🧹 What gets removed
Every macOS location soap scans for leftover files and how it matches them to an app.
soap removes the app bundle plus the scattered files apps leave behind across
macOS. Matches are found by app name and by bundle identifier (for example
com.spotify.client), plus any <vendor>/ subdirectories derived from the
bundle ID. For Homebrew casks, soap also merges in the cask's
zap stanza — the
maintainer-curated list of known leftover files.
📂 Locations scanned
| Location | What's typically there |
|---|---|
/Applications | The app bundle |
~/Library/Application Support | App data |
~/Library/Caches | Cached data |
~/Library/Containers | Sandboxed app data |
~/Library/Preferences | .plist config files |
~/Library/Logs | App logs |
~/Library/LaunchAgents | Per-user background services |
/Library/LaunchDaemons | System-wide background services |
~/Library/HTTPStorages | HTTP caches |
~/Library/Group Containers | Shared app-group data |
~/Library/Saved Application State | Window state (.savedState) |
~/Library/WebKit | WebKit storage |
/private/var/db/receipts | Package receipts |
/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports | Crash reports |
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL | Audio drivers |
~/Downloads | Leftover .dmg files |
⚙️ How removal happens
For Homebrew casks, the .app bundle is removed by brew uninstall --zap
(or by manual selection if you decline the brew step). For manual installs, the
bundle is part of the scanned file list.
Everything soap finds is presented as a pre-selected checkbox list — deselect anything you want to keep. Selected files are moved to Trash. Root-owned files that cannot be trashed are handled separately; see Safety.