How to Uninstall VirtualBox on Mac
If you have previously installed VirtualBox on the Mac but no longer need the application, you may be interested in uninstalling VirtualBox completely. Because VirtualBox places application components and dependencies throughout the MacOS file system, uninstalling VirtualBox thoroughly is not just a simple matter of dragging and dropping the application into the Trash, like how you can uninstall most other Mac apps.
Fortunately uninstalling VirtualBox is really quite easy, and the whole uninstall process can be automated and complete in short order on a Mac. We’ll also show you how to manually uninstall VirtualBox, which is quite a bit more involved, if you’re interested in that approach.
For some quick background for the unfamiliar, VirtualBox is an excellent free virtualization application available from Oracle, used by many advanced users for virtualizing other operating systems atop MacOS, like Windows 10 or Ubuntu Linux. It’s also cross-platform compatible, so you can likewise run MacOS, Windows, or Linux, on top of another Windows, Linux, or Mac. You can read tips about VirtualBox here, or browse our archives on virtual machines if interested. Anyway, this article is about completely uninstalling the VirtualBox app.
Most Linux users can uninstall VirtualBox easily with a simple command line string like so:
sudo apt-get purge virtualbox*
But on the Mac, VirtualBox is usually installed through a package installer. Fortunately Oracle provides an uninstall script on the install dmg, though most users overlook this.
How to Uninstall VirtualBox Completely from Mac the Easy Way
- Download the latest VirtualBox installer file from Oracle if you don’t have it already on your Mac
- Mount the VirtualBox disk image file and open that mounted dmg in the Finder
- Double-click on the text file named “VirtualBox_Uninstall.tool” to launch into a new Terminal window
Confirm that you wish to completely uninstall VirtualBox by typing ‘yes’ when requested (you can cancel by typing ‘no’ or closing the Terminal window)
When VirtualBox and all related components and kernel extensions has been removed successfully, you can close the Terminal window or quit out of Terminal app as needed.
Manually Uninstalling VirtualBox from a Mac: Locations of All Related Files, Directories, etc
If you prefer to be hands-on, you can also manually uninstall VirtualBox by parsing through “VirtualBox_Uninstall.tool ” to find the exact file paths or all VirtualBox directories, components, the application, bins, launch daemons, kernel extensions, and more. You will want to do this manually using the version of the installer that you installed VirtualBox with so that you don’t miss anything.
As of the time of this writing, the current VirtualBox app and associated file path list is as follows:
/Library/LaunchAgents/org.virtualbox.vboxwebsrv.plist
/usr/local/bin/VirtualBox
/usr/local/bin/VBoxManage
/usr/local/bin/VBoxVRDP
/usr/local/bin/VBoxHeadless
/usr/local/bin/vboxwebsrv
/usr/local/bin/VBoxBugReport
/usr/local/bin/VBoxBalloonCtrl
/usr/local/bin/VBoxAutostart
/usr/local/bin/VBoxDTrace
/usr/local/bin/vbox-img
/Library/LaunchDaemons/org.virtualbox.startup.plist
/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/vboxapi/VirtualBox_constants.py
/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/vboxapi/VirtualBox_constants.pyc
/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/vboxapi/__init__.py
/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/vboxapi/__init__.pyc
/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/vboxapi-1.0-py2.7.egg-info
/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox/LaunchDaemons/
/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox/VBoxDrv.kext/
/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox/VBoxUSB.kext/
/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox/VBoxNetFlt.kext/
/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox/VBoxNetAdp.kext/
/Applications/VirtualBox.app/
/Library/Python/2.7/site-packages/vboxapi/
org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxUSB
org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetFlt
org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetAdp
org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxDrv
org.virtualbox.pkg.vboxkexts
org.virtualbox.pkg.virtualbox
org.virtualbox.pkg.virtualboxcli
Targeting those files and directories one by one for removal is probably easiest through the Terminal, but you could certainly do through the Finder if desired.
Obviously if you uninstall and remove VirtualBox, it won’t be on the Mac anymore, but you can reinstall it again at any point in the future if needed.
How to uninstall VirtualBox on Mac
Virtual machines take up a lot of disk space and memory. If you have been using VirtualBox on your Mac and then decide to uninstall it, this article is here to help you. We also recommend that you remove Virtualbox when there are some mistakes in it and install the newest version available. Read on to learn how to uninstall VirtualBox from your Mac completely.
Uninstalling VirtualBox manually
Uninstalling software is not as easy as you may think. You have to understand the difference between just removing an app and uninstalling it completely by clearing all support files. Follow these steps to delete VirtualBox with all its service files.
- Drop VirtualBox to Trash bin or go to Finder→ Applications→ Click “Move to Trash” in the context menu.
Even when Virtualbox is removed permanently, the virtual machine images still remain on the disc taking up significant disk space (for Linux – from 1GB, for Mac or Windows – even more than 20GB). So it makes sense to review the virtual machine images and remove unused ones.
Go to Library folder and from there remove all files and folders related to the virtual machine.
/Library/Saved Application State/org.VirtualBox.app.VirtualBox.SavedState
/Library/Saved Application State/org.VirtualBox.app.VirtualBox.SavedState
To open a hidden Library Folder, you need to open Finder in the Apple Menu: click Go → Go to and type in the search field
You can also show the Library folder with a free application Funter and even find with it all the hidden files, created by VirtualBox. Read our previous article on how to Show Library Folder on Mac.
Uninstall VirtualBox with App Cleaner & Uninstaller Pro
App Cleaner is designed to remove apps on Mac completely. When you drag and drop software to the Trash, a box will show a reminder for complete uninstallation.
Click “Uninstall with App Cleaner” for the removal of all service files. 
If your notifications are turned off, then open App Cleaner and in the list of scanned apps find VirtualBox. Select the app and click the Remove button.
App Cleaner & Uninstaller
Disable startup programs. Manage system extentions.
Uninstall applications completely.
Как удалить VirtualBox на Mac
Если ранее вы устанавливали VirtualBox на свой Mac, но больше программа вам не нужна, то вы можете удалить её со своего компьютера. Элементы VirtualBox хранятся в файловой системе MacOS, так что удаляется эта программа не как остальные.
К счастью, процесс всё равно довольно простой и занимает немного времени. Кроме того, мы расскажем и о способе удаления VirtualBox вручную, который немного сложнее.
Если вы не знаете, VirtualBox – отличная программа для продвинутых пользователей, которая служит для запуска сторонних операционных систем поверх MacOS. Это может быть Windows 10 или Ubuntu Linux. Программа доступна для нескольких платформ, так что вы можете запускать и MacOS поверх Windows и т.п.
Большинство пользователей Linux могут легко удалить VirtualBox с помощью простой команды:
Однако на Mac программа VirtualBox обычно устанавливается через установщик. К счастью, есть скрипт для удаления.
Как удалить VirtualBox со своего Mac
- Скачайте последнюю версию установщика VirtualBox, если его у вас нет.
- Смонтируйте образ диска VirtualBox и откройте dmg через Finder.
- Дважды нажмите текстовый документ «VirtualBox_Uninstall.tool», чтобы открыть его в окне Terminal.
- Подтвердите полное удаление VirtualBox, напечатав «yes». Отменить действие можно напечатав «no» или закрыв окно Terminal.
Когда все элементы VirtualBox будут удалены, вы можете закрыть окно Terminal.
Как удалить VirtualBox вручную
Если вы предпочитаете делать всё вручную, вы можете найти точное расположение всех директориев, компонентов, файлов и расширений VirtualBox и удалить их по отдельности
Вот список расположений файлов VirtualBox:
Легче всего находить и удалять файлы через Terminal, но вы можете делать это и через Finder.