How to uninstall SwiftBar on Mac
SwiftBar turns scripts into menu bar items. Its own settings are small; the scripts themselves live in the Plugin Folder that, according to SwiftBar's README, SwiftBar asks you to set on first launch. That folder is wherever you chose, so neither Mole nor the Homebrew cask lists it. Find it and copy it somewhere else before removing SwiftBar if you want to keep your plugins. This guide covers the official download from SwiftBar's GitHub releases and the Homebrew cask swiftbar.
Quit SwiftBar and remove the app
- Note where your Plugin Folder is, then copy it if you want to keep your scripts.
- Click SwiftBar's icon in the menu bar and quit it.
- In Finder's Applications folder, move SwiftBar to the Trash.
Where its data lives
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Your Plugin Folder | Your menu bar scripts | Not listed by Mole or by the Homebrew cask. Copy it before you remove SwiftBar if you want to keep it. |
| ~/Library/Application Support/SwiftBar | A small folder named after the app, 8 KB in the test | Review settings before removing; the data setting can preselect it |
| ~/Library/Caches/com.ameba.SwiftBar | Application cache | Selected by default |
| ~/Library/Preferences/com.ameba.SwiftBar.plist | App preferences | Selected by default |
| ~/Library/Application Scripts/com.ameba.SwiftBar-LaunchAtLoginHelper and ~/Library/Containers/com.ameba.SwiftBar-LaunchAtLoginHelper | Folders for the helper that opens SwiftBar at login, if it has run | Unchecked with Remove data and settings with apps off; eligible owned rows can be preselected with it on |
Check the result
pgrep -il swiftbar
launchctl list | grep -i ameba
ls -d ~/Library/Application\ Support/SwiftBar
- No output from
pgrepmeans SwiftBar is not running. - No matching output means this filter found no session job with
amebain its label, provided the command succeeded. Identify any match and check SwiftBar in System Settings as well; the filter does not rule out jobs with other names. ls -dprinting "No such file or directory" means the folder is gone. A printed path means it is still there, which is expected if you left that row unticked.
If you installed it with Homebrew
The swiftbar cask's zap list has four paths: ~/Library/Caches/com.ameba.SwiftBar and ~/Library/Preferences/com.ameba.SwiftBar.plist, which Mole selects by default, and the login helper's Application Scripts and Containers folders, which start unchecked with Remove data and settings with apps off; eligible owned rows can be preselected with it on. When those helper folders exist and you leave them unticked, Mole leaves out --zap and still moves the rows you selected to the Trash itself. If they do not exist or you tick them, that removes this unchecked-data blocker; shared ownership or anything Mole cannot verify can still suppress zap. The Plugin Folder is not in the zap list either way.
Running the zap step yourself removes all four paths whatever you ticked in Mole:
brew uninstall --cask --zap swiftbar
To remove only the app:
brew uninstall --cask swiftbar
What Mole lists
For SwiftBar installed from the official download:
~/Library/Application Support/SwiftBarstarts unchecked with Remove data and settings with apps off. Turning it on can preselect this folder when ownership is clear and bulk selection is allowed; review it before removal.~/Library/Caches/com.ameba.SwiftBarand~/Library/Preferences/com.ameba.SwiftBar.plistare selected by default.- The login helper's Application Scripts and Containers folders start unchecked with Remove data and settings with apps off. With it on, they can be preselected when ownership is clear and bulk selection is allowed.
- The Plugin Folder is not listed.
What this test covered
On September 19, 2026, SwiftBar was copied from the official download into Applications, opened, and removed with a Preview build of Mole 1.15 (build 277); there was no Homebrew receipt. Application Support/SwiftBar, 8 KB, was listed, left unticked and stayed on disk. Mole's startup list showed the embedded LaunchAtLoginHelper as a confirm-only row, and that row was gone after the app was removed. Plugin scripts and the Homebrew cask were not tested.