To uninstall Android Studio on a Mac completely, quit it and any running emulator, then move Android Studio from Applications to the Trash.
After that, remove what it keeps outside the app: the Android SDK in ~/, the hidden ~/ folder with your virtual devices, Gradle's ~/ folder, and Android Studio's settings, caches and logs in your Library, one set for each version you've run.
Before any of that, back up your signing keys. A release or upload keystore can't be recreated, and Android's documentation is clear that without the right key you can't publish updates to an app you've released. Keystores are often kept somewhere outside the folders above, so find them first.
If you still build with Flutter or React Native, stop after the app and its settings. Both use the SDK and the .android folder, not Android Studio itself.
If you only want space back and plan to keep using Android Studio, read about the SDK, emulators and caches Android Studio keeps instead. Trimming old SDK packages and virtual devices often frees most of the space without removing anything you use.
What Android Studio leaves outside the app
Android Studio is an app plus a toolkit it downloads around itself. The app is the smallest part on most Macs that have done real Android work.
Where does everything live?
| Location | What it holds | Remove it when |
|---|---|---|
/Applications/Android Studio.app | The IDE, with its own bundled Java runtime | Always, to uninstall |
~/Library/Android/sdk | Platforms, build tools, NDK, emulator, system images | No other tool needs the SDK |
~/.android | Virtual devices, debug keystore, SDK tools' settings | After saving any keys |
~/.gradle | Gradle's caches, Gradle versions, downloaded JDKs, settings | You don't use Gradle elsewhere |
~/Library/Application Support/Google/AndroidStudio… | Settings and plugins, one folder per version | Always, to uninstall |
~/Library/Caches/Google/AndroidStudio… | Indexes, caches, local history, per version | Always, to uninstall |
~/Library/Logs/Google/AndroidStudio… | Logs, per version | Always, to uninstall |
Android's troubleshooting page lists the last three as Android Studio's configuration, system and logs folders on a Mac. Each name ends in a version, such as AndroidStudio2026.2, and preview builds use AndroidStudioPreview instead.
Why isn't dragging the app to the Trash enough?
Because the SDK, the emulators, Gradle and the per-version folders don't live in the app. Apple's guide to removing apps describes dragging an app to the Trash, which is the right first step, but it only covers the app. Everything in the table above stays, often many times the app's size.
On one Mac measured in October 2026, Android Studio itself took 3.0 GB. A Mac with several SDK platforms, an NDK and a few virtual devices keeps far more than that outside the app.
Where do these folders show up in Storage settings?
In System Settings › General › Storage, the app counts under Applications. The SDK, the per-version folders in your Library and the hidden .android and .gradle folders usually land in System Data, which Apple describes as files that don't fit the other categories.
So after uninstalling, expect the System Data number to fall more than Applications does. Storage can take a few minutes to update after a large deletion.
Do you want to remove everything?
That depends on what else you build:
- Leaving Android development entirely: remove all of it, after saving your keys.
- Keeping Flutter or React Native: remove the app and its per-version folders; keep the SDK, .android and .gradle.
- Reinstalling to fix a problem: remove the app and its per-version folders; keep the rest, so you don't download it all again.
- Switching to a Toolbox install: remove the standalone app; everything else carries over.
Before you uninstall Android Studio: save your keys and projects
Nothing in this section takes long, and none of it can be undone if you skip it. Do it while Android Studio still opens.
Where are your release and upload keystores?
Wherever you or your team put them. Android's signing guide describes two keys for apps on Google Play: the upload key you sign uploads with, and the app signing key that signs what users install. A keystore file usually ends in .jks or .keystore.
Common places are a project's folder, your home folder or a password manager. Flutter's release guide, for example, creates ~/ in your home folder by default.
To find the one a project uses, open its module's build file or the properties file its signing settings read. In Flutter projects, that's android/. The storeFile setting names the keystore's path.
How do you find keystores you've forgotten about?
Search for them. In Finder, press Command-F, choose This Mac, and search for file names containing jks, then keystore. Finder's search may not look inside hidden folders such as .android, so open those and check by hand.
Also ask whoever else has worked on your apps. A team's upload key is often kept in a shared password manager or a build service, and the copy on your Mac may not be the only one.
What if a keystore is lost?
Android's documentation spells out the cost. With Play App Signing, Google holds the app signing key, and if you lose the upload key you can request an upload key reset in the Play Console. Without Play App Signing, losing the signing key means you can't publish updates to that app at all.
So copy every keystore, and the passwords that open it, to somewhere safe that isn't on this Mac alone, before you remove anything.
Are passwords stored in gradle.properties?
Sometimes. Some teams keep signing passwords or API keys in ~/, which applies to every project on the Mac, rather than in each project. Open it in TextEdit before you remove the .gradle folder, and save anything you'd have to find again.
What about the debug keystore?
Android Studio creates a debug keystore the first time you run or debug a project, at ~/, according to Android's signing guide. It signs debug builds only, so losing it doesn't affect anything you've released.
It does have a fingerprint, though. If you registered that fingerprint with a service your debug builds call, a new install's new debug key won't match until you register the new one. Copy the file if you might come back.
Your projects and release builds
Android's guide to creating projects recommends saving them in ~/ on a Mac. Uninstalling Android Studio doesn't touch that folder or projects anywhere else. If they're in version control, you're covered; if not, copy them somewhere safe.
Each module's build folder can be deleted, but it may hold the release build you shipped and the mapping files you need to read its crash reports. Copy those out first, as the catalog's entry for Gradle build folders warns.
Apps and data inside virtual devices
Each virtual device holds the apps you installed on it and their data. If a device has test accounts or data you set up by hand and want again, note them now. The device goes with the .android folder, and nothing brings it back.
How to uninstall Android Studio on a Mac, step by step
These steps work the same in macOS 27 Golden Gate and macOS 26 Tahoe. They remove the app first and the downloads after, so you can stop at any point and still have a working SDK.
Quit Android Studio and the emulator
- Close any running emulator windows.
- Quit Android Studio with Android Studio › Quit Android Studio.
- Open Activity Monitor and search for studio and adb. Quit anything still running from Android Studio or the emulator.
Gradle's background process stops on its own after a while; quitting Android Studio is enough for what follows.
Optional: remove devices and SDK packages from inside Android Studio
If you're keeping the SDK for another tool but want it smaller, do this before the app goes. Open Tools › SDK Manager, clear the packages you don't need and click Apply. In the Device Manager, open a device's menu and choose Delete for each device you don't want.
If you're removing the whole SDK, skip this; the folder goes in one piece later.
Move Android Studio to the Trash
- In Finder, click Applications in the sidebar.
- Drag Android Studio to the Trash, or select it and choose File › Move to Trash.
- Enter an administrator's name and password if macOS asks.
Leave the Trash full for now. File › Put Back returns anything you moved, until you empty the Trash.
Preview and canary versions
Android lets you install preview versions alongside the stable one, and each is a separate app with its own folders. Android's troubleshooting page says previews use the product name AndroidStudioPreview, so their folders in your Library start with that name instead.
Look in Applications for any other Android Studio app, and remove each one the same way.
What if you installed it with JetBrains Toolbox?
Then Toolbox manages it. JetBrains' instructions for Toolbox installs are to open the Toolbox App, click the settings icon for the instance and choose Uninstall. Android's update guide notes that Toolbox can install stable, RC and canary versions side by side, so check its list for others.
Toolbox removes the app; the SDK, .android, .gradle and the per-version folders below stay, as with a standalone install.
What if you installed it with Homebrew?
Homebrew's cask for Android Studio removes the app with Homebrew's uninstall, which is a command-line step with no app or menu. Its cask also lists the leftovers it would trash with its zap option, which match the folders in this post.
That zap list includes the whole SDK and the whole .android folder, devices and debug keystore included, so save your keys first. The post on Homebrew's disk space explains how Homebrew keeps installs.
If you used Homebrew's Android command-line tools instead, their SDK lives in Homebrew's own folder, covered below.
What if the Mac has more than one account?
Android Studio keeps its settings, caches, logs, .android and .gradle folders in each account's own home folder, and the SDK too, by default. Log in to each account that used Android Studio and remove its folders there.
The app in Applications is shared, so it's removed once. An SDK someone installed in a shared folder is removed once too.
Remove the Android SDK and the emulator's disk images
The SDK is usually the largest single thing left. Remove it only if nothing else on the Mac builds Android apps.
Where is the SDK?
Android Studio's SDK Manager shows it at the top of its window as Android SDK Location. The default on a Mac is ~/, which the catalog's entry for the Android SDK also covers.
Homebrew's Android command-line tools use their own folder with the same layout, / on an Apple silicon Mac and / on an Intel one.
What goes with it?
Everything the SDK Manager ever installed: a platform for each Android version you compiled against, build tools, the emulator, platform tools such as adb, CMake, every NDK version side by side and every emulator system image. The catalog rates NDK versions and system images separately, because they're often the biggest parts.
How do you remove it?
- In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder, type
~/and press Return.Library/ Android - Select the sdk folder and choose File › Get Info to see its size.
- Move sdk to the Trash. The empty Android folder can go too.
The catalog's entry notes the cost: a project that needs an SDK package can't build until it's installed again. When you're leaving Android development, that cost is the point.
Where are the emulator's disk images?
Not in the SDK. The system images in the SDK are the templates; each virtual device you create keeps its own storage, installed apps and saved state in ~/. Android's documentation describes that folder's contents as mostly very large disk images.
If you ever set an environment variable to move devices elsewhere because your disk was low on space, Android's documentation names it ANDROID_AVD_HOME, and the devices are wherever it points.
Would moving it to another drive be better?
Only if you'll use it again soon. Android's documentation describes environment variables for both locations, ANDROID_HOME for the SDK and ANDROID_AVD_HOME for virtual devices, and suggests moving devices when the default location is low on space. Both are set in your shell's configuration; Android Studio has no setting for the devices' folder.
An external drive has to be connected for every build, so for a toolkit you've stopped using, removing it is simpler. Everything in the SDK downloads again.
Is it safe to move the SDK folder to the Trash?
When you're uninstalling Android Studio and nothing else uses the SDK, yes. The usual advice to remove packages through the SDK Manager keeps Android Studio's records in step with the disk, which only matters while Android Studio is installed.
If another tool does use the SDK, keep it and read the section on Flutter and React Native below.
The .android folder: devices, keys and settings
~/ is hidden in your home folder. Android's documentation calls it the preferences folder for the SDK's tools, and the emulator keeps its configuration and your virtual devices there.
What's in it?
Item in ~/.android | What it is | Recreated? |
|---|---|---|
avd | Your virtual devices, with their disk images | No; devices are gone |
debug.keystore | The key Android Studio signs debug builds with | Yes, but a new key |
adbkey | adb's key for connecting to phones | Yes; phones ask to trust it again |
| Other small files | Settings, caches and state for the tools and the emulator | Yes |
The table reflects the folder on the Mac we checked; yours may have more. Phones show a dialog asking to accept the computer's key the first time you debug over USB, which Android's adb guide describes, so a new key means one more tap on each phone.
Is it safe to delete the .android folder?
Yes, when you're leaving Android work and you've saved what matters. The virtual devices inside are rated Review first, because each holds apps and data you may want, and nothing brings a deleted device back.
Before you move the folder to the Trash, look through it for files you didn't expect. A keystore someone saved there for convenience looks like any other file, and it's the one thing that can't be replaced.
How do you open it?
In Finder, choose Go › Go to Folder, type ~/ and press Return. Or open your home folder and press Command-Shift-Period to show hidden items. Select a folder and choose File › Get Info to see its size.
The emulator's console token
The emulator also keeps a small file, ~/, in your home folder. Android's emulator console guide says it holds a randomly generated token for connecting to the emulator's console, and that the console creates it again if it's missing. It's tiny and safe to remove with everything else.
Gradle's folder, Java and project build output
Android builds run on Gradle, and Gradle keeps its own folder shared by every Android, Java and Kotlin project on the Mac.
Should the .gradle folder go?
If Android was your only use for Gradle, yes, after saving ~/ and anything in ~/ you wrote yourself. The Gradle caches and Gradle versions inside are rated Safe: they download again if you ever build again.
If you also build Java or Kotlin projects with Gradle, keep the folder; Gradle cleans its caches by itself. The post on Gradle's caches and what's safe to clear covers what's inside.
What happens to Java?
Android's documentation says Android Studio is distributed with the JetBrains Runtime, a JDK it uses to run itself and, by default, Gradle. It's inside the app, so it goes with it.
JDKs you installed yourself stay: React Native's setup guide, for example, recommends installing JDK 17 separately. So do JDKs Gradle downloaded into ~/, which go with the .gradle folder. The post on uninstalling Java and old JDKs explains how to find and remove the rest.
Other folders Android projects add
~/, Maven's local repository, if your projects used it. Remove it if no Java project needs it..m2 ~/, Kotlin/Native's compiler, if you built Kotlin Multiplatform code for iPhone. It downloads again when needed..konan - Each project's build and .gradle folders, inside the project. They go with the project, or on their own once release builds are saved.
Android Studio's settings, caches and logs
Android Studio is built on JetBrains' IntelliJ platform, and like other JetBrains IDEs it keeps a separate set of folders for every version you've run. After a few years of updates, most belong to versions long gone.
Which folders belong to Android Studio?
| Folder | What it holds |
|---|---|
~/Library/Application Support/Google/AndroidStudio… | Settings and plugins, per version |
~/Library/Caches/Google/AndroidStudio… | Indexes, caches and local history, per version |
~/Library/Logs/Google/AndroidStudio… | Logs, per version |
~/Library/Preferences/com.google.android.studio.plist | The app's own preferences |
~/Library/Preferences/com.android.Emulator.plist | The emulator's preferences |
~/Library/Saved Application State/com.google.android.studio.savedState | Window positions from the last session |
The last three are from Homebrew's cask data for Android Studio, which lists them among its leftovers. Preferences and saved state are normally left alone, but they belong to the app you're removing, so they can go with it.
How do you remove them?
- In Finder, hold Option, open the Go menu and choose Library.
- Open Application Support, then Google, and move every folder whose name starts with AndroidStudio to the Trash.
- Do the same in Caches › Google and Logs › Google.
- In Preferences and Saved Application State, move the items in the table to the Trash.
Leave the Google folders themselves if other Google apps, such as Chrome, keep folders in them. Remove only Android Studio's.
What about Android Studio's own clean-up dialog?
Android Studio has a Delete Unused Android Studio Directories dialog, which Android's update guide says appears when you run a new major version for the first time and offers to delete folders of versions you no longer have. It only runs inside Android Studio, so it can't help once the app is gone. Finder does the same job.
What's lost with them?
Your IDE settings, plugins, and the local history of your edits that Android Studio keeps. The Android Studio caches entry notes that local history can't be rebuilt. If you might come back, keep the latest version's settings folder and remove only the caches and logs.
If Flutter, React Native or Unity still needs the SDK
Several cross-platform tools use the Android SDK without needing Android Studio open. Check what yours needs before you remove the SDK.
What does Flutter need?
Flutter's Android setup asks for an SDK platform, the build tools, the command-line tools, the emulator, the platform tools, CMake and the NDK, all installed through Android Studio's SDK Manager. Keep the SDK and .android if you still build Flutter apps for Android.
The post on Flutter's pub cache, SDKs and builds covers Flutter's own folders.
What does React Native need?
React Native's setup guide installs Android Studio for its SDK, asks for an SDK platform, build tools and command-line tools, and points the ANDROID_HOME variable at ~/. It also has you install JDK 17 separately. Remove the SDK and React Native's Android builds stop working.
Unity and Unreal Engine
Unity's Android build support installs its own SDK, NDK and JDK inside each Unity editor version, so removing Android Studio doesn't affect it. Unreal Engine's Android builds need an Android SDK of their own. The post on Unity and Unreal Engine caches covers what game engines keep.
Can you keep the SDK without Android Studio?
Yes, but you lose the SDK Manager's window. Google's Android command-line tools include a command-line SDK manager that installs and removes packages, with no app of its own. Homebrew also packages them.
If that sounds like more work than it's worth, keep Android Studio and trim it instead. The space is in the SDK and the devices, not the app.
| Your setup | Keep | Remove |
|---|---|---|
| Leaving Android entirely | Keystores, projects | Everything in this post |
| Flutter or React Native only | SDK, ~/.android, ~/.gradle | The app and its per-version folders |
| Unity only | Keystores, projects | Everything in this post |
| Reinstalling Android Studio | SDK, ~/.android, ~/.gradle | The app, its caches and logs |
A worked example: leaving Android development
Say you've built Android apps for a few years, shipped two to Google Play, and are moving to other work. Here's the order that keeps the risky parts first and the easy parts last.
Keys and projects first
Open each shipped project's signing settings and find its keystore. Copy both keystores and their passwords to an encrypted backup and a password manager. Check that both apps use Play App Signing in the Play Console, so an upload key reset stays possible if a copy is ever lost.
Copy release builds and mapping files out of the projects' build folders, and push the projects to their repositories.
Then the app
Quit Android Studio and the emulator, and drag the app to the Trash. On the Mac measured for this post, that alone frees 3.0 GB once the Trash is emptied.
Then the downloads
Move ~/ and ~/ to the Trash, then ~/ after saving gradle.properties. These are usually the bulk of the space, and the SDK most of all.
Last, the settings folders
Remove the AndroidStudio folders in Application Support, Caches and Logs, and the preferences and saved state. They're small, but they're the clutter that confuses a future reinstall.
- Android Studio.app, one Mac3 GB
- Free space for Studio, minimum8 GB
- Free space for Studio and the emulator, minimum16 GB
- Free space, recommended32 GB
The app was measured in October 2026 on one Mac running Android Studio 2025.3. The other three are from Android's system requirements for Mac.
After uninstalling Android Studio
Check that nothing still runs
Open Activity Monitor and search for studio and adb. With the app and the SDK gone, nothing should appear. If adb still runs from a Homebrew install or another SDK, that copy is separate; remove it with the tool that installed it.
Tidy up your shell settings
If you followed React Native's setup guide or Android's notes on environment variables, you added lines to your shell's configuration, such as ANDROID_HOME and the emulator and platform-tools folders on your PATH. Open ~/ or ~/ in TextEdit, delete the lines that mention Android, and save. Leave them if you kept the SDK.
Is it worth chasing every leftover?
For space, the SDK and the virtual devices are nearly all of it, with .gradle next. For safety, the keystores are the only part that matters. The settings folders, preferences and console token are small; remove them for tidiness, and so a future install starts clean.
If you're short of time, do the keys, the app, the SDK and the devices, and leave the rest for later.
Empty the Trash and check the space
Use your Mac for a day, then choose Finder › Empty Trash. Check System Settings › General › Storage; the numbers can take a few minutes to update after a large deletion. The SDK and .gradle folders usually counted under System Data.
What happens to your Google Play and Firebase accounts?
Nothing. The Play Console, Firebase projects and other Google developer services are online accounts, separate from the app on your Mac. Uninstalling Android Studio doesn't close or change them. What you need to keep for them is offline: the keystores and the passwords that open them.
Reinstalling later
A new install starts empty. Download Android Studio, drag it to Applications, and its Setup Wizard downloads the SDK components it needs, as Android's install guide describes. Projects download their Gradle versions and dependencies on the first build, and you create virtual devices again in the Device Manager.
Mistakes to avoid
- Removing .android or a project before finding the keystores. A release key can't be recreated.
- Removing the SDK while Flutter or React Native still needs it. Their Android builds stop until you install it again.
- Deleting the Google folders in your Library. Other Google apps keep folders there; remove only the AndroidStudio ones.
- Deleting .gradle without reading gradle.properties. It can hold passwords you'd have to find again.
- Pasting removal scripts from a web page. Commands that delete files bypass the Trash, so there's no Put Back.
For a wider look at what apps leave behind, see the post on leftover files after uninstalling apps, and for tools that track them for you, the comparison of the best uninstallers for Mac.
