Growl is a notification system and pop-up notification implementation for Mac OS X operating systems. Though it isn’t part of the OS, other applications can use Growl to display small notifications about events which may be important to the user. In fact, many third-party apps install Growl without asking user’s permission, and that may explain why some day you unexpectedly find Growl appear on your system. Anyway, if you don’t need Growl anymore for personal reasons, do you really know how to uninstall it properly? This post details two methods to uninstall Growl effectively. Continue reading to learn more about app removal on Mac.

Method 1: Uninstall Growl with MacRemover

MacRemover is a lightweight but powerful uninstaller designed for Mac users to remove any unwanted, incompatible or stubborn app without leaving any trace. Once launched, it will scan the whole system for related app components in a few seconds, and you just need 4 or 5 clicks to complete the whole removal process.

• Download MacRemover and install it by dragging its icon to the Application folder.

• Run MacRemover in Launchpad after quitting Growl. Select Growl appearing on the right side, and click on Run Analysis to proceed.

• Review related files and folders, click Complete Uninstall button, and then click Yes in the pop-up dialog box to confirm Growl uninstall.

After a few seconds Growl will be completely removed from your Mac. Incredibly simple. For those who are looking forward an all-in-one solution to any app removal, MacRemover will be an excellent tool to meet users’ expectation.

Method 2: Delete Growl Using the Trash

If you would like to uninstall Growl by yourself, you should take notice that a drag-to-trash move is not far enough to help you get rid of Growl. Follow the manual steps below to avoid potential issues causing unsuccessful uninstall:

1. Quit Growl Process(es)

Before uninstalling any app, you should always remember to quit all its related processes.

• If the app is frozen, you can hold down Cmd + Opt + Esc, select Growl in the pop-up window and then click Force Quit to quit it (notice: this shortcut for force quit works for the app that appears but not for its hidden processes).

• Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder in Launchpad, select the process(es) associated with Growl, click Quit Process icon in the left corner, and click Quit in the pop-up dialog box (if that doesn’t work, then try Force Quit).

2. Delete Growl to the Trash

First of all, make sure to log into your Mac with an administrator account, or you will be asked for a password when you try to delete something.

Option 1:

• Head to the Applications folder in the Finder, click on the Growl icon, and then drag it to the Trash on the dock. Alternatively you can highlight Growl with a single click, and then press Cmd + Del on your keyboard to begin the uninstall process.

Option 2:

• For the applications that are installed from the App Store, you can go to the Launchpad, search for the application you wanna delete, click and hold the icon with your mouse button until it begins to wiggle and shows the “X” in left upper corner. Then click the “X” icon and click on Delete in the confirmation dialog.

3. Remove Growl Vestiges in Disk

Though Growl has been deleted to the Trash, its lingering files, logs, caches and other miscellaneous contents may be stored stored around the OS X file system. You still need to manually wipe off all the traces associated with this app.

• Open the Finder, go to the Menu Bar, open the “Go” menu, select the entry:|Go to Folder… and then enter the path of the Application Support folder: ~/Library.

• Search for any files or folders with the name of application or its vendor in the ~/Library/Preferences/, ~/Library/Application Support/ and ~/Library/Caches/ folders. Right click on those items and click Move to Trash to delete them.

• Meanwhile, search the following locations to identify and delete associated items:
  /Library/Preferences/, /Library/Application Support/ and /Library/Caches/.

Besides, there may be some kernel extensions or hidden files that are not obvious to identify. In that case, you can do a Google search about the components for Growl.

Usually kernel extensions are located in /System/Library/Extensions and end with the extension .kext. Search for the items with the name of target app or its vendor in this folder. As a precaution act, you can make a copy of the matched item before moving them to the Trash, and then reboot you Mac to make sure nothing wrong happens.

Hidden files are mostly located in your home folder and by default they don not display in Finder. You can use the Terminal (inside Applications/Utilities) to list the contents of the directory in question and delete the offending items.

4. Empty the Trash to delete Growl Forever

If you are determined to uninstall Growl permanently, the last thing you need to do is emptying the Trash.

• To completely empty your trash can, you can right click on the Trash on the dock and choose Empty Trash, or simply choose Empty Trash under the Finder menu.
• In case you cannot empty the Trash, reboot your Mac and do it again.

Notice: you can not undo the act of emptying trashcan, so make sure that you haven’t mistakenly deleted anything before performing this step. If you change your mind, you can also right click on the items in the Trash and choose Put Back in the list.

That’s all. After performing these steps you should have successfully remove Growl and its associated files from your Mac. Manual uninstall may take lots of patience, time, and energy to complete, and it also requires users to have a certain degree of OS X knowledge. For novice users MacRemover will be a better option.
This post offers two effective methods to remove Growl, and either of them works for most of the apps on your Mac. With the unique Smart Analytic System, MacRemover is capable of uninstalling any unwanted, corrupted or incompatible app and deleting every associated items entirely – all in 3 steps. All you need to do is just a select-and-delete move. Incredibly straightforward to use. If you run into any uninstall problem, just utilize this lite but powerful tool to resolve your troubles.