How do I completely uninstall X-Plane 11 or 12?

To completely uninstall X-Plane 11 or X-Plane 12, back up anything you want to keep, use Steam’s uninstall command for a Steam copy, then delete the remaining X-Plane installation folder. For a Laminar Research download or disc installation, delete that folder directly. Remove external add-on tools and caches separately.

What should I back up before removing X-Plane?

Back up only the files you cannot replace, and store them outside the X-Plane folder you are about to delete. A mistake we see constantly is copying files into another subfolder of the same installation and then deleting the whole thing.

• Aircraft and liveries: custom content under Aircraft, including liveries stored inside individual aircraft folders.
• Scenery: custom packages under Custom Scenery, along with scenery_packs.ini if you want a record of the old loading order.
• Navigation data: paid or manually installed data under Custom Data, unless your provider can reinstall it.
• Flights and controller profiles: inspect Output for saved flight plans, situations, replays and control profiles. Preferences can be backed up, but restoring them defeats the purpose of a clean settings reset.
• Third-party plugins: save only plugins or scripts you cannot download again. Avoid restoring the entire Resources/plugins folder into a clean installation.

Our folder-by-folder explanation of X-Plane mod locations can help identify custom files mixed with the stock installation. Also retain any licence information you may need. If a payware product provides a documented deactivation function, use that before deleting it.

How do I remove a Steam copy of X-Plane?

A Steam installation requires both Steam’s uninstall command and a manual check for files Steam did not install.

1. Close X-Plane and related tools. Stop external scenery loaders, plugin utilities and any process using the simulator folder.
2. Note the installation location. Use Steam’s local-files or browse function before uninstalling so you know which library contains X-Plane.
3. Run Steam’s uninstall command. Select X-Plane 11 or X-Plane 12 in the library and use its Manage or Uninstall option.
4. Delete the remaining version folder. Inspect the relevant Steam library under steamapps/common. If the X-Plane 11 or X-Plane 12 folder remains, delete it after confirming your backups. Steam commonly leaves custom aircraft, scenery, plugins and other unmanaged files behind.
5. Empty the Recycle Bin or Trash. Do this only after checking that no wanted screenshots, flight plans or add-ons remain.

How do I remove a direct-download or disc installation?

The standalone X-Plane installer creates a largely self-contained installation, so deleting its complete root folder removes the simulator and its normal preferences, logs, shader cache and installed add-ons.

1. Quit X-Plane. Make sure the simulator, installer and updater are not running.
2. Locate the installation root. This is the folder containing the X-Plane executable or macOS application together with directories such as Aircraft, Custom Scenery, Output and Resources.
3. Delete the whole folder. On macOS, do not delete only the X-Plane application bundle; the adjacent data directories contain most of the installation. The same folder-based removal applies on Windows and Linux.
4. Remove obsolete shortcuts and installers. Delete desktop or menu shortcuts and any separately downloaded installer copy if you no longer need it.

A standalone copy does not require a registry cleaner or a traditional Windows Apps uninstaller. Do not delete a parent folder containing another X-Plane version: X-Plane 11 and 12 can be installed separately, and one may reference scenery stored with the other.

What X-Plane files can remain outside the installation?

External utilities, shared scenery libraries and installer location records can survive after the main X-Plane folder has gone.

• External add-on applications: remove these through their own uninstallers or documented removal process. They may have background services, configuration files or licence managers used by other products.
• Scenery and imagery caches: orthophoto loaders and map tools may store many gigabytes outside X-Plane. If you used X-Plane Map Enhancement, check the guidance on removing its generated scenery, plugin files and cache.
• Linked scenery: deleting a symbolic link or junction from Custom Scenery normally removes only the link, not the target library. Delete the target separately only if no surviving X-Plane installation uses it.
• Shared utilities: flight-planning clients, navigation-data managers and controller software should not be removed merely because they were used with X-Plane.

The X-Plane installer may retain a small location record named x-plane_install_11.txt or x-plane_install_12.txt. It is normally found in the user’s Local AppData folder on Windows, ~/Library/Preferences on macOS or ~/.x-plane on Linux. This record is harmless, but it can be removed for a complete clean-up. If it lists another same-version installation, remove only the stale path rather than deleting the entire record.

Do I need a complete uninstall to fix crashes?

No; most X-Plane crashes and start-up failures can be isolated without deleting the simulator. Move Output/preferences aside, disable third-party plugins and test with custom scenery removed before resorting to a complete uninstall.

Steam’s file verification or the standalone updater can restore missing and modified stock files, but neither reliably removes extra files added by mods. Our X-Plane crash and start-up troubleshooting process explains how to isolate those files safely. A full removal makes sense when reclaiming storage, retiring an old version or creating a genuinely uncontaminated test installation.

How do I make the reinstall genuinely clean?

Install X-Plane into a new or completely empty folder, launch it once in stock form, and restore custom content gradually.

1. Confirm the old root folder is gone. Reinstalling over a folder containing old plugins or preferences is not a clean installation.
2. Install and run the stock simulator. For version 12, follow our fresh X-Plane 12 installation procedure; use Steam or the appropriate installer for your own edition.
3. Test before adding anything. Configure basic graphics and controls, load a default aircraft and confirm the simulator starts normally.
4. Restore add-ons in small groups. Test after each aircraft, plugin or scenery group. If troubleshooting was the reason for reinstalling, do not restore the old preferences or shader cache.