Uninstall Steam on Mac without deleting games
Save game progress, check Steam Cloud sync, and back up local saves using each game’s instructions before quitting Steam. Keeping installed game files alone does not preserve every save. These steps cover the official installer and the Homebrew cask. The difference matters: removing a Homebrew install with Homebrew's --zap option deletes your whole Steam folder, games and all, covered below.
Keep games and saves separately
Press Shift + Command + G in Finder and open ~/Library/Application Support/Steam. SteamApps holds installed game content, while userdata may also contain player data. Games can store saves elsewhere, and libraries on external drives need a separate check. Steam's own removal instructions delete that folder but tell you to keep SteamApps if you want to keep installed games. Steam’s uninstall instructions
Copy the relevant directories if you want to keep them, then verify games and saves in a working environment. Do not move a whole library while Steam is running.
Remove the client
Close games, finish downloads, quit Steam, and move it from Applications to the Trash. Uninstalling the client does not close your account or remove its purchases. Steam also keeps the client files it downloads in ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/Steam.AppBundle, next to your games. Homebrew marks Steam as requiring Rosetta on Apple silicon.
Where Steam keeps its data
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Application Support/Steam/SteamApps |
Installed games | Keep it to keep your games |
~/Library/Application Support/Steam/userdata |
Per-account data, which can include saves | Back it up before removing anything |
~/Library/Application Support/Steam/Steam.AppBundle |
The downloaded Steam client | Safe to remove with the app |
~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist |
A Steam background job | Remove it after the app is gone |
~/Library/Preferences/com.valvesoftware.steam.helper.plist |
Helper preferences | Safe to remove |
The client, background job and preferences paths come from the Homebrew Steam cask. If com.valvesoftware.steam.ipctool remains after an official-download removal, inspect it with launchctl print "gui/$(id -u)/com.valvesoftware.steam.ipctool". Check that its executable points into the Steam installation you are removing. Only for that confirmed Steam service, run launchctl bootout "gui/$(id -u)/com.valvesoftware.steam.ipctool", then repeat the service and process checks. A service-not-found message means it is no longer registered; a permission or other error leaves the check unresolved. This stops the user service without deleting game files.
Check the result
Run these read-only commands in Terminal:
pgrep -ilf Steam
launchctl list | grep -i valvesoftware
ls "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Steam"
No output from pgrep means Steam is not running. No output from launchctl list means no Steam background job is loaded; a com.valvesoftware line means one is still registered. The last command lists what remains in the Steam folder: SteamApps and userdata should be there if you kept your games and data, and "No such file or directory" means the whole folder is gone.
See Uninstall Steam without losing games and saves for more detail.
If the game library still uses space
Identify whether what remains is game content under SteamApps, userdata, a game's own save files, or another library on an external disk. Removing the client does not make those decisions for you. To reclaim space, consider specific games you no longer use, after verifying that their saves have usable copies elsewhere.
If games do not appear after reinstalling, point Steam to the existing library before wiping it for a new download. Purchases still visible in your account do not prove local saves were restored.
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 steam yourself runs the cask's zap list on its own, whatever you selected in Mole, and it includes all of ~/Library/Application Support/Steam: installed games in SteamApps, userdata and local saves stored there go with the app. Copy SteamApps and userdata elsewhere first, or skip the zap list. Homebrew Steam cask
Without zap, Homebrew still removes the downloaded client (Steam.AppBundle) and stops Steam's background jobs, but keeps the rest of the folder:
brew uninstall --cask steam
What Mole lists
For the official installer, ~/Library/Application Support/Steam is listed but unselected while Remove data and settings with apps is off, the default. Enabling it can preselect eligible app-owned data; untick this entire folder to retain games and saves. For a Homebrew install, the zap list includes that folder, so while it stays unchecked Mole skips --zap. Steam's own log folder ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/logs and Steam's crash reports are separate rows and are selected by default.
What this test covered
The recorded uninstall used the Homebrew cask on September 19, 2026, with Mole 1.15 Preview (build 277). Rosetta was not installed on the test Mac, so Steam's first launch failed; the app was still removed. The residue review screen did not appear, and no games or saves were involved. On September 26, 2026, Steam was installed again from the official installer and removed with a development build of Mole with every row ticked. This time Steam launched and updated itself, and the app plus four listed items went to the Trash, including the 1.5 GB Application Support/Steam folder, which the test ticked on purpose. The com.valvesoftware.steam.ipctool background job registered on that first launch was still running afterward. Steam was never signed in.