Pearcleaner: a Mac app uninstaller and leftover-file cleaner

Dragging an app to the Trash on macOS usually only removes the main binary—its settings and caches stay scattered across the system. Pearcleaner is a free, open-source uninstaller written in Swift: pick an app and it scans the whole disk for related files, and you can also multi-select several apps to uninstall at once. GitHubDaily recommended it in February 2025, calling it an open-source alternative to AppCleaner.

Core features

• One-click uninstall: drag-and-drop or multi-select apps for batch removal along with their leftovers; supports CLI and Deep Link automation.
• Orphaned-file search: scans system directories for orphaned files left behind by already-deleted apps, ready for bulk cleanup.
• Trash monitoring: the Sentinel Monitor watches the Trash and automatically cleans up leftovers as soon as an app is dragged in, using around 2MB of memory.
• Finder right-click uninstall: install the Finder extension and you can uninstall an app straight from its right-click menu in Finder.
• App thinning: strips unneeded universal-binary architectures and removes extra language files, without needing Xcode’s lipo.
• Extended toolbox: covers dev-environment, Homebrew, PKG package, plugin, and service management, plus an app updater and basic Steam support.

Typical use cases

• Fully remove apps you no longer need, clearing out settings, caches, and other leftovers along with them.
• Clean up orphaned files left behind by past uninstalls to free up disk space.
• Thin down universal apps, or manage and update Homebrew packages in one place.

Quick start

Install via Homebrew:

brew install --cask pearcleaner

Or download a prebuilt version from GitHub Releases. On first launch, grant Full Disk Access (needed for file search) and install the Privileged Helper tool (needed to operate on system folders).

Summary

Pearcleaner suits Mac users who want to uninstall apps and clean up leftovers for free and transparently. Two things to note: the license is Apache 2.0 plus Commons Clause (fair-code), which permits free use and modification but not commercial resale; on maintenance, the README states the project has been On Hold since late 2025—the author lost their development machine, so issue responses and new releases are paused, with the latest version v5.4.3 dating to November 2025 (the repo has not been archived). It only supports macOS 13 and above; the only official site is itsalin.com—any other download site is a fake.