How to uninstall Sublime Merge on Mac
Quit Sublime Merge before removing it. Its data directory, ~/Library/Application Support/Sublime Merge, holds the packages and loose customization files you added (Sublime Merge's packages documentation), separate from the Git repositories you open, which stay wherever they are on disk. This guide covers the Mac app downloaded from sublimemerge.com and the Homebrew cask sublime-merge.
Quit Sublime Merge and remove the app
- Quit Sublime Merge from its application menu, then check Activity Monitor for a remaining Sublime Merge process.
- Find Sublime Merge in Finder's Applications folder and move it to the Trash.
Handle the optional command line tool separately
Sublime Merge can be driven from the terminal through its own smerge command. Sublime Merge's command line documentation sets it up on macOS with a symbolic link you create yourself, from /Applications/Sublime Merge.app/Contents/SharedSupport/bin/smerge to a folder on your PATH such as ~/bin. Since you created that link, remove it yourself after removing the app if you no longer need it.
Where Sublime Merge keeps its data
Press Shift + Command + G in Finder and open each location that exists. The data directory is named after the app rather than its bundle id, so back up anything you want to keep before moving it to Trash.
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| ~/Library/Application Support/Sublime Merge | The data directory: Packages, Installed Packages and your customizations. |
Review and back up first, then remove with the app. |
| ~/Library/Caches/com.sublimemerge | Regenerable cache. | Safe to remove. |
| ~/Library/Preferences/com.sublimemerge.plist | App preferences. | Remove for a clean start. |
| ~/Library/Saved Application State/com.sublimemerge.savedState | Saved window state. | Remove after quitting. |
The table follows Sublime Merge's documentation and Homebrew's zap list for this app; skip any location that is absent, without inferring whether it existed in the past.
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.
The sublime-merge cask's zap list includes ~/Library/Application Support/Sublime Merge, which is unticked with Remove data and settings with apps off. With it on, an eligible unshared review row can be preselected; uncheck it to keep your customizations, and Mole suppresses zap across that choice. Running brew uninstall --cask --zap sublime-merge yourself moves it to the Trash regardless of what you ticked in Mole; to keep your settings, back them up first or remove only the app:
brew uninstall --cask sublime-merge
The cask also links an smerge command to the bin/smerge path under the actual Homebrew prefix (brew --prefix), which points inside the app bundle and is removed with it.
Check the result
pgrep -ilf "Sublime Merge.app"
command -v smerge
ls -d ~/Library/Application\ Support/Sublime\ Merge
No output from pgrep means no Sublime Merge process is running. command -v smerge reports only how the current shell resolves the command, which can be an alias or function as well as a file. If it returns a filesystem path, inspect that exact item with ls -l or Finder's Get Info and move only a link confirmed to point into the removed Sublime Merge.app to the Trash. Do not treat an alias or function as a deletion path. No output does not prove every installed link is gone. ls -d prints the folder if the settings are still there and reports "No such file or directory" once removed.
Keep a copy of your Sublime Merge license key if you plan to reinstall.
What Mole lists
For a Sublime Merge app installed from sublimemerge.com's own download:
- With Remove data and settings with apps off,
~/Library/Application Support/Sublime Mergeis listed but not selected. With it on, an eligible unshared review row can be preselected; back up wanted packages and customizations, and uncheck it to keep them. ~/Library/Caches/com.sublimemerge,~/Library/Preferences/com.sublimemerge.plistand~/Library/Saved Application State/com.sublimemerge.savedStateare selected by default when they exist.- The optional
smergecommand line link, if you created it yourself, is not part of this list.
What this test covered
Sublime Merge Build 2132 was copied into Applications from the sublimemerge.com download and uninstalled on September 20, 2026, with Mole 1.15 Preview (build 280); there was no Homebrew receipt. The review list was expanded and every row ticked, and ~/Library/Application Support/Sublime Merge (4 KB on this first run) went to the Trash along with the app. The optional command line link, the Homebrew cask and a registered license were not tested.