Uninstall

Use the official interactive uninstaller to stop CtxE processes, remove service-manager definitions, clean supported MCP integrations, and choose how much local data to retain.

Run the uninstaller

macOS / Linux

curl -fsSL https://storage.tlelabs.com/ctxe/latest/uninstall.sh | sh

Windows (PowerShell)

irm https://storage.tlelabs.com/ctxe/latest/uninstall.ps1 | iex

The uninstaller requires an interactive terminal for destructive choices. It exits without deleting anything if confirmation is unavailable or declined.

Choose a removal scope

OptionRemovesKeeps
1. Runtime onlyBinaries, services, and supported Claude/Codex integration entriesGlobal config, local session, and indexes
2. Runtime + configRuntime items, global config, and local credentialsIndexes
3. EverythingRuntime items and all data managed globally by CtxE, including legacy dataWorkspace-local .ctxe directories

For options 1 and 2, a final prompt can also remove daemon runtime and watch state, health records, and logs. Index directories configured outside CtxE's managed data directory require separate confirmation.

Service and process cleanup

The uninstaller stops managed services before removing executables:

  • macOS: disables and unloads the com.ctxe.daemon and legacy com.ctxe.mcp launchd jobs, then removes their LaunchAgent files.
  • Linux: disables and stops the ctxe-daemon.service and legacy ctxe-mcp.service systemd user units.
  • Windows: disables, stops, and unregisters the CtxeIndexingDaemon and legacy CtxeMcp Scheduled Tasks.
  • Any remaining ctxe or legacy ctxe-mcp process is stopped before its binary is removed.

If service-manager cleanup cannot be verified, the uninstaller exits non-zero and retains binaries and configuration instead of leaving a partial uninstall.

What remains

  • Workspace-local .ctxe directories are never removed automatically.
  • Shared PATH entries are not changed because their directories may contain other tools.
  • Unsupported or manually configured MCP clients are not edited automatically.

Verify removal

macOS / Linux

command -v ctxe
command -v ctxe-mcp
test ! -e "$HOME/.ctxe" && echo "Global CtxE data removed"

Windows (PowerShell)

Get-Command ctxe.exe -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Get-Command ctxe-mcp.exe -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
Test-Path "$HOME\.ctxe"