Uninstall Keynote on Mac
Save and close open presentations, then verify important files in Finder or on the iCloud website. Download online-only files fully before copying them outside iCloud and opening the copies. If a presentation uses external video or fonts, check those assets as part of the backup; an exported PDF can preserve a viewable copy but cannot replace an editable Keynote original. Keynote comes from the Mac App Store; Apple's iWork apps are free there, so you can download Keynote again later from your App Store purchases.
Remove the app
Quit Keynote and move it from Applications to the Trash. On the App Store the app can be named Keynote Creator Studio; it is the same app with the bundle id com.apple.Keynote. Keep presentation files and the shared iWork directory.
Where Keynote keeps its data
In Finder, press Shift + Command + G and open each location that exists.
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Keynote |
The app's sandboxed data and settings; it can also hold unsaved work | Check for unsaved presentations first, then remove it with the app |
~/Library/Application Scripts/com.apple.Keynote |
Scripts folder for the app | Remove it with the app |
~/Library/Caches/CloudKit/com.apple.Keynote |
Keynote's iCloud cache | Review only this app-specific cache; if macOS refuses deletion, leave it in place and never remove the whole CloudKit folder |
~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.iWork |
Data shared by Pages, Numbers and Keynote | Keep it while Pages or Numbers is installed |
| Keynote folder in iCloud Drive | Your presentations | Keep it; it is not app data |
Apple's analytics logs under ~/Library/Logs/AppAnalytics/ are system files and are not part of removing Keynote.
Check the result
Run these read-only commands in Terminal:
pgrep -il Keynote
mdfind "kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier == 'com.apple.Keynote'"
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Containers/com.apple.Keynote" "$HOME/Library/Caches/CloudKit/com.apple.Keynote" "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.iWork"
No output from pgrep means Keynote is not running. With no command error, no output from mdfind means no matching entry in Spotlight’s metadata store, not that no app copy exists on unindexed disks; check each returned path in Finder because an index entry alone does not prove the file still exists. For ls, "No such file or directory" means the folder is gone. The iWork group should still be listed if Pages or Numbers is installed.
If you remove only Keynote
If Pages or Numbers remain, open an existing document and spreadsheet in them afterward to verify that shared iWork data is still usable. Finding group.com.apple.iWork on disk is expected; do not empty that shared container just to eliminate a Keynote search result.
What Mole lists
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Keynote, ~/Library/Application Scripts/com.apple.Keynote and ~/Library/Caches/CloudKit/com.apple.Keynote are selected by default. Mole does not list ~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.iWork, because Pages and Numbers share it.
What this test covered
A live uninstall of the App Store app, version 15.3.1, with a development build of Mole 1.15. The app, its container and its Application Scripts went to the Trash. ~/Library/Caches/CloudKit/com.apple.Keynote stayed behind in that run. Keynote