How to Uninstall R on Mac: Complete Removal Without Lingering Files

Uninstalling R on your Mac should take less than 10 minutes—but I’ve seen users spend hours chasing leftover files after a messy removal. ⚡ The key is hitting the right folders in the right order, whether you installed R through the traditional package or via Homebrew.

I learned this the hard way when a half-removed R installation caused conflicts with a fresh Python setup.

First, check how you installed R: if it’s the standard .pkg version, drag the R app from /Applications to Trash. For Homebrew installs, brew uninstall r does most of the work—but don’t stop there.

The real cleanup happens in /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/, where lingering files can cause silent errors. I’ve also seen residual configs in ~/.R/ that need manual deletion.

After removing the core files, verify R is truly gone by running which R or R --version in Terminal—if nothing appears, you’re golden. One common mistake? Forgetting to clear environment variables like PATH if you modified them. I keep a backup of my original ~/.bash_profile just in case.

For RStudio users, the .app bundle in /Applications handles most of it, but check ~/Library/RStudio/ for leftover settings. If you’re reinstalling later, this thorough cleanup ensures a fresh start—no phantom dependencies or permission errors. Trust me, your future self will thank you.

What you need

Step-by-Step instructions for removing R completely from macOS

Here's the foolproof method I use to purge R and all its dependencies from macOS without leaving traces.

Open Activity Monitor from Applications > Utilities. Look for any processes containing "R," "RStudio," or "libR" in the Name column. Select each and click the Quit Process button. This prevents file locks that could interfere with deletion.

Close RStudio if open, then force quit it via the Dock if necessary. I always verify the Dock icon disappears before proceeding—this confirms all R-related processes are terminated. Any lingering processes will cause permission errors during uninstallation.

Navigate to /Applications and locate the R application. Right-click and select Show Package Contents. Open the Contents folder, then Resources, and double-click the uninstall script. This launches the official uninstaller.

Follow the on-screen prompts to remove R. The uninstaller handles most system-level files, but I've found it often misses user-installed libraries. After completion, verify the R application is gone from Applications and no R icon remains in the Dock.

Open Terminal and run these commands one at a time to purge leftover files:

sudo rm -rf /Library/Frameworks/R.framework

sudo rm -rf /Library/PreferencePanes/R.pane

rm -rf ~/Library/R

For user-installed libraries, run rm -rf ~/Library/R/arm64 (for Apple Silicon) or rm -rf ~/Library/R/x8664 (for Intel). Double-check with ls ~/Library/R—the folder should now be empty or missing entirely.

For CRAN package remnants, navigate to ~/Library/R/arm64/library (or x8664) and delete any remaining folders. This ensures no package dependencies linger. Finally, run sudo update-alternatives --remove-all r to clear any system path references.

Open a new Terminal window and run which R. If nothing appears, R is fully removed. Next, check echo $PATH—ensure no paths like /Library/Frameworks/R.framework/Resources remain. If they do, edit your shell configuration file (~/.zshrc or ~/.bashprofile) and remove any R-related PATH or LD_LIBRARY_PATH entries.