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How to uninstall Homebrew on a Mac.

By Grant and Brad, who make Pangalin's apps · Updated 10 October 2026

Homebrew provides an official uninstall script. It removes Homebrew and everything you installed with it: every formula and every cask app.

Get the command from Homebrew, not from any other site. The uninstall command downloads and runs Homebrew's script, so copy it from Homebrew's own page: the “Uninstall Homebrew” section at github.com/Homebrew/install. That's the same advice we give for any Terminal command.

Uninstall Homebrew

Check what you'd lose: brew list shows everything installed with Homebrew. Note anything you'll want to reinstall another way.
Open Homebrew's page above and copy the uninstall command from the “Uninstall Homebrew” section.
Paste it into Terminal and follow the prompts. Homebrew's script also has a --dry-run option to show what it would remove without removing anything (see its --help).

What it removes, and what stays

Removes Homebrew's folder (/opt/homebrew on Apple silicon, /usr/local on Intel), with every installed formula and cask, and apps in Applications that link into it.
Removes Homebrew's caches and logs in ~/Library/Caches/Homebrew and ~/Library/Logs/Homebrew.
Leaves /usr/local itself and any folders that aren't empty, and lists what it left at the end.

Just want to remove one app installed with Homebrew? Use brew uninstall --cask plus the app's name instead; Pangalin Uninstaller offers that route too: for a Homebrew app, its review shows the command and an Uninstall with Homebrew button, and the leftovers you tick go to the Trash.

Afterwards

Check System Settings › General › Login Items & Extensions for anything still named Homebrew; see login items. An app that's still in your Trash can stay listed there until you empty the Trash or restart; that's normal macOS behaviour.
Empty the Trash when you're sure. Emptying the Trash is permanent.

Based on Homebrew's own documentation, checked October 2026. Menu names can change between versions.

Then check for anything Homebrew left behind.

Once the app is gone, Pangalin Uninstaller's free Leftovers scan lists files left behind by apps that are no longer installed, by name and size. Apple's files are never included. It also shows where each one is and moves the ones you choose to the Trash in one go, with Undo.

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