Uninstall Sketch on Mac
Save local .sketch files and check that recent workspace designs are available on the web. Back up plugins and settings you want before anything else: they live in a support folder that Mole selects by default, covered below. Then quit Sketch and move it from Applications to the Trash. These steps cover the download from Sketch's website and the Homebrew cask. Design documents are not app remnants.
Keep plugins and design files distinct
Sketch keeps installed plugins in ~/Library/Application Support/com.bohemiancoding.sketch3/Plugins, inside the app's support folder. Copy that Plugins folder, and any plugin settings you still need, to a folder of your own before you remove the support folder. That directory is different from your .sketch documents on disk. If recent designs are absent on the web, resolve sync before using local deletion as a test of cloud completeness.
Where Sketch keeps its data
In Finder, press Shift + Command + G and open each location that exists.
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Application Support/com.bohemiancoding.sketch3 |
Support data, including Plugins; about 300 MB on the inspected Mac |
Back up Plugins first, then decide |
~/Library/Application Support/com.bugsnag.Bugsnag/com.bohemiancoding.sketch3 |
Sketch's crash reports | Remove when you no longer need them for troubleshooting |
~/Library/Caches/com.bohemiancoding.sketch3 |
Cache | Safe to remove after quitting |
~/Library/Preferences/com.bohemiancoding.sketch3.plist |
App preferences | Remove for a clean reinstall |
Keep the parent com.bugsnag.Bugsnag folder: other apps file their crash reports there too, and leaving it is not a failed Sketch uninstall.
Check the result
Run these read-only commands in Terminal:
pgrep -il Sketch
ls "$HOME/Library/Application Support/com.bohemiancoding.sketch3/Plugins"
du -sh "$HOME/Library/Application Support/com.bohemiancoding.sketch3"
No output from pgrep means Sketch is not running. The ls command lists the plugins still installed; run it before removal to see what to back up. "No such file or directory" means that folder is gone. du prints the size of the support folder while it still exists.
After removal, check required designs in a client you kept or on the web.
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 sketch yourself runs the cask's zap list on its own, whatever you selected in Mole. It includes ~/Library/Application Support/com.bohemiancoding.sketch3, so the Plugins folder goes too, plus the cache, logs, preferences and autosave information. Back up plugins first. Homebrew Sketch cask
To keep the support folder:
brew uninstall --cask sketch
What Mole lists
In the inspected installation Mole listed 15 rows and selected 9 of them by default. ~/Library/Application Support/com.bohemiancoding.sketch3 is selected by default because it carries Sketch's bundle id, and it holds your plugins; untick it if you have not backed them up. The Sketch crash-report folder under com.bugsnag.Bugsnag, the cache and the preferences are selected by default. The shared Bugsnag folder is not listed.
What this test covered
Sketch was inspected, not uninstalled. On September 22 and 23, 2026, a development build of Mole 1.15 previewed the removal plan for an existing installation of version 2026.2.1 and nothing was deleted. The preview did not check workspace sync or licensing. Sketch