How to Completely Uninstall Anaconda on Mac: Quick Guide

Installing Anaconda on a Mac is easy, but it can be complicated to get rid of it, let alone clean up all traces it lefts on your internal drive. Here in this blog, we will explain what Anaconda is and how to uninstall it from your Mac in 3 ways.

What Is Anaconda?

Anaconda is a free and open-source distribution platform for Python and R programming languages. It has a large number of installation packages for Data Science, Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence. In addition, its package manager, called conda, can help you manage packages, dependencies, and environments effectively. 

However, there are some reasons why you want to uninstall it from your Mac. It may be that it is not as helpful as you expected, or you just don't have enough storage space. If you want to know how to remove them from your Mac, keep reading.

How to Uninstall Anaconda on Mac: The Easy Way

Uninstalling Anaconda is easy if you have the right tool in hand. BuhoCleaner is ready to help. It lets you remove the Anaconda application and its associated files with just a few clicks. If you are not a seasoned Mac user, using BuhoCleaner to remove Anaconda may be your best choice.

Here's how to uninstall Anaconda with BuhoCleaner:

1. Download, install and launch BuhoCleaner.
2. Click App Uninstall in the sidebar and you will find all apps installed on your Mac.
3. Find Anaconda in the results list, tick it, and click the Remove button.

   

How to Manually Uninstall Anaconda on Mac with Terminal

According to the official, you have two options to uninstall Anaconda on your Mac. One is simple removal, and the other is complete removal. The former will delete the entire Anaconda directory only, while the latter will completely uninstall Anaconda and all its related files.

How to Do a Simple Remove:

1. Open Terminal.
2. Type and run the command: cd ~ ; rm -rf anaconda3 to remove the entire Anaconda directory.

How to Do a Full Remove:

1. Open Terminal.
2. Type in the command: conda install anaconda-clean and press the Return key to install the Anaconda-Clean package.
3.  Then enter and run one of the following commands to remove Anaconda-related files and directories.
   • anaconda-clean 
   • anaconda-clean --yes
4. Type and run the command: cd ~ ; rm -rf anaconda3.
5. The last step is to remove the backups of Anaconda-Clean. Just run the command below into Terminal: cd ~ ; rm -rf .anaconda_backup.

How to Manually Uninstall Anaconda on Mac with Finder

1. Open Activity Monitor and quit all the processes of Anaconda.
2. Open Finder and find Anaconda in Applications.
3. Right-click on the Anaconda icon, select Show Original, and drag Anaconda Navigator to the trash.
4. In the Applications folder, find the Anaconda Navigator icon and drag it to the trash.

   

5. Click the Go menu in Finder and choose Go to Folder.
6. Type the following paths to find and delete all files related to Anaconda.
   • ~/Library/Receipts/io.continuum.pkg.anaconda-client.bom
   • ~/Library/Receipts/io.continuum.pkg.anaconda-client.plist
   • ~/Library/Receipts/io.continuum.pkg.anaconda-navigator.bom
   • ~/Library/Receipts/io.continuum.pkg.anaconda-navigator.plist
   • ~/Library/Receipts/io.continuum.pkg.anaconda-project.bom
   • ~/Library/Receipts/io.continuum.pkg.anaconda-project.plist
   • ~/Library/Receipts/io.continuum.pkg.anaconda.bom
   • ~/Library/Receipts/io.continuum.pkg.anaconda.plist 
7. Even if you have completed the above steps, there is no guarantee that all relevant files will be deleted. You'd better check the following folders to remove all the Anaconda associated files.
   • ~/Library/Containers
   • ~/Library/Application Support
   • ~/Library/Logs 
   • ~/Library/Application Scripts
   • ~/Library/Caches
   • ~/Library/Preferences
8. Empty your Trash.

Bonus Tip: How to Remove Anaconda PATH from .bash_profile

After deleting Anaconda and its related files, you may also want to remove its path from the .bash-profile. Here's what you need to do:

1. Open Terminal via Spotlight or Launchpad.
2. Enter and run the command: cd ~.
3. Type and run the command: open .bash_profile.
4. Delete the content in the red box in the picture, and then save the file.

5. Back to the Terminal, type and run the command: source ~/.bash_profile.

Conclusion

Now you know how to uninstall Anaconda on Mac in three ways. As you can see, uninstalling Anaconda using BuhoCleaner is easy and quick. If you don't want to spend a lot of time dealing with commands and related files, let BuhoCleaner do it for you.

By the way, BuhoCleaner is also equipped with other practical tools, such as junk cleaner, duplicate file and large file finder, and startup program manager. Give it a try now.