How to Completely Uninstall ServBay

ServBay is designed to be an easy-to-manage and maintain local web development environment. If you need to remove ServBay from your system, the uninstall process is simple and straightforward. This article provides detailed instructions to guide you through thoroughly uninstalling ServBay and cleaning up related files on both macOS and Windows.

⚠️ Important Notice ⚠️

Before proceeding with any uninstallation steps, be sure to back up your important data. This includes:

Data to Back Up:

• Website Project Files:
  • macOS: /Applications/ServBay/www
  • Windows: C:\ServBay\www
• Database Data (MySQL, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, etc.):
  • macOS: /Applications/ServBay/db
  • Windows: C:\ServBay\db
• ServBay Configuration Files and SSL Certificates

The uninstallation process will remove the ServBay installation directory and all its contents. Any data not backed up will be lost.

Detailed Uninstallation Steps

Follow these steps to ensure that ServBay and all its components are fully removed from your system.

Step 1: Quit the ServBay Application

Before uninstalling, make sure the ServBay application is fully closed:

macOS

Right-click the ServBay icon in the Dock and select "Quit," or choose "ServBay" > "Quit ServBay" from the ServBay app menu.

Windows

Right-click the ServBay icon in the system taskbar and select "Quit," or click the close button in ServBay’s main window.

Step 2: Remove ServBay Application Files

Uninstalling on macOS

1. Open Finder
2. Click Applications in the Finder sidebar
3. Locate ServBay.app in the application list
4. Drag ServBay.app to the Trash icon at the far right of the Dock
5. Right-click the Trash icon and select "Empty Trash"

Uninstalling on Windows

Important Notice

Windows users must disable startup at login before uninstalling! Please turn off the startup at login option on the ServBay settings page before proceeding to uninstall.

Step 1: Disable Startup at Login

1. Open the ServBay application
2. Go to the settings page
3. Turn off the "Start at login" option
4. Quit the ServBay application

Step 2: Official Uninstallation There are two ways to uninstall ServBay on Windows:

Method 1: Via Windows Settings

1. Open Windows Settings (Win + I)
2. Click "Apps"
3. Use the search in "Apps & features" to find "ServBay"
4. Click ServBay and select "Uninstall"

Method 2: Via Control Panel

1. Open Control Panel
2. Click "Programs and Features"
3. Locate and select "ServBay"
4. Click "Uninstall"

Step 3: Delete the ServBay Installation Directory

ServBay’s core files, packages, website files, and database data are all stored in the following directories by default:

• macOS: /Applications/ServBay
• Windows: C:\ServBay

Deleting this directory will remove all ServBay runtime files and your development data.

🛑 Final Warning 🛑

Before completing this step, double-check that you have backed up all important data as described in the "Important Notice" section at the beginning of this guide:

• macOS: /Applications/ServBay/www, /Applications/ServBay/db, etc.
• Windows: C:\ServBay\www, C:\ServBay\db, etc.

This action is irreversible. Deleted data cannot be recovered.

1. Open the Terminal application. You can find it via Spotlight search (Command + Space and type “Terminal”) or by navigating to “Applications” > “Utilities” > “Terminal” in Finder.
2. In the terminal window, run the following command to delete the ServBay installation directory and all its contents:

```bash
sudo rm -rf /Applications/ServBay
```
*   The `sudo` command allows you to run the following command with administrator privileges, as the `/Applications` directory usually requires admin permission. The system will prompt you for your user password.
*   `rm` is the command for removing files or directories.
*   The `-r` (recursive) option means everything inside the specified directory, including all subdirectories and files, will be deleted.
*   The `-f` (force) option deletes files without confirmation. **Be extremely careful when using `-f`.**

Once this command is executed, the `/Applications/ServBay` directory and all files and subdirectories within it—including your websites, databases, ServBay configurations, and more—will be deleted.

Step 4: Uninstall ServBay Helper Service (macOS Only)

macOS

ServBay Helper is a privileged tool used for tasks that require administrator rights (such as editing the hosts file or starting/stopping system services). To fully clean ServBay from your system, you need to uninstall this Helper service.

Execute the following commands in Terminal:

sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchDaemons/Dev.ServBay.macOS.ServBay.Helper.plist
sudo rm /Library/LaunchDaemons/Dev.ServBay.macOS.ServBay.Helper.plist
sudo rm /Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/Dev.ServBay.macOS.ServBay.Helper

• The first command uses launchctl unload to stop and remove the ServBay Helper’s launch agent configuration, preventing it from loading at startup.
• The second command deletes the Helper’s .plist configuration file, which instructs the system how to handle the Helper.
• The third command removes the actual executable for ServBay Helper.

All of these commands require administrator privileges; you will need to enter your user password.

Windows

There is no Helper service for ServBay on Windows, so you can skip this step. ServBay for Windows uses a simplified architecture and does not require privileged helper tools.

Step 5: Clean Up Environment Variables

Open your ~/.zshrc and ~/.bash_profile files and delete the following section:

# BEGIN ServBay Environment Block
# ...
# END ServBay Environment Block

Summary

By following these steps, you can completely uninstall ServBay, its installation directory, and related Helper services from your macOS system. One last reminder: backing up your data is the most crucial step before uninstalling. Before you delete the /Applications/ServBay directory, confirm that your website files, database data, and other important configurations are safely backed up.