How to Fully Uninstall & Remove Atom for Mac

Atom is a free, open-source text editor developed by GitHub for programming. To install this app requires you to simply drag it to the Applications folder. Yet, to fully uninstall and remove Atom is not that easy, and the incomplete uninstallation has become a trouble that upsets many Mac users. If you have the same problem and happen to visit this page, you will be surprised to find the proper solution in this post.

Hereby we are going to show you the correct procedure to fully uninstall Atom from your Mac. Now follow the instructions step by step to wipe out all traces of Atom.

First Step: Deactivate Atom if it is Active

Cannot delete Atom from the Applications folder? Here’s the first tip: before executing the standard uninstall, you need to make sure that Atom has been totally deactivated. If an app keeps running, you will not be able to delete it to the Trash.

There are several ways to (force) quit an active or frozen app in macOS/Mac OS X:

 

(1)Right click on the app icon appearing in the Dock and choose Quit

(2)Head to click Atom from the Menu Bar and then choose Quit Atom

(3)Launch Activity Monitor, type the app name in the search box, select any process pertaining to the target app, click X on the upper left corner, and click Quit button

(4)Press the Option – Command – Esc keystroke to bring up the Quit Applications window, select Atom in the list and click Force Quit button

In some cases you may fail to shut down large, security or malicious apps even by these options. The last way is to (5) reboot your Mac into Safe Mode to kill the app.

Second Step: Uninstall Atom (2 Options)

There are two different way of removing Atom for Mac – manually or automatically.

Option 1: remove Atom by utilizing handy Osx Uninstaller

Are you looking for a trouble-free way to get rid of Atom? Have you thought of utilizing a professional removal tool? If the answer is yes, we recommend you to try Osx Uninstaller – a lightweight but powerful tool that could help you easily remove Atom or any other unwanted apps. The uninstallation can be done by several clicks.

This video clip shows you how quickly and effortlessly you can remove Atom:

• Launch Osx Uninstaller through Launchpad, Spotlight or /Applications folder.
• Select Atom in the interface and click the Run Analysis button.

• Click the Complete Uninstall button, and click Yes in the pop-up dialog box.
• Once the removal is complete, click Back to Interface to re-scan your Mac.

So that’s it. The whole uninstall process continues even less than one minute, and all components created by Atom have been deleted in one click. The mechanism in this tool is so intuitive and easy-to-operate that even beginners can handle it at ease.

Option 2: uninstall Atom in Applications folder and Trash

Wanna know how to uninstall Atom without using a 3rd party tool? You will need to delete the app in the Applications folder and then permanently delete it in Trash.

• Open up Finder and click the Applications folder on the left side.
• Locate Atom in the folder, right click on it and choose Move to Trash.
• Head to Finder menu, choose Empty Trash, and click Empty Trash again. Alternative, right click Trash icon in dock, choose Empty Trash and click Empty Trash again.

Warning: Emptying Trash is irrevocable and everything in the Trash will be deleted from your Mac immediately. Before performing this act, you are suggested to check if all items in the Trash are no longer needed. If you want to avoid any risk in this part, you can just delete Atom in the Trash. To do so, click Trash in Dock, locate and right click Atom, choose Delete Immediately, and click Delete in the pop-up window.

Typically, this trash-to-uninstall method can be used to uninstall third party apps in all versions of macOS / Mac OS X. If you cannot trash the app, make sure to quit all its processes first. If you need to uninstall apps frequently, it is a wise option to take advantage of Osx Uninstaller, which helps you avoid the repetitive, laborious work.

Last Step: Delete Leftovers in ~/Library

Is the uninstallation finished now? The answer may be negative. Like most third apps, Atom creates files like preferences or caches and stores them separately under the ~/Library directory. Those files will not automatically removed when the app is uninstalled. Though occupying certain disk space, they may not harm the system. But if you wish to thoroughly remove Atom, you’d better sweep them out manually.

• In a Finder window, click Go from the Menu Bar, and choose Go to Folder.
• Type ~/Library and hit Enter key to open up the user library inside home folder.

• Type Atom in the search box, and click ‘Library’ next to ‘This Mac’.
• Select the items whose names contain the keyword, and move them to the Trash.

• Continue to detect Atom leftovers in the top level Library (/Library).
• Empty the Trash to permanently delete all Atom components.

Here are the directories that may contain Atom components:
~/Library/Caches, ~/Library/Preferences, ~/Library/Application Support, ~/Library/Saved Application State, ~/Library/LaunchAgents, ~/Library/LaunchDaemons, ~/Library/PreferencePanes, ~/Library/StartupItems

Warning: Again, once you delete items in Trash, the items cannot be restored (at least by normal means). Before permanently remove those Atom-related files in Trash, we strongly suggest you to reboot your Mac and use it for some days to see if any problem happens. If issues occur, go to check if you mistakenly delete anything there.

So far we have shared both the manual and automated ways to uninstall Atom for Mac. Is this post helpful for you? Which option do you think is more time-saving and high-efficient? Manual uninstallation requires no extra money but your time and some advanced skills, while using Osx Uninstaller – a paid software – poses no technical requirements for Mac beginners and can solve (at least most) uninstall issues on Mac.