4 Ways to Find and Delete "Application Support" Folder on Mac

On your Mac, there are several Application Support folders located in different places, each with its own purpose:

• /Library/Application Support – Stores app support files shared across all users, such as data, configurations, and resources.
• ~/Library/Application Support – Holds user-specific app support files, including personal settings, data, and configurations.
• /System/Library/Application Support – Contains system-level support files used by macOS and built-in services.

Over time, these folders, especially ~/Library/Application Support, can grow large as apps save more data and files, taking up significant internal storage. This often leads users to wonder: Can I delete the Application Support folder on my Mac?

In certain cases, the answer is yes. In this post, we’ll focus on the ~/Library/Application Support folder and show you how to locate and safely delete it when necessary.

What Is the Application Support Folder on Your Mac?

The "~/Library/Application Support" directory is concealed in your Mac. Located in the user’s home directory, it contains application information, preferences, and resources for the logged-in user.

This is an important directory as it maintains your configuration and data for various applications. On this account, each user of the system has their own configuration and data without interfering with others. The directory is accessible only to the user whose home directory contains it. This attempts to provide a secure and individualized environment for storing application data.

Can You Delete Application Support Folder on Your Mac?

Technically, you can delete the “Application Support” folder from your Mac, but you‘d better not do that. The reason is that the folder contains important information and settings for the majority of the applications. If you delete the whole folder, the applications will lose their configuration and data, or worse, will not work at all.

Normally, you can locate and delete the “Application Support” folder when you need to uninstall the application. If you attempt to free up internal space on your Mac, consider checking and deleting files or applications that you don’t use anymore.

How to Find and Delete Application Support Folder on Your Mac

Considering the “Application Support” folder contains important data and settings for many applications, you’re not supposed to delete it. However, suppose you’re certain that you want to delete it - you want to troubleshoot an issue, simply explore what’s stored there, or completely delete an application. In that case, you can take the following measures to locate and delete the “Application Support” folder.

Find and Delete Application Support Folder with BuhoCleaner

Normally, you can get to the “Application Support” folder by entering the path command. However, if you’re looking to delete more junk files than the “Application Support” folder, you can turn to a Mac cleaning tool.

Among the most popular Mac cleaners in 2025, BuhoCleaner is worth trying. Under the “Toolkit”, you can easily find and delete temporary data stored in locations like ~/Library/Application Support, ~/Library/Caches, and ~/Library/Preferences. Here, the files are categorized by various apps and types of data, so that you can easily locate the specific files in seconds.

Besides, with the “App Uninstall” mode, you can not only uninstall unwanted applications, but also eliminate leftover files, such as temporary files, redundant language packs, preference files, caches, application updates, support files, plugins, widgets, etc.

Apart from the data related to applications, BuhoCleaner also targets a group of common junk files and redundant files, such as temporary files, browser caches, duplicate files, large files, and more. By deleting redundant files and completely deleting the application, you can free up disk space and improve the performance of your macOS.

Here is how to find and delete the Application Support folder on your Mac with BuhoCleaner:

Find and Delete Application Support Folder with Finder

To open the Application Support folder via Finder, take the following steps.

1. Open the Finder window on your Mac. In the menu bar, navigate to the “Go” menu and select “Go to Folder”.
2. Alternatively, you can press Shift, Command, and G to open the window.
3. Type ~/Library Application Support into the pop-up window and press Go.
4. Then you’ll see the content regarding your user account in the Application Support folder. Now, you can click on “Move to Trash”.

Find and Delete Application Support Folder with Spotlight Search

Open the Spotlight Search with shortcut keys, and then you can navigate to the Application Support folder.

1. Launch Spotlight Search by pressing Command and Space keys on your keyboard.
2. Type “Application Support” in the search bar to access the folder.

Find and Delete Application Support Folder with Terminal

Also, you can find and delete the Application Support folder via the built-in Terminal app on your Mac.

1. Click on the Launchpad icon, and scroll through to open Terminal.
2. Enter the command: cd ~/Library/Application\ Support to access the "Application Support" folder.

   

3. Use the rm command and -rf option to delete the "Application Support" folder: rm -rf "Application Support"
   • rm is the command to remove files and directories.
   • -r means it will delete the directory and all its contents.
   • -f means it will delete without prompting.
4. Replace AppName with the subfolder of the application that you attempt to delete: rm -rf "AppName".

FAQs About Application Support Folder on Mac

If you have further questions about the Application Support folder on your Mac, please refer to the FAQs below.

1. What is the purpose of Apple Application Support?

   It aims to store additional files and resources that are used by the applications. These files may include libraries, plugins, templates, and other data that are essential for the app to operate. Although these files may take up a large amount of storage space, you’re not supposed to delete the folder when you’re still using the application.

2. Is the Application Support folder safe to delete?

   It's safe to delete the Application Support folder in some cases. For example, you can delete the subfolders of applications that you’ve already uninstalled. This can free up storage space without affecting the functions of other apps.

3. Do you need application support files on your Mac?

   Yes, you need the Application Support folder on your Mac. These files are important as they can keep your apps running. Thus, ensure you don’t use the app anymore before deleting the folder.

Conclusion

In conclusion, you can delete the Application Support folder unless you have to. If you’re still using the app, don’t remove the associated app folders. This is because it stores specific data, settings, and configurations that are essential for your app to run.

It can be a little bit tricky to get to the Application Support folder as it’s a hidden directory. Nevertheless, you can enter a specific command path or use a Mac cleaner like BuhoCleaner to find and delete the folder. Apart from deleting temporary data, you can also use BuhoCleaner to remove duplicate files, browser caches, large files, apps, and more.