Uninstall Zed on Mac
Save edited files and finish builds, servers, and remote sessions in the integrated terminal. Then back up two things: ~/.config/zed (settings, key bindings, and themes you created) and ~/Library/Application Support/Zed (installed extensions and other app data). Zed Stable and Zed Preview share both folders. These steps cover the download from zed.dev and the Homebrew casks zed and zed@preview.
Save editor configuration and extensions
Press Shift + Command + G in Finder and copy ~/.config/zed to a backup location. Zed's settings documentation keeps your settings there. Extensions live in ~/Library/Application Support/Zed/extensions (Installing extensions); you can reinstall them from the extension list, so a list of their names is often enough. If you are removing only Stable or only Preview, keep both folders: the channel you keep reads the same files.
Quit Zed and remove the app
Quit Zed and check Activity Monitor for remaining Zed processes, as Zed's uninstall guide advises. Then open Applications in Finder and move Zed to the Trash.
Zed's guide lists these folders for a complete removal. Skip any that do not exist, and keep the shared ones if another Zed channel stays installed:
| Location | What it holds | Keep or remove |
|---|---|---|
~/.config/zed |
Settings, key bindings, themes | Back up first; keep if another channel stays. |
~/Library/Application Support/Zed |
Extensions and other app data | Back up or note your extensions first; keep if another channel stays. |
~/Library/Logs/Zed |
Logs | Safe to remove. |
~/Library/Caches/Zed, ~/Library/Caches/dev.zed.Zed |
Caches | Safe to remove. |
~/Library/Saved Application State/dev.zed.Zed.savedState |
Saved window state | Safe to remove. |
~/.local/state/Zed |
Local state | Remove only for a full reset. |
Project-level configuration stays with its project; do not delete it as a Zed leftover.
Check the command-line entry and the result
pgrep -ix zed
command -v zed
ls -d ~/.config/zed ~/Library/Application\ Support/Zed
No output from pgrep means Zed is no longer running. If command -v zed prints a path, check which Zed channel it points to before removing it, particularly if you kept another channel; for a stale launcher, remove only that entry, not its parent bin directory. No output only means the current PATH cannot find it. For ls, No such file or directory means that folder is gone; a listed path is still on disk, which is expected if you kept it.
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.
Zed's guide removes the app with brew uninstall --cask zed (or zed@preview), which leaves your data. Running brew uninstall --cask --zap zed instead runs the zap list regardless of which rows you check in Mole. It deletes ~/.config/zed and ~/Library/Application Support/Zed, so your settings, key bindings, and extensions go too, along with logs, caches, preferences, and saved state. Zed Preview uses the same two folders. Back them up first, or use the plain brew uninstall --cask zed if you want to keep them.
What Mole lists
Skip any path that does not exist. The unselected data rows below assume Remove data and settings with apps is off (the default). Turning it on can preselect eligible Zed-owned configuration and support data; they remain protected when another installed Zed channel uses them.
| Location | In the plan |
|---|---|
~/.config/zed |
Listed but not selected. |
~/Library/Application Support/Zed |
Listed but not selected. |
Library items named dev.zed.Zed (caches, preferences, saved state) |
Selected by default. |
~/Library/Caches/Zed, ~/Library/Logs/Zed |
Selected by default, unless Zed Preview is still installed; then listed but not selected. |
What this test covered
Zed was installed from the Homebrew cask on September 17, 2026 and uninstalled through Mole, which ran the zap list. The zap step removed ~/.config/zed, logs, preferences, and an older 146 MB ~/Library/Application Support/Zed folder from a May install before Mole reached them. On September 26, 2026, Zed 1.21.0 from zed.dev was installed again and removed with a development build of Mole with every row ticked. Mole listed ~/.config/zed and Application Support/Zed for review and the cache, logs and preferences as selected, and no Zed process or startup item was left afterward. Zed Preview, signed-in collaboration features, and the zed command-line entry were not tested.