Need Help Uninstalling Steam on Mac – Can Anyone Guide Me?

General Mac Tutorials
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Hi all, I need to uninstall Steam from my Mac. It’s been acting up, and after troubleshooting with no success, I’ve decided a full reinstall might be best. Can anyone walk me through the steps to completely remove Steam? Thanks in advance!

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Hey there!

So, you’re looking to uninstall Steam on your Mac? No worries, I’ve got you covered! Whether Steam is being buggy or you just feel like starting fresh, completely removing it (and all its related content) can be quite straightforward. I’ll walk you through a few different methods so you can pick the one that suits you best. Let’s get into it.

Method 1: Uninstalling Steam Manually

1. Quit Steam (if it’s running):

  • Before you start the uninstall process, make sure Steam isn’t running. Look for the Steam icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen.
  • Click on it and choose “Quit Steam.” You can also use Command + Q to quit Steam directly.

2. Delete the Steam Application:

  • Open the Finder application.
  • Go to the “Applications” folder.
  • Find the Steam app, then right-click (or control-click) on it and select “Move to Trash.” You can also drag the app to the Trash bin.

3. Remove Related Files and Folders:

  • While deleting the Steam app removes the application itself, there’s additional data saved elsewhere on your Mac that you need to delete.
  • In Finder, click on “Go” in the menu bar and select “Go to Folder.”
  • Type in ~/Library/Application Support/Steam/ and press Enter. This will take you to the folder where Steam’s data is stored.
  • Select everything in the Steam folder and move it to the Trash.

4. Empty the Trash:

  • Once you’ve moved the related files and the Steam application to the Trash, right-click on the Trash bin in your dock.
  • Select “Empty Trash.” This will permanently delete the files.

That’s it for the manual method! This should leave no trace of Steam on your Mac. Now, onto another method if you prefer a different approach.

Method 2: Using a Third-Party Uninstaller

Sometimes a third-party app can make things easier, as they often get rid of all related files at once. Here are a couple of popular options:

1. AppCleaner:

  • Download and install AppCleaner from the developer’s website.
  • Open AppCleaner.
  • Drag the Steam app from your Applications folder into the AppCleaner window.
  • AppCleaner will scan for all files related to Steam.
  • Click “Remove” to delete the Steam application and all associated files.

2. CleanMyMac X:

  • Download and install CleanMyMac X from the MacPaw website.
  • Open CleanMyMac X and go to the “Uninstaller” module.
  • Find Steam in the list of applications.
  • Check the box next to Steam, and then click “Uninstall.”

These apps can offer a more user-friendly experience and ensure that no leftover files are hanging around.

Method 3: Cleaning Up Leftover Files Manually

If you’ve already deleted Steam but suspect there are still leftover files, you can manually hunt them down. Here’s how:

1. Check Common Library Folders:

  • Open Finder and select “Go” from the menu bar, then “Go to Folder.”

  • Check these paths for any Steam related files or folders and delete them:

    ~/Library/Application Support/Steam
~/Library/Preferences/com.valvesoftware.steam.plist
~/Library/Logs/Steam
~/Library/Caches/com.valvesoftware.steam

2. Look for Other System Folders:

  • Sometimes applications save data in other hidden folders.
  • Some places to look include ~/Library/Containers/ and ~/Library/Application Scripts/.

Reinstalling Steam

If you’re planning to reinstall Steam after this, it’s super straightforward:

1. Download Steam:

  • Go to the official Steam website.
  • Download the Mac version of the Steam client.

2. Install Steam:

  • Open the downloaded file and follow the on-screen instructions to install Steam on your Mac.

3. Log In and Restore Your Games:

  • After installing, open Steam and log in with your credentials.
  • Your game library should still be intact online. If you’ve backed up your games locally before uninstalling, just restore from the backups.

Final Clean-Up

1. Check for Other Data:

  • If you had mods or third-party content in your Steam games, check if there’s residual data to clean up.
  • These might be in the same ~/Library/Application Support folder under specific game names or mods.

2. Backup Before Uninstalling (Optional):

  • If you’ve game saves or specific configurations you want to restore later, consider making a backup.
  • Just copy the necessary files to an external drive or cloud storage.

Conclusion

There you have it! Whether you decided to go the manual route or used an app to help out, you should now have a clean slate for a Steam reinstall or just a bit more space on your Mac. Hopefully, this guide helped you get exactly what you needed. If you’ve got any more questions or run into trouble, feel free to ask!

Good luck! :rocket: