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Uninstall or reinstall the desktop app: what stays on your account

You might be here because: “how do I uninstall Driftstack” · “remove the desktop app completely” · “will uninstalling delete my profiles” · “how do I reinstall the app” · “reinstall Driftstack from the download” · “what is left on my computer after removing the app” · “does uninstalling cancel my subscription”

Short answer

Removing the desktop app deletes nothing on your Driftstack account: your profiles, proxies, folders and tags, settings and AI chat history stay on the account and come back when you sign in again, on this computer or any other. Before you remove it, sign out in the app (Sign out in Settings, the Connected panel; or the sidebar; or ⌘ Shift L) so its sign-in is removed from this computer too. Then remove the app the usual way for your system (below). To reinstall, download the newest version from https://driftstack.io/download/ and install it over the old copy.

Check first

  • Uninstalling is not cancelling. Your plan and your account carry on until you cancel in the dashboard (Billing) or ask for the account to be deleted. See Cancel your subscription and Delete my account.
  • Recordings live on this computer, not on your account. Keep any you need before you delete the app’s data folder (step 2).
  • Signing out does not revoke the key the app used. It keeps working until you revoke it in the web dashboard.

Likely causes and fixes

  1. Sign out first. In the app, choose Sign out (in Settings, the Connected panel; or the sidebar; or ⌘ Shift L). It removes the app’s sign-in from this computer’s secure credential store, along with the copy of your account the app keeps so it opens quickly; everything on your account stays. What ‘Sign out on this computer’ removes and keeps has the full list. If you skip this on a Mac, the sign-in stays in your Keychain under the name dev.driftstack.gui.
  2. Removing it on a Mac. Quit Driftstack and move it from Applications to the Trash. Move the companion app named “Driftstack Simulator” from Applications to the Trash as well: Driftstack keeps it there for its session windows. The app’s settings, recordings and diagnostic log are in the folder ~/Library/Application Support/dev.driftstack.gui, which moving the app does not touch; delete that folder too if you want them gone.
  3. Removing it on Windows. The installer put Driftstack in your Windows user account together with its own uninstaller; remove it with that uninstaller.
  4. Removing it on Linux. If you use the .AppImage, delete the file. If you installed the .deb, remove the driftstack package, for example with sudo apt remove driftstack.
  5. Reinstalling. Download the newest version from the releases page and install it over the old copy, the same way as the first time (Download and install the desktop app). A reinstall does not remove your profiles or settings, which live on your account, and your sign-in and recordings stay unless you signed out or deleted them. If you signed out, the setup wizard opens and you sign in with your browser again.

If it still fails

If the app will not uninstall, or comes back after a reinstall with a problem this page does not cover, press Talk to a person in this chat (or open Help in the dashboard) and include your operating system, the app version (Settings) and the exact message.