Clean uninstall SketchUp for Mac

Clean uninstall SketchUp on MacOS

You may be finding errors or bugsplats in SketchUp and been asked to perform a 'Clean' uninstall. This process removes more that just the application and includes some hidden files so take note of what plugins are downloaded as the plugins will be removed.

The process is very similar for most SketchUp versions on MacOS just replace the number or # with the year you need to uninstall. If you need to do this on a Windows machine, please see this article.

To Clean Uninstall:

  1. Quit SketchUp. (If you have more than one instance of SketchUp open, make sure you quit all instances of SketchUp.)
  2. Right-click the Finder app and 'Go to folder...' and type / and you should see Go to: Macintosh HD
  3. Delete the SketchUp folder from the main library:
    1. In the Macintosh folder, click Library, and then Application Support.
    2. In the Application Support folder, find the SketchUp # folder, and then drag it to the trash.
      Note - This will delete your plug ins so take note of what ones you have before deleting as these will need to be manually reinstalled.

      For SketchUp 2024 the folder will simply be "SketchUp 2024".
  4. Delete the SketchUp folder from your user library:
    1. In the Finder window, go back to Macintosh, click Users > Your Username > then click the hidden Library folder.

      Press Shift, Command and Full stop/period key to unhide the library folder.
    2. Open the Application Support folder.
    3. In the Application Support folder, find the SketchUp # folder, and then drag it to the trash.
      Note - Again this will delete plugins, templates, materials. If you need to keep these move them out from the SketchUp folder, you can put them back later once reinstalled as seen here.
  5. Delete the SketchUp application:
    1. In the left pane of the Finder window, click Applications. Or use the "Go" at the top of the screen and select Applications
    2. Find SketchUp # folder, and then drag it to the trash, or right-click 'Move to bin'.
  6. Delete the plist file:
    1. In the Finder window, go back to Macintosh, click Users > Your Username > then click Library* > Preferences
    2. In the Preferences folder, drag any of the following files, if present, to the trash:
      • com.sketchup.SketchUp.2024.plist
      • com.sketchup.LayOut.2024.plist
      • com.sketchup.StyleBuilder.2024.plist
Finally empty the trash. Then reinstall SketchUp 

If you continue to have difficulty, please open a ticket on our support desk by emailing support@cadsoftwaredirect.com