uninstall.md

Uninstall

This guide covers how to uninstall Zed on different operating systems.

macOS

Standard Installation

If you installed Zed by downloading it from the website:

  1. Quit Zed if it's running
  2. Open Finder and go to your Applications folder
  3. Drag Zed to the Trash (or right-click and select "Move to Trash")
  4. Empty the Trash

Homebrew Installation

If you installed Zed using Homebrew, use the following command:

brew uninstall --cask zed

Or for the preview version:

brew uninstall --cask zed@preview

Removing User Data (Optional)

To completely remove all Zed configuration files and data:

  1. Open Finder
  2. Press Cmd + Shift + G to open "Go to Folder"
  3. Delete the following directories if they exist:
    • ~/Library/Application Support/Zed
    • ~/Library/Saved Application State/dev.zed.Zed.savedState
    • ~/Library/Logs/Zed
    • ~/Library/Caches/dev.zed.Zed

Linux

Standard Uninstall

If Zed was installed using the default installation script, run:

zed --uninstall

You'll be prompted whether to keep or delete your preferences. After making a choice, you should see a message that Zed was successfully uninstalled.

If the zed command is not found in your PATH, try:

$HOME/.local/bin/zed --uninstall

or:

$HOME/.local/zed.app/bin/zed --uninstall

Package Manager

If you installed Zed using a package manager (such as Flatpak, Snap, or a distribution-specific package manager), consult that package manager's documentation for uninstallation instructions.

Manual Removal

If the uninstall command fails or Zed was installed to a custom location, you can manually remove:

  • Installation directory: ~/.local/zed.app (or your custom installation path)
  • Binary symlink: ~/.local/bin/zed
  • Configuration and data: ~/.config/zed

Windows

Standard Installation

  1. Quit Zed if it's running
  2. Open Settings (Windows key + I)
  3. Go to "Apps" > "Installed apps" (or "Apps & features" on Windows 10)
  4. Search for "Zed"
  5. Click the three dots menu next to Zed and select "Uninstall"
  6. Follow the prompts to complete the uninstallation

Alternatively, you can:

  1. Open the Start menu
  2. Right-click on Zed
  3. Select "Uninstall"

Removing User Data (Optional)

To completely remove all Zed configuration files and data:

  1. Press Windows key + R to open Run
  2. Type %APPDATA% and press Enter
  3. Delete the Zed folder if it exists
  4. Press Windows key + R again, type %LOCALAPPDATA% and press Enter
  5. Delete the Zed folder if it exists

Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues during uninstallation:

  • macOS/Windows: Ensure Zed is completely quit before attempting to uninstall. Check Activity Manager (macOS) or Task Manager (Windows) for any running Zed processes.
  • Linux: If the uninstall script fails, check the error message and consider manual removal of the directories listed above.
  • All platforms: If you want to start fresh while keeping Zed installed, you can delete the configuration directories instead of uninstalling the application entirely.

For additional help, see our Linux-specific documentation or visit the Zed community.