How to uninstall CrossOver on a Mac, its bottles, and what stays after the app is gone
CrossOver's bottles hold every Windows program you installed and are often the biggest part. What it left on our Mac after the app was removed: seven places.
How do I completely uninstall CrossOver on a Mac?
- Keep any bottle you want. Export it from CrossOver (Bottle, Export Bottle to Archive) while the app is still installed.
- Quit CrossOver and move it from Applications to the Trash.
- Move
~/Library/Application Support/CrossOverto the Trash. This is where the bottles are. - Move
~/Applications/CrossOverto the Trash. It holds launchers for your Windows programs. - Move the remaining items in the table below to the Trash.
What does CrossOver leave behind?
| Where | Size here | What it is |
|---|---|---|
~/Library/Application Support/CrossOver/Bottles | 0 here | Every bottle, with the Windows programs inside |
.../CrossOver/tie | 20 MB | Install helpers |
.../CrossOver/cxfixes.xml and registry cache | 392 KB | Compatibility fixes |
~/Applications/CrossOver | empty folder | Launchers for Windows programs |
~/Library/Preferences/com.codeweavers.CrossOver*.plist | 8 KB | Two settings files |
~/Library/WebKit/com.codeweavers.CrossOver | 696 KB | Web view data |
~/Library/HTTPStorages/com.codeweavers.CrossOver | 64 KB | Web storage |
~/Library/Saved Application State/com.codeweavers.CrossOverHelper... | 12 KB | Window state |
On our Mac CrossOver had been removed earlier and the bottles were already empty, so the leftovers came to 21 MB. With bottles in use, that one folder is where the gigabytes are.
Where are CrossOver bottles stored?
In ~/Library/Application Support/CrossOver/Bottles, one folder per bottle. Each is a small Windows drive: drive_c holds the programs and their data. To see what each takes, sort that folder by size, or see virtual machines taking up space for VMs and similar.
Find what is left in one look
Free Mac shows each bottle as a block sized by what it holds, and moves what you pick to the Trash. Game launchers cover the other usual way Windows games end up on a Mac.
Related: uninstall Screaming Frog and uninstall Pandoc.
Common questions
Where are CrossOver bottles on a Mac?
In ~/Library/Application Support/CrossOver/Bottles. Each folder is one bottle, with its own drive_c.
Does deleting CrossOver delete my Windows programs?
No. The bottles stay in Application Support until you delete them, even with CrossOver gone.
What is the CrossOver folder in my home Applications folder?
It holds launchers CrossOver made for your Windows programs. It is safe to delete once CrossOver is removed.