp-<version>.plist and ~/Library/Saved Application State/org.gimp.gimp-<version>.savedState |
Version-specific preferences and saved window state | Safe to remove |
On a case-insensitive volume, Gimp and GIMP resolve to the same folder. A case-sensitive volume can keep them separately; check the actual folder spelling before deleting.
Check the result
Run these read-only commands in Terminal:
pgrep -ilf gimp
launchctl list | grep -i org.gimp
ls -d ~/Library/Application\ Support/GIMP
ls ~/Library/Preferences | grep -i org.gimp
No output from pgrep means GIMP is not running. No output from launchctl list means the current user session has no matching loaded GIMP job. ls -d on the Application Support folder either lists only the parent folder's path, or reports "No such file or directory". The last command lists any GIMP preferences files still on disk, including the version-numbered one; an empty result means none are left.
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 gimp yourself runs the cask's zap list, which moves ~/Library/Application Support/Gimp (your brushes, scripts and plug-ins), the version-numbered preferences file, and the version-numbered saved-window-state file to the Trash, whatever you have ticked in Mole. Back up anything you added first, or run the app-only removal below. Homebrew GIMP cask
brew uninstall --cask gimp
What Mole lists
For GIMP installed from the official download:
~/Library/Application Support/GIMPis listed but unselected while Remove data and settings with apps is off, the default. Enabling it can preselect eligible app-owned data; untick this entire folder if you want to retain custom brushes, scripts and plug-ins.~/Library/Caches/GIMPand~/Library/Preferences/org.gimp.gimp.plistare selected by default.- Mole can also list
~/Library/Preferences/org.gimp.gimp-3.2.plistand~/Library/Saved Application State/org.gimp.gimp-3.2.savedState, taken from Homebrew's zap list for this app. They are unselected with Remove data and settings with apps off; enabling it can preselect eligible app-owned rows. Version-numbered files for other GIMP versions are not listed.
What this test covered
GIMP was installed and removed through the Homebrew cask gimp on September 17, 2026, with a development build of Mole; Mole reported it as already covered by its existing rules, so nothing new was added for this app. Homebrew's zap step moved ~/Library/Application Support/GIMP/3.2 (41 MB) to the Trash before Mole's own scan ran, and Mole's own removal took the current org.gimp.gimp.plist preferences file and ~/Library/Caches/GIMP. A GIMP.app copy already sitting in the Trash from an earlier, unrelated date was left untouched, since it predated this test and the Trash was not emptied. The official disk-image install was not part of this uninstall test.