How to Uninstall OneDrive on Mac (Keep Your Files)

In short: Removing Microsoft OneDrive is simple once you know the order of operations. This guide walks you through quitting and signing out, moving the app to the Trash, clearing the leftover support files, and keeping your synced documents exactly where you want them.

Maybe OneDrive keeps nagging you to sign in, or you switched to iCloud Drive, or you just want the storage back. Whatever the reason, you can uninstall OneDrive on Mac cleanly in a few minutes. The one thing worth slowing down for is your files: do the steps in the right order and your synced documents stay safe. This guide covers macOS Sonoma and Sequoia (macOS 14 and 15).

Before You Start: Protect Your Synced Files

OneDrive keeps a folder on your Mac, usually at ~/OneDrive or ~/Library/CloudStorage/OneDrive-Personal. If you use Files On-Demand, some items are placeholders that only download when opened. If you delete the app before those files are downloaded, you can lose easy local access to them.

So do this first: open the OneDrive folder in Finder and make sure the documents you care about are downloaded. Right-click any file or folder still showing a cloud icon and choose Always Keep on This Device. Give it time to finish. When everything shows a solid checkmark, your files live on the Mac and inside OneDrive's cloud, and uninstalling the app won't remove them from either place.

If you'd rather keep a fully independent copy, drag the important folders somewhere outside OneDrive first, like your Documents or Desktop folder. That way there's no dependence on the sync client at all.

Step 1: Quit and Sign Out of OneDrive

Click the OneDrive cloud icon in the menu bar at the top-right of your screen. Open its settings (the gear or the three-dot menu, depending on your version), go to the Account tab, and choose Unlink this Mac. Unlinking stops syncing and signs you out without touching the files already on your Mac.

Then quit the app: click the cloud icon again, open the menu, and select Quit OneDrive. Quitting first matters, because macOS won't let you move an app to the Trash while it's still running.

Step 2: Move the App to the Trash

Open Finder and go to your Applications folder. Find OneDrive, drag it to the Trash, or right-click it and choose Move to Trash. If macOS asks for your password, that's normal for removing an app.

Notice the reversible safety net here: the app goes to the Trash, not straight to permanent deletion. If you change your mind in the next few minutes, you can right-click it in the Trash and choose Put Back. Nothing is gone for good until you empty the Trash, so there's no rush and no risk in taking this one step at a time.

Step 3: Clear the Leftover Support Files

Uninstalling the app leaves behind small support files: preferences, caches, and login data. They're harmless but pointless once OneDrive is gone. To find them, open Finder, press Shift + Command + G, and paste each path below one at a time. Look for items with OneDrive or com.microsoft.OneDrive in the name and drag those to the Trash.

• ~/Library/Application Support/OneDrive
• ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.OneDrive
• ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.OneDrive.plist
• ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.OneDrive-mac
• ~/Library/Group Containers (look for folders with a Microsoft or OneDrive identifier)

A couple of rules keep this safe. Only remove items whose names clearly reference OneDrive or Microsoft OneDrive, and stay inside your own ~/Library folder. Never delete anything from the /System folder, and don't touch the OneDrive data folder itself if you still want those files locally.

Step 4: Remove the Login Item

OneDrive usually sets itself to launch at startup. Open System Settings, go to General, then Login Items & Extensions. Under Open at Login, select any OneDrive entry and click the minus button to remove it. This stops the app from trying to relaunch after you restart.

Step 5: Empty the Trash When You're Ready

Once you've confirmed your files are where you want them and the Mac is behaving normally, empty the Trash to reclaim the space. Until you do, everything you removed is still recoverable, which is exactly the point: you get to verify before anything becomes permanent.

A Note on Doing This the Easy Way

Chasing leftover files by hand works, but a good cleaner can find them for you and show a preview before anything moves. Look for one that touches only user-level junk by default, sends removals to the Trash so they stay reversible, and has no reason to phone home. You can confirm that last part yourself with a firewall like Little Snitch: a cleaner watching the network is a red flag, not a feature.

If you want a recommendation, CoreSweep is a solid free pick: free forever, an optional one-time Pro at $49 if you want the extras, reversible Trash-based deletes, and zero telemetry. For a lighter, lower-cost alternative, SkoonMac is the best-value runner-up, free to use with a one-time $19 Pro. Either way, the principle holds: preview first, keep deletions reversible, and let your files stay yours.

The Short Version

Download the files you care about, unlink and quit OneDrive, move the app to the Trash, clear the leftover support files inside your own Library, remove the login item, then empty the Trash once you've checked everything. Done in the right order, you'll uninstall OneDrive on your Mac completely while your synced documents stay exactly where you left them.

Frequently asked questions

Will uninstalling OneDrive delete my files?

No, as long as your files are downloaded to the Mac before you remove the app. If you use Files On-Demand, some items are cloud-only placeholders, so first open the OneDrive folder in Finder, right-click anything with a cloud icon, and choose Always Keep on This Device. Once everything shows a solid checkmark it lives both on your Mac and in the cloud, so uninstalling the app won't remove it from either place.

How do I completely remove OneDrive from my Mac?

Unlink and quit OneDrive, drag the app from Applications to the Trash, then clear the leftover support files inside your own ~/Library folder (preferences, caches, and containers with OneDrive or com.microsoft.OneDrive in the name). Finally remove the OneDrive login item in System Settings and empty the Trash once you've confirmed everything is fine. Doing it in that order removes the app completely while keeping your synced documents safe.

Is it safe to delete the OneDrive leftover files in the Library folder?

Yes, as long as you only remove items whose names clearly reference OneDrive or Microsoft OneDrive and you stay inside your own ~/Library folder. Never delete anything from the /System folder, and don't touch the OneDrive data folder itself if you still want those files locally. Because everything goes to the Trash first, the removal stays reversible until you empty it, so you can verify before anything becomes permanent.

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