How do I uninstall FlightGear completely?

To uninstall FlightGear completely, remove the application with your operating system’s normal uninstaller, then delete its per-user profile, downloaded scenery, add-on aircraft and any manually configured data folders. The application and user data are separate, so removing the program alone usually leaves settings and large TerraSync files behind.

What must be removed for a full FlightGear uninstall?

A complete FlightGear uninstall removes the application, its user profile and any content stored outside both locations. FlightGear calls its main application-data location FG_ROOT and its writable user profile FG_HOME; our guide to FlightGear data paths and variables explains how these locations differ.

Those are the normal profile locations, but older releases and customised launchers may use another folder. Check for manually assigned FG_HOME, FG_ROOT, FG_SCENERY and FG_AIRCRAFT paths before deleting anything. Each operating-system account has its own profile, so removing data from one account will not remove another user’s settings.

What should I back up before removing FlightGear?

Back up the user profile and every custom scenery or aircraft folder if you may reinstall FlightGear later. Useful items can include joystick configurations, saved flights, flight plans, screenshots, logbook data and locally installed aircraft.

TerraSync scenery can consume substantial disk space, but it can be downloaded again. Preserve only irreplaceable custom content; our instructions for backing up FlightGear’s profile and add-on folders cover the locations most often missed.

How do I completely uninstall FlightGear from Windows?

On Windows, run the FlightGear uninstaller first and then remove the user profile and any separately stored content.

1. Close FlightGear: Exit both the simulator and launcher. Use Task Manager to confirm that no FlightGear or fgfs process remains.
2. Run the uninstaller: Open Windows Settings, find FlightGear in the installed-apps list and select Uninstall. An older installation may instead appear in Control Panel’s Programs and Features list.
3. Check the application folder: If its FlightGear installation directory remains after uninstalling, delete it after confirming that it contains nothing you want to keep. If FlightGear was extracted from an archive rather than installed, there may be no uninstaller; delete the extracted folder manually. Our explanation of files created by portable FlightGear installations helps distinguish the program folder from external user data.
4. Delete the Windows profile: Enter %APPDATA% in File Explorer’s address bar and remove the flightgear.org folder. Check your user folder for an older .fgfs directory as well, but delete it only if it clearly belongs to FlightGear.
5. Remove downloaded content: Delete TerraSync scenery, add-on aircraft and custom scenery folders stored elsewhere. These may be on another drive and will not be touched by the uninstaller.
6. Remove manual configuration: Delete FlightGear environment variables, custom shortcuts and launcher command-line options that you created. Do not remove unrelated system variables.
7. Clear optional launcher preferences: Some Windows builds store launcher settings under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\flightgear.org. If that key exists and a completely fresh reinstall is required, export it as a backup and then delete only that FlightGear key. Registry editing is not needed merely to reclaim disk space, and a generic registry cleaner should not be used.

How do I completely uninstall FlightGear from macOS?

On macOS, delete the FlightGear application bundle and then remove its data from your user Library.

1. Quit the application: Close FlightGear and its launcher, checking Activity Monitor if the application refuses to move to the Bin.
2. Remove the app bundle: Delete FlightGear.app from Applications or from whichever folder contains it. If a package manager installed it, remove it through that same package manager instead.
3. Delete the main profile: In Finder, use Go to Folder and enter ~/Library/Application Support/FlightGear. Remove that folder after backing up anything required.
4. Check macOS preferences and caches: Inspect ~/Library/Preferences, ~/Library/Caches and ~/Library/Saved Application State. Remove only files or folders whose names clearly identify FlightGear or flightgear.org; do not delete the parent directories.
5. Remove external content: Delete custom aircraft, scenery and TerraSync directories if you placed them outside the profile. Also remove FlightGear variables from shell configuration files if you added them manually.
6. Delete the discarded files: Permanently remove the FlightGear items from the Bin once you have checked the backup.

How do I completely uninstall FlightGear from Linux?

On Linux, remove FlightGear using the same installation method that installed it, then delete the hidden profile and any sandbox or custom-data directories.

If you cannot remember whether you used a distribution package or Flatpak, compare your setup with our breakdown of FlightGear’s Linux installation methods.

1. Identify the installation method: Check your software centre, package manager and flatpak list. Do not install a second package merely to make FlightGear appear in another manager.
2. Remove distribution packages: On Debian-based systems, list installed FlightGear packages with apt list --installed 2>/dev/null | grep -i flightgear, then use sudo apt purge followed by the exact package names reported. Other distributions should use their equivalent remove command. Review any proposed automatic dependency removal before accepting it.
3. Remove a Flatpak installation: Obtain the application ID from flatpak list --app, then run flatpak uninstall --delete-data APPLICATION_ID. If the data option was not used, inspect ~/.var/app/APPLICATION_ID for a remaining sandbox.
4. Remove a manual build or archive: Delete a self-contained extracted directory or image. For a source installation written into a system prefix, use the original build system’s uninstall target or installation manifest. Do not guess which files under /usr or /usr/local belong to FlightGear.
5. Delete the Linux profile: After backing it up, remove ~/.fgfs. Enable hidden-file display in the file manager if it is not visible.
6. Check launcher data: Inspect ~/.config, ~/.cache and ~/.local/share for entries explicitly named FlightGear or flightgear.org. Remove only those matching entries.
7. Remove custom paths: Delete external aircraft, scenery and TerraSync directories, then remove FlightGear environment variables or aliases from shell startup files such as your Bash or Zsh configuration.

Will uninstalling FlightGear delete add-on aircraft and scenery?

Add-ons inside the application folder or user profile will be deleted with those folders, while content stored elsewhere will remain. Check every path configured in the launcher before removal, particularly TerraSync directories on secondary drives and aircraft libraries shared between FlightGear installations.

Do not delete an external folder merely because FlightGear used it. Confirm that it does not contain unrelated downloads, source files or content required by another installation.

Why do FlightGear settings return after reinstalling?

Old settings return when the previous FG_HOME, launcher preferences or a custom environment variable survives the uninstall. Remove or rename the old profile, clear platform-specific launcher preferences and check shortcuts for explicit path arguments before reinstalling.

Renaming the profile is safer when diagnosing a problem: FlightGear creates a clean profile at the next launch, while the original remains available for recovering controls or other settings.

How can I confirm FlightGear is fully removed?

FlightGear is functionally removed when no application, package, profile or custom content directory remains and the fgfs executable can no longer be found.

• On Windows, run where fgfs in Command Prompt; on macOS or Linux, run command -v fgfs. A returned path may reveal another installation.
• Search your own files for FlightGear, flightgear.org, .fgfs and TerraSync, inspecting every result before deletion.
• Check secondary disks and network locations used for scenery or aircraft.
• Confirm that the operating system’s package list no longer contains FlightGear packages.

Backup snapshots, recent-item history and generic operating-system logs may still contain historical references. They do not affect a clean FlightGear reinstall and should not be treated as active simulator files.