Mole Uninstall

Mole Uninstall Skill

Author: Anton Gulin · Tool: opencode-skill-creator · GitHub: @antongulin · Registry: skills.sh

Use this skill when you need to help a user remove macOS applications completely using Mole's uninstall command.

Overview

mo uninstall finds all installed applications (including Homebrew casks), scans their sizes and last-used dates, and removes them along with leftovers.

Command Reference

Basic Usage

mo uninstall                          # Interactive TUI: scan, select apps, confirm delete
mo uninstall AppName                  # Directly uninstall a specific app by name
mo uninstall Safari Chrome             # Uninstall multiple apps at once
mo uninstall --dry-run AppName        # Preview what would be removed
mo uninstall --list                   # List all uninstallable apps (table or JSON)
mo uninstall --permanent AppName      # Delete permanently (skip Trash)
mo uninstall --debug                  # Show detailed operation logs
mo uninstall --help                   # Show help

Flags

App Name Arguments

Pass app names after flags. Matching is case-insensitive and supports:

• Exact match — mo uninstall Slack
• Substring match — mo uninstall slack (matches Slack, Slack Helper, etc.)
• Multiple apps — mo uninstall Slack Discord Zoom

If a name matches multiple apps, all are included.

Workflow Patterns

Pattern 1: List All Uninstallable Apps

mo uninstall --list

Shows a table with: NAME, BUNDLE ID, UNINSTALL NAME (Homebrew cask name if available), and SIZE. Output is JSON when piped:

mo uninstall --list | jq '.[] | select(.source == "Homebrew")'

Pattern 2: Preview Before Uninstalling (Recommended)

mo uninstall --dry-run AppName

Shows what files would be affected without making changes.

Pattern 3: Interactive Uninstall (No Arguments)

mo uninstall

1. Scans all applications from /Applications, ~/Applications, /Volumes/*/Applications
2. Shows a paginated TUI with size and last-used info
3. User selects apps with Space, confirms with Enter
4. Shows uninstall summary with confirmation
5. Moves apps to Trash by default

Pattern 4: Direct Uninstall by Name

mo uninstall Slack

1. Scans apps
2. Matches "Slack" against display names and .app bundle names
3. Shows matched apps with size and last-used
4. Prompts for confirmation
5. Proceeds with uninstall

Pattern 5: Permanent Deletion (Skip Trash)

mo uninstall --permanent AppName

Files are deleted with rm -rf instead of being moved to Trash. Not recoverable. Only use when the user explicitly confirms they want permanent deletion.

Uninstall Behavior

• Default mode: Move to Trash (recoverable). Controlled by MOLE_DELETE_MODE=trash
• Permanent mode: MOLE_DELETE_MODE=permanent — direct rm -rf
• Metadata cache: App metadata (size, last used) cached at ~/.cache/mole/uninstall_app_metadata_v1 for 7 days
• Scan locations: /Applications, ~/Applications, Input Methods directories, /Volumes/*/Applications
• Protected apps: System apps and background-only apps are automatically excluded
• Homebrew cask detection: If an app was installed via Homebrew, the cask name is shown as the uninstall name

Safety Guidance

• Default Trash mode is safe — files can be recovered
• --permanent is irreversible — warn the user before using
• Always suggest --dry-run or --list before destructive operations
• Background-only apps (e.g., login items, system services) are never shown
• Apps in /System are excluded automatically
• Bundle ID protection exists via should_protect_from_uninstall — system-critical bundle IDs are skipped

Exit Codes

• 0: Success or user cancelled
• 130: Interrupted (Ctrl+C)

Related Commands

• mo status — Check disk space before/after uninstall
• mo clean — Clean up leftover app data after uninstall
• mo optimize — Refresh services after removing large apps