
VS Code is a popular code editor that many developers use and love it. However, it can irritate developers at times, such as when attempting to completely uninstall VS Code. So, if this is your issue, I will provide a proper guide for completely uninstalling vs code in Windows, Mac, and Linux.
Table of Contents
- Why is Visual Studio Code not completely uninstalled?
- Uninstalling Visual Studio Code in Windows OS
- Uninstalling Visual Studio Code in Windows OS using Third-party Software
- Uninstalling Visual Studio Code in Linux
- Uninstalling Visual Studio Code in Mac
- Uninstalling Visual Studio Code in Mac using Third-party Software
Why is Visual Studio Code not completely uninstalled?
Most applications are normally uninstalled by simply uninstalling them through the control panel or with a single uninstalled command in Linux and Mac. However, this does not happen in VS CODE because its settings, plugins, and extensions are stored in a separate location than your VS CODE installation files location. VS Code has done this so that if a developer later encounters a problem with VS Code, the settings will be retained, and if the developer uninstalls and reinstalls then the same settings will be applied automatically, eliminating the need to reconfigure each and every setting on each install/reinstall process.
Uninstalling Visual Studio Code in Windows OS
It provides settings and other information that PC system apps require for operation, as well as settings for third-party applications such as VS Code.


%UserProfile%

%AppData%\Code

%LocalAppData%\Programs\Microsoft VS Code
Uninstalling Visual Studio Code in Windows OS using Third-party Software
If removing vscode becomes too hard, you can use a third-party application to do so. Revo Uninstaller is a popular third-party application for uninstalling applications. It has the ability to completely and cleanly remove applications. It includes both free and paid features. It is always preferable, to begin with, free features.Uninstalling Visual Studio Code in Linux
sudo apt-get --purge remove code
There may also be packages on which vscode relied that are no longer in use. So, use the "autoremove" command to remove those packages as shown below:
sudo apt-get autoremove
sudo apt-get purge --auto-remove code
sudo dpkg --remove visual-studio-code
sudo dpkg --purge visual-studio-code
Uninstalling Visual Studio Code in Mac
- ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.VSCode.helper.plist
- ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.VSCode.plist
- ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.VSCode.ShipIt/
- ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.VSCode
- ~/Library/Application\ Support/Code/
- ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/com.microsoft.VSCode.savedState/
- ~/.vscode/
Here are the steps for uninstalling vscode completely in MacOS:
1 Close VS Code Editor ( if you are using it).
2 In terminal type following rm command one by one with great care.
rm -rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.VSCode.helper.plist
rm -rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.VSCode.plist
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.VSCode
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.VSCode.ShipIt/
rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Code/
rm -rf ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/com.microsoft.VSCode.savedState/
rm -rf ~/.vscode/
With the help of the rm command, the files will be deleted. Also -fr or -rf are also used in combination with rm. Actually -fr is the combination of two distinct arguments "-r" and "-f". Its works are as follows:
- -r: This argument helps to remove files as well as a folder, subfolders, subfiles soon.
- -f: This argument helps to remove those files and folders without any prompt for confirmation. So, -f helps to skip the permission required to delete the contents.
Uninstalling Visual Studio Code in Mac using Third-party Software
You can use a third-party app like PowerMyMac Uninstaller or Delete Apps: Uninstaller to automatically remove the VSCode application along with its settings, extensions, and plugins. They make it easier to find and remove applications. It is also beneficial to delete both apps as well as all associated library files (settings, configurations, caches, log, preferences, and so on)
Conclusion
In this manner, we can easily remove vs code software along with its settings, configurations, extensions, caches, and log. From this article, you should have learned why vscode kept those settings and how to completely uninstall vs code.