Uninstall VLC on Mac
Save playlists you want to keep, stop playback, and quit VLC. Move VLC from Applications to the Trash. Videos and music you opened with it should remain where you saved them. These steps cover the official disk image and the Homebrew cask; both install the same VLC.app.
If you only want to reset preferences
For a playback or interface problem, try the reset option in VLC’s preferences first, then test with a file you know plays. Do not delete personal media to reset the player. VideoLAN’s preferences documentation
Where VLC keeps its data
In Finder, press Shift + Command + G and open each location that exists. Exported playlists and downloaded videos are not in these folders. A playlist usually references media locations, so backing it up does not save the video files themselves.
| Location | What it holds | What to do |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Preferences/org.videolan.vlc |
VLC's preferences folder | Remove it for a full reset |
~/Library/Preferences/org.videolan.vlc.plist |
App preferences | Remove it for a full reset |
~/Library/Application Support/org.videolan.vlc |
Support data | Check for anything you saved there first |
~/Library/Application Support/VLC |
Support data under the app's name | Check for anything you saved there first |
~/Library/Caches/org.videolan.vlc |
Cache | Safe to remove |
These paths come from the Homebrew VLC cask's cleanup list. Not every Mac has every entry. Media on an external disk or in your own folders is not a player remnant merely because it still occupies space.
Check the result
Run these read-only commands in Terminal:
pgrep -ilf "VLC.app"
ls -d "$HOME/Library/Preferences/org.videolan.vlc" "$HOME/Library/Application Support/org.videolan.vlc"
No output from pgrep means VLC is no longer running. For ls, "No such file or directory" means the folder is gone; a listed path still exists.
Open a media file you kept. macOS may ask you to choose another player. That is a change in file association, not a missing file. If you installed VLC in more than one way, locate the copy you actually use in Finder; a Dock icon disappearing does not establish that every copy is gone.
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 vlc yourself runs the cask's zap list on its own, whatever you selected in Mole. It includes every location in the table above plus HTTP storage and window state, so a playlist saved inside those folders goes too. Save playlists to your own folder first. The cask also adds a vlc command, which is removed with the app. Homebrew VLC cask
To keep the settings and support folders:
brew uninstall --cask vlc
What Mole lists
Review VLC settings before removal. The unchecked support row below describes the default with Remove data and settings with apps off; enabling it can preselect eligible app-owned support data.
The rows named org.videolan.vlc, including the preferences, support data and cache, are selected by default. ~/Library/Application Support/VLC is listed but not selected.
What this test covered
The recorded uninstall used the Homebrew cask on September 17, 2026, with a development build of Mole, so Homebrew's zap list removed the files. On September 26, 2026, VLC 3.0.24 from the official disk image was installed again and removed with a development build of Mole with every row ticked: the app, its preferences, cache and temporary folder went to the Trash, and nothing from the list remained. Neither run tested playlists.