How to uninstall SiYuan (思源笔记) on Mac

SiYuan, 思源笔记, keeps your notes, attachments and workspace settings in a local workspace. In macOS versions 3.8.5 and 3.8.6, the initial location is ~/Library/Application Support/SiYuan; older workspaces may use ~/SiYuan, and you can choose another folder. Copy every workspace you want to keep before removing app data or using Homebrew zap. This guide covers the app downloaded from SiYuan's GitHub releases and the Homebrew cask siyuan.

Find your workspace first

SiYuan records the workspaces it has opened in ~/.config/siyuan, which the newer builds create on first launch. Check the recorded paths and both possible locations before you remove anything:

ls -d "$HOME/Library/Application Support/SiYuan" "$HOME/SiYuan"
cat ~/.config/siyuan/workspace.json

• ls -d prints a location if it exists. A "No such file or directory" error applies only to that path; your workspace may be elsewhere. A permission error does not establish absence.
• cat prints the list of workspace paths SiYuan knows about. Each path in it is a folder of notes to back up before you delete it. "No such file or directory" means this build did not write the list; think back to the folder you chose when you set SiYuan up, and check it before you uninstall.

Quit SiYuan before copying an entire workspace to a separate backup location. Check that the copy includes its data folder and attachments, then keep the backup separate from every folder you plan to remove. Do not treat sync as an independent backup.

Quit and remove the app

1. Quit SiYuan with Command + Q. Status showed it as one row with six processes and about 190 MB; they close with the app.
2. Move SiYuan from Applications to the Trash.

The recorded tests saw no login item or background item from it.

Where the app keeps its data

Press Shift + Command + G in Finder and open each location, skipping any that is missing. The workspace path is verified in SiYuan's macOS source; the other entries follow Homebrew's zap list and the recorded tests. After backing up wanted data and quitting, select only the named SiYuan item in its containing folder and move it to the Trash.

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the app is in the Trash:

pgrep -il siyuan
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Application Support/SiYuan-Electron" ~/.config/siyuan

• No output from pgrep means SiYuan is not running. A listed process means the app or part of it is still up; quit SiYuan properly before you touch the workspace.
• ls -d prints each folder that still exists. Either one surviving is expected if you left it unticked in Mole. "No such file or directory" means that folder is gone.

If you installed it with Homebrew

When you remove a Homebrew install, Mole runs Homebrew's uninstall and adds --zap only when every path in the cask's zap list sits inside ~/Library, none of them is a row you left unticked, and no other installed app claims it. Otherwise it leaves --zap out and still removes the rows you ticked.

The siyuan cask links its kernel as siyuan in Homebrew's bin directory; brew --prefix shows the prefix for this installation. Ordinary cask uninstall removes that managed link with the app. The current zap list includes ~/.siyuan, ~/Library/Application Support/SiYuan, the preferences file and saved window state. The Application Support entry can be your entire notes workspace, so brew uninstall --cask --zap siyuan can remove your notes. Verify your separate workspace backup before using zap. Because ~/.siyuan is outside ~/Library, Mole omits zap for this cask and removes only its selected rows. To remove the app and managed command link without zap:

brew uninstall --cask siyuan

SiYuan on GitHub · macOS workspace source · Homebrew's siyuan cask

What Mole lists

For SiYuan downloaded from GitHub, with Remove data and settings with apps turned off:

• The preferences file, the recent-items list, the temporary folders macOS keeps for the app and the cache folders inside ~/Library/Application Support/SiYuan-Electron are selected by default.
• ~/Library/Application Support/SiYuan-Electron itself is listed but not selected, because it is matched by the app's name.
• ~/.config/siyuan is listed but not selected.
• Mole can also list an existing ~/Library/Application Support/SiYuan as app data. It can be your notes workspace: back it up and leave it unchecked to keep it. Mole does not search custom workspace locations or the older ~/SiYuan location.

With Remove data and settings with apps on, eligible data rows can be preselected, including the support folders and workspace-list folder above. Review and uncheck every workspace or other data folder you want to keep before proceeding.

What this test covered

On September 26, 2026, SiYuan 3.8.5 was copied from the official download into Applications, without Homebrew, launched once, and uninstalled with a development build of Mole, with every listed item ticked for the test. Status showed one row, SiYuan, with six processes and about 190 MB. The app and all eleven listed rows went to the Trash, ~/Library/Application Support/SiYuan-Electron included. ~/.config/siyuan, which this version writes on first launch, was not on the list and stayed, and Mole's row for it was added as a result. No startup item appeared before or after. Two earlier tests used SiYuan 3.8.4 from the official package, on September 20, 2026 with Mole 1.15 Preview build 280 and on September 21, 2026 with Preview build 282; both removed Application Support/SiYuan-Electron with everything ticked, and neither version wrote ~/.config/siyuan or ~/.siyuan. No test created a workspace or notes, sync was not set up, and the Homebrew cask was not tested.