How to Uninstall Tableau on Mac

Removing Tableau from your Mac isn't quite as simple as dragging the application icon to the Trash. While that first step gets rid of the main program, it leaves behind a collection of library files, preferences, and cache data that can take up valuable disk space and potentially interfere with future installations. This guide will walk you through every step to ensure a completely clean uninstallation, removing Tableau and all its associated files from your system for good.

Why a Simple 'Drag to Trash' Isn't Enough

When you install and use an application like Tableau on your Mac, it doesn’t just live in your Applications folder. It creates various support files that it needs to run properly. These files are typically stored in your user Library folder and include things like:

• Preferences: Files (.plist) that store your custom settings and configurations.
• Application Support Files: These can include user data, templates, custom shapes, and other resources.
• Cache: Temporary data the app stores to speed up performance on subsequent launches.
• Logs: Records of application activity, which can be useful for troubleshooting but are unnecessary after uninstallation.

Dragging the Tableau app to the Trash removes the core application, but it orphans all these other files. Over time, this digital clutter from uninstalled apps can add up, consuming storage and, in rare cases, causing conflicts if you decide to reinstall the application later. A complete uninstall process involves manually finding and deleting these remnants to ensure your system stays lean and clean.

Before You Begin: Back Up Your Work

Before you remove a single file, it's critical to back up any work you may want to keep. By default, Tableau saves your custom workbooks, data sources, and other assets in a specific folder on your Mac called "My Tableau Repository." Deleting this is part of a complete uninstallation, so you need to save its contents elsewhere if you plan to use them again.

Here’s how to quickly back up your work:

1. Navigate to your Documents folder.
2. Inside, you will find a folder named My Tableau Repository.
3. Copy this entire folder to an external hard drive, cloud storage service (like Google Drive or Dropbox), or another safe location on your computer.

Taking a minute to do this ensures you don’t accidentally lose hours of work, even if you plan on reinstalling Tableau fresh later. You can always move this repository back after the new installation is complete.

Step 1: Deactivate Your Tableau Product Key

If you're using a paid version of Tableau Desktop, you must deactivate your product key before uninstalling the software. This releases the license seat, allowing you to use it on another computer or for a future reinstallation. If you skip this step, the activated license will remain "stuck" to this machine in Tableau's system, and you’ll likely need to contact support to free it up.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Open Tableau Desktop.
2. In the top menu bar, click on Help.
3. From the drop-down menu, select Manage Product Keys…
4. In the dialog box that appears, select the product key you want to deactivate from the list and click the Deactivate button.
5. Follow the on-screen prompts to complete the deactivation process. It's best to be connected to the internet during this process so the deactivation can be immediately registered with Tableau's activation server.

Once your license key is successfully deactivated, you can safely proceed with the uninstallation.

Step 2: Remove the Tableau Application

This is the quick and easy part that most people are familiar with. With your license deactivated and work backed up, it's time to delete the main application itself.

1. Quit Tableau Desktop completely. If it’s running, right-click on the icon in your Dock and select "Quit." If it's unresponsive, you can force quit by pressing Option + Command + Esc key combination, selecting Tableau from the list, and clicking "Force Quit."
2. Open a Finder window.
3. From the sidebar, click on Applications.
4. Scroll through the list to find the "Tableau Desktop" application (it may also have the version number included in the name).
5. Click and drag the Tableau Desktop icon directly to the Trash in your Dock. Alternatively, you can right-click the icon and select "Move to Trash."

Now the primary application is gone, but the cleanup work is just beginning.

Step 3: Hunt Down and Delete Leftover Files

This is the most important step for a truly clean uninstall. You’ll need to navigate to the hidden Library folder within your user profile to find and delete Tableau's leftover support files. Don't worry, it's easier than it sounds.

Accessing the User Library Folder

The user Library folder is hidden by default in macOS to prevent accidental deletion of important files. Here's the easiest way to get there:

1. Click anywhere on your desktop to make sure Finder is the active application.
2. Click on Go in the top menu bar.
3. With the "Go" menu open, press and hold the Option key on your keyboard.
4. You'll see a Library option magically appear in the menu. Click on it.

A new Finder window will open, showing you the contents of your user Library folder.

Deleting Tableau's Remnants

Once you're inside the Library folder, you'll need to systematically check several sub-folders for files and folders related to Tableau. As you go, be careful to only delete files that are clearly named for Tableau. Deleting anything else could cause other applications to fail.

Here are the common directories to check and what to look for:

• ~/Library/Application Support/ Look for any folders with "Tableau" in the name. Drag these folders to the Trash.
• ~/Library/Preferences/ Find any files that start with com.tableau.*.plist. These are the preference files. The full file name can look like com.tableau.Tableau-2023.1.plist. Drag all of them to the Trash.
• ~/Library/Caches/ This folder stores temporary data. Look for any folders that start with com.tableau and drag them to the Trash. They may have names like com.tableau.Tableau.
• ~/Library/Logs/ The folder contains logs and diagnostics. Look for any files that have tableau in the name and delete them.
• ~/Library/Saved Application State/ You may find an entry like com.tableau.*.savedState. Drag them to the Trash as well.

Deleting the Tableau Driver Folder

Depending on what you installed, you may also have a folder for drivers that allow Tableau to connect to certain data sources. This is usually located in a separate location:

• ~/Library/Tableau/Drivers/ Find or drag this folder to the Trash to remove all installed connectors and drivers.

After going through each directory and deleting all Tableau-related files, you've cleaned all system remnants.

Step 4: Dealing with the "My Tableau Repository" Folder

Recall from "Before You Begin" that the My Tableau Repository folder lives in your Documents folder, not in the main Library folder. This is because it contains user-generated data, so macOS does not touch it during a normal uninstallation.

You now have a choice:

• If you don't ever plan to use Tableau again and want all traces gone, you can drag the entire "My Tableau Repository" folder in your Documents folder to the Trash.
• If you plan to reinstall Tableau and want to keep your workbooks and data sources, you should have already backed it up or moved the backed-up version to a safe place.

The decision is entirely up to you, depending on whether you need an absolute fresh start without existing work.

Step 5: Emptying the Trash

The final step to permanently remove all the files you've moved to the Trash is to empty the trash bin.

• Right-click the Trash icon on your Dock.
• Select "Empty Trash."
• Confirm that you want to permanently delete the items.

Once completed, all of Tableau's remnants will be purged from your Mac, freeing up valuable space and giving you a cleaner slate.

An Alternative Method: Using an App Cleaner

If the manual process of locating and deleting files seems daunting, you can use a third-party uninstaller or "app cleaner" tool. Applications like CleanMyMac and AppCleaner are designed to automate this process for you. When you uninstall the main app and support files, they automatically scan your Mac for all related Tableau files and present them in a list for deletion.

While these tools are convenient, going manually through these steps ensures a complete removal of leftover bits that these apps might miss, especially if you're a power user who tweaks app settings deeply.

Final Thoughts

Completely uninstalling an application is more than a simple drag-and-drop to the trash, it involves deactivating any software licensing and manually removing leftover system files from your user library and applications. This process ensures that you recover critical disk space and avoid potential future conflicts, leaving your machine clean and optimized.

Uninstalling software or building a brand doesn't have to be a hassle. We built Graphed because we believe managing daily data should be seamless. Instead of spending hours on tedious tasks and manual work, Graphed helps you create data solutions that simplify processes, allowing you to spend more time on strategic tasks and less on reorganization.