How the app does it
Wombit explains Android Studio's folders like everything else on the disk. Select one in the map or the list, and you see what it is, how safe it is to remove and what removing it costs, from the catalog's entry. It reads only names, sizes and dates, and file names and paths never leave your Mac.
Cleanup lists them by level:
- Gradle's caches and Gradle versions, and Android Studio's logs, are Safe. They count toward the safe total and start checked.
- Android Studio's per-version caches and emulator system images are Usually safe, and wait for you to check them.
- Virtual devices are Review first, because each holds apps and data you may want.
- The SDK and NDK are Usually safe. They're explained with the SDK Manager's steps, and the app leaves removing them to Android Studio or to you in Finder.
~/
Library/ Android/ sdk The Android SDK: platforms, build tools, the emulator and other packages used to build and run Android apps.
Usually safe · Explained only: the app shows you how
~/
.android/ avd/ *.avd Android Virtual Devices (AVDs)
Android emulators you created, each with its own storage, installed apps and saved state.
Review first · Moves it to the Trash
~/
Library/ Android/ sdk/ system-images Android emulator system images
Copies of Android that the emulator starts from, one for each Android version and device type you've downloaded.
Usually safe · Moves it to the Trash
~/
Library/ Caches/ Google/ AndroidStudio* Android Studio's system folder, with indexes, caches and local history, one for each version you've run.
Usually safe · Moves it to the Trash
~/
.gradle/ caches Dependencies, build cache entries and other files that Gradle keeps for all the Java, Kotlin and Android projects you build.
Safe · Moves it to the Trash
The Applications section lists every app with its size, what it has left around the Mac and when you last opened it, with Uninstall…. For each leftover it shows why the file belongs to the app, and folders that may hold your data start unchecked. Everything goes to the Trash, where Undo and Put Back work.
Seeing all of this is free. Cleanup and the uninstaller are PRO, one $4.99 payment with lifetime access. Every Pro tool's review is free to open, so you see what would go and why before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Is dragging Android Studio to the Trash enough to uninstall it?
No. That removes only the app. The Android SDK, your virtual devices, the hidden .android and .gradle folders, and Android Studio's settings, caches and logs for each version all stay, and together they're usually far larger than the app.
Where is the Android SDK on a Mac?
Android Studio installs it in ~/Library/Android/sdk unless you chose another folder. The SDK Manager shows the folder at the top of its window as Android SDK Location. Homebrew's Android command-line tools use their own folder in Homebrew's share folder.
Can I delete the .android folder after uninstalling Android Studio?
Yes, once you're sure nothing in it matters. It holds your virtual devices, the SDK tools' settings and the debug keystore Android Studio created. Look for any keystore files you saved there yourself first, because a release or upload key can't be recreated.
What happens if I lose my Android upload key?
If your app uses Play App Signing, Android's documentation says you can request an upload key reset in the Play Console and keep updating the app. Without Play App Signing, losing the app's signing key means you can't publish updates to that app. Back up keystores before you uninstall anything.
Can I uninstall Android Studio but keep the SDK for Flutter or React Native?
Yes. Both use the SDK folder, not the app. Leave ~/Library/Android/sdk and ~/.android in place and remove only the app and its per-version settings, caches and logs. You lose the SDK Manager's window, so installing or removing SDK packages then takes command-line tools.
How do I uninstall Android Studio installed with JetBrains Toolbox?
Open the Toolbox App, click the settings icon next to Android Studio and choose Uninstall. Toolbox can keep several versions side by side, so check for others in its list. The SDK, .android, .gradle and the settings folders stay either way.
Does uninstalling Android Studio remove Java?
It removes the JetBrains Runtime bundled inside the app, which Android Studio uses by default. JDKs you installed yourself, such as one for React Native, and JDKs Gradle downloaded into ~/.gradle stay until you remove them.
Sources
- Install and uninstall apps from the internet or a disc on Mac · Apple
- Troubleshoot Android Studio · Android Developers
- Sign your app · Android Developers
- Environment variables · Android Developers
- Create and manage virtual devices · Android Developers
- android-studio.rb · Homebrew