How to uninstall Python3 on MacOS

From big data analysis and data mining to research programming, Python can be a great general-purpose language. It’s super simple to use and very flexible, allowing programmers to perform a wide variety of tasks without too much hassle. But that doesn’t mean you keep it forever. You may want to switch to another language or just remove it from your Mac. The problem is that dragging the icon to the Trash won’t do the trick on its own. You’ll have to do a bit more work before you can remove Python from your Mac for good.

Fortunately, there are more than enough ways for this to happen.

Uninstall Python 3 manually

The first way to remove Python from your Mac involves manual work. These are the steps you need to follow:

1. From the Dock at the bottom of your Mac screen, right-click on the Python icon and select Exit. You cannot remove the program until you close it and stop all its background processes.
2. Go to Activity Monitor and see if there are any active processes. If so, click the X button in the upper-right corner to stop them.
3. Go to Founder > Applications and then drag the Python icon to the Trash.
4. Find and delete all Python service files created while you were using the program. This step can be a bit tricky, so here’s what to do:

First, go to the Library folder. To do this, click Go > Go to Folder (or press Shift-Command-G ) and then type ~ / Library in the corresponding field.

Since not all files will be visible, you will need to use an app like Funter to show hidden files. Once you do, drag all the files from the Python service to the Trash. Then the show will be gone forever.

Now, this process may seem a bit tedious. There has to be a simpler way to remove Python from your Mac, right?

Fortunately, there is more than one.

Uninstall Python 3 using Terminal

If you’ve used the Terminal app on your Mac and you know how it works, you’re in luck. You can remove Python 3 by following a few simple steps:

1. Open the Terminal app
2. Type the following to remove the frame:
   sudo rm -rf /Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.7
3. Delete the application directory:
   sudo rm -rf “/ Applications / Python 3.7”
4. Make sure the symbolic links in / usr / local / bin are exited with the following command:
   ls -l / usr / local / bin | grep ‘../Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.7’
5. Remove the links:
   cd / usr / local / bin / ls -l / usr / local / bin | grep ‘../Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.7’ | awk ‘{print $ 9}’ | tr -d @ | xargs rm

Now keep in mind that ‘ 3.7 ‘ in all the above commands is just an example so you need to replace it with your current version.

Also, it is strongly recommended that you do not use Terminal unless you already have experience with it. If you are not completely sure what you are doing, this method may do more harm than good. Also, there is a simple way to remove Python from your Mac without messing with the commands.

Uninstall Python 3 with MacFly Pro

By far the simplest way to remove Python is with a little help from a third-party application. And MacFly Pro is a great option. When you download the application, follow these steps:

1. Quit Python and all related processes.
2. Launch MacFly Pro, then select Applications
3. Press Scan.
4. Select Python Launcher.app, IDLE.app, Build Applet.app from the list
5. Click Uninstall Selected. All applications and related data will be removed.
6. Open Finder > Applications and move the Python 3.X folder (your version of Python) to the Trash.
7. Empty the Trash folder.

There are a few other app cleaners that you can use, but they all work similarly. The idea is to save yourself some headaches and delete all files automatically instead of selecting them manually. As you can imagine, doing so will allow you to remove Python in a quick and easy way.

Conclusion

As highlighted, the options for removing Python from your Mac are anything but limited. All that is left to do now is choose the method that works best for you. While the third-party method is undoubtedly the simplest, you can go for the other two if you want to take matters into your own hands.

So why have you decided to remove Python 3? Do you have any other ways to share with the community? Feel free to post your thoughts and ideas in the comment section below.