Uninstall Numbers on Mac
Save open spreadsheets and verify that important data and formulas are in the files. Check that iCloud spreadsheets have synced, and download complete files before copying them outside the sync folder for backup. Numbers comes from the Mac App Store; Apple's iWork apps are free there, so you can download Numbers again later from your App Store purchases.
If another app must open the spreadsheet
Before uninstalling, export an important sheet to a format the destination app supports, then open it there and check formulas, dates, and cell contents. A successful export does not guarantee every feature converted without loss, so keep the original Numbers document too.
Remove the app and keep spreadsheets
Quit Numbers and move it from Applications to the Trash. On the App Store the app can be named Numbers Creator Studio; it is the same app with the bundle id com.apple.Numbers. Removing the app does not delete spreadsheets saved in your folders or in the Numbers folder of iCloud Drive.
Where Numbers 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.Numbers |
The app's sandboxed data and settings; it can also hold unsaved work | Check for unsaved spreadsheets first, then remove it with the app |
~/Library/Application Scripts/com.apple.Numbers |
Scripts folder for the app | Remove it with the app |
~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.iWork |
Data shared by Pages, Numbers and Keynote | Keep it while Pages or Keynote is installed |
| Numbers folder in iCloud Drive | Your spreadsheets | Keep it; it is not app data |
Check the result
Run these read-only commands in Terminal:
pgrep -il Numbers
mdfind "kMDItemCFBundleIdentifier == 'com.apple.Numbers'"
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Containers/com.apple.Numbers" "$HOME/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.iWork"
No output from pgrep means Numbers is not running. No output from mdfind means Spotlight finds no remaining copy of the app; a path in the output is a copy still on disk. For ls, "No such file or directory" means the folder is gone. The iWork group should still be listed if Pages or Keynote is installed.
Finally, open your saved spreadsheets. If Pages or Keynote remain, open a file in each to confirm shared iWork data was not removed.
What Mole lists
~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Numbers and ~/Library/Application Scripts/com.apple.Numbers are selected by default. Mole does not list ~/Library/Group Containers/group.com.apple.iWork, because Pages, Numbers and Keynote share it; keeping it is intentional, not a cleanup miss.
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; the shared iWork group stayed. Numbers