How to Uninstall Nova on Mac
Keep your project folders and their hidden .nova settings before uninstalling the editor. Panic says each local project stores its own configuration inside that folder; Nova extensions live in ~/Library/Application Support/Nova/Extensions, and clips can be exported from the Clips sidebar. Save anything you want to reinstall before removing application data. The recorded test used the direct Nova package.
Remove the app and review its data
Save open files, stop Nova tasks and export wanted clips from the Clips sidebar gear menu’s Export Clips. If you need remote-server settings, Nova’s Settings › Servers gear menu offers Export Servers for registered copies. Verify those exports outside Nova’s data directory, and keep projects and their .nova folders.
Before quitting, inspect Settings › Tools if you installed the optional CLI. The official installer puts nova at /usr/local/bin/nova; use command -v nova and ls -l /usr/local/bin/nova to check your actual entry. Remove only an entry confirmed as this installation’s, retaining another Nova copy’s tool. Homebrew-owned CLI and completion entries are handled by ordinary cask uninstall.
Quit Nova and copy wanted ~/Library/Application Support/Nova data, including Extensions, to a separate private backup. To export settings to a file, replace the destination in this documented command with your chosen backup path, then verify that file:
defaults export com.panic.Nova /path/to/destination.plist
That export covers app settings, not projects or remote credentials. In Finder press Shift + Command + G to open each path or its parent. After verifying backups, move only existing unwanted Nova leaves to the Trash:
~/Library/Application Support/Nova~/Library/Preferences/com.panic.Nova.plist~/Library/Caches/com.panic.Nova~/Library/WebKit/com.panic.Nova~/Library/Containers/com.panic.Nova.NovaQuickLookPreview~/Library/Containers/com.panic.Nova.NovaQuickLookThumbnail~/Library/Application Scripts/com.panic.Nova.NovaQuickLookPreview~/Library/Application Scripts/com.panic.Nova.NovaQuickLookThumbnail
Skip missing items and keep their parents. For recent-document records, open ~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.sharedfilelist/com.apple.LSSharedFileList.ApplicationRecentDocuments and remove only existing com.panic.nova.sfl* files.
If this installation added a privileged helper, the current cask identifies /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.panic.NovaPrivilegedHelper.plist and /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.panic.NovaPrivilegedHelper. Inspect the plist before changing anything:
plutil -p /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.panic.NovaPrivilegedHelper.plist
Only when its Label and executable confirm that Nova helper, stop its system service before removing either file:
sudo launchctl bootout system /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.panic.NovaPrivilegedHelper.plist
A failure does not prove the service stopped. Check the label shown in the plist with sudo launchctl print system/<confirmed-label>; if the job is still loaded or ownership is unclear, use Panic support before deleting. Once confirmed unloaded, move only those two helper files to the Trash in Finder, approving the administrator prompt. For a cask installation, leave the bundle in place and use ordinary Homebrew uninstall below instead. Finally move Nova.app to the Trash.
Panic: moving Nova data · Nova settings
Check the result
These commands read the current state without removing anything:
pgrep -il Nova
ls -ld ~/Library/'Application Support'/Nova ~/Library/Preferences/com.panic.Nova.plist
No pgrep result means no matching process is running; a listed process should be identified and quit before removing data. ls prints an existing path, reports “No such file or directory” for a missing one, and may report a permission error that needs separate investigation. Do not treat a surviving remote file, project or deliberately retained preference as an uninstall failure.
If you installed it with Homebrew
The Nova cask lists Nova caches, preferences, WebKit data, Quick Look extension containers, and a privileged helper uninstall action. The ordinary uninstall deletes the two listed helper files and removes Homebrew’s bin/nova and share/zsh/site-functions/_nova entries under its actual prefix; those are not zap actions. Its zap list can remove settings even when a project folder survives. Use brew uninstall --cask nova if you need to keep local data; a manual --zap processes the whole cask list without consulting Mole. Mole suppresses --zap for unchecked, shared, out-of-boundary or unverifiable targets and handles selected remnants separately.
brew uninstall --cask nova
Removing the application does not cancel a purchase or delete a remote account.
What Mole lists
Bundle-ID support, cache and preferences entries are selected by default. With Remove data and settings with apps off, Application Support/Nova is listed but not selected. With it on, an eligible unshared review row can be preselected; back up wanted extensions or clips and uncheck it to keep them. Embedded extension containers are subject to ownership and macOS permissions; a detected row is not a promise of removal.
What this test covered
Nova 14.1 from the official package was installed and removed on September 20, 2026, with review items selected. About 8 KB under Application Support/Nova was removed. The test did not create a project, sign into a Git provider, verify clips restoration, or run the Homebrew cask.