I cannot delete apps from Launchpad

I think you mean, how do you just delete the apps that you do not use, right?😕

That Link guy gave you the atom bomb solution when you just wanted a scalpel.

Just go into the applications folder and move the ones you no longer want in Launchpad to the trash and empty it. That will delete individual apps. I just had to do that with Filezilla, then download its most updated version and--suddenly, it's back.

Protect your data with a recent backup, preferably Time Machine, before executing any commands on the command line. Carefully read, research, and understand what a command does before pressing the Return key as you do so entirely at your own risk. Be aware that you can render you system inoperable by deleting system files.

If you've deleted the app and the app's icon remains in Launchpad, try refreshing Launchpad with the following command in Terminal. Press the Enter key to execute:

killall Dock

If the app icon still persists, you can remove it from the Launchpad database with the sqlite3 command line interface. Replace APPNAME in the following command with the name of the app whose icon you want to remove. The app name will be the same as that displayed in Launchpad. Enter your admin password when prompted:

sqlite3 $(sudo find /private/var/folders -name com.apple.dock.launchpad)/db/db "DELETE FROM apps WHERE title='APPNAME';" && killall Dock

If you prefer to load the Launchpad database and view the record for the app in question using sqlite3 meta-commands before deleting, start with:

sqlite3 $(sudo find /private/var/folders -name com.apple.dock.launchpad)/db/db

To view the tables in the database use this command following the sqlite> prompt:

.tables

Notice that one of the tables is called apps. To view all the records in this table, use:

SELECT * FROM apps;

To view the record for the app in question, use the following command, substituting the name of the app in question for APPNAME:

SELECT * FROM apps WHERE title='APPNAME';

To delete the record for the app in question, substitute the name of the app for APPNAME:

DELETE FROM apps WHERE title='APPNAME';

You'll receive no confirmation, but you can use the Select command again to verify the deletion as the command will not return a record for the app in question.

Finally, to exit sqlite3:

.exit

To finish up, refresh Launchpad with the following command:

killall Dock

If you prefer a GUI solution (mostly), you can view the Launchpad database in a database management tool such as DB Browser for SQLite. Download DB Browser, install, and open. In terminal, locate the Launchpad database with the following command. Enter your admin password when prompted:

sudo find /private/var/folders -name com.apple.dock.launchpad

The result returned should look similar to the following:

/private/var/folders/8b/fdnjcgqj0730mt2pxjx88rwm0000gn/0/com.apple.dock.launchpa d

Triple-click the result to highlight, Control-click the highlighted text, select Services from the pop-up menu, and then Open from the sub-menu to open in Finder. Drag the database file from the Finder window and drop it onto DB Browser's window.

In DB Browser, click the Browse Data button. Select apps from the Table pop-up list.

Scroll the table to locate the record for the app you want to delete. Click the line number for the record at the far left to highlight the row. Click the Delete Record button to delete the record. To undo the delete of the record, click Revert Changes from the tool bar and click Yes from the dialog that appears. If after deleting the record you are sure about the action, Click Write Changes from the tool bar to permanently delete the record. Quit DB Browser.

Back in Terminal, use the following command to see the change in Launchpad:

killall Dock

Man page KILLALL(1)

Man page SQLITE3(1)

http://sqlitebrowser.org/

http://www.sqlite.org/cli.html

http://www.sqlite.org/index.html

This procedure will reset the state of LaunchPad to its default. Any customization that you did will be removed.

Back up all data before proceeding.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

~/Library/Application Support/Dock

Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select

Services ▹ Open

from the contextual menu.* A folder should open. Inside it are one or more files with long names ending in ".db". Move those files to the Desktop, leaving the folder open. Log out, log back in, and test. If there's no change, put the files you moved back where they were, overwriting the ones that may have been created in their place. Then log out and in again. Otherwise, delete the files you moved.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select

Go ▹ Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

Hoam Rogh wrote:

I think you mean, how do you just delete the apps that you do not use, right?😕

Based on his post, I'm guessing no, that's not right. Again, based on the wording in the post detailing the fact that he has already done that, Linc's suggestion is the only one I am aware of, unless you know SQL and can use the "scalpel" to delete the individual entry. Since most of the world is incapable of that, the atom bomb approach is pretty much it.

So is it a bug? If the user deleted the application, why is it still on the launchpad? It would be a button to nothing.

Maybe the application the user is trying to delete is in its download file, or somewhere else that was not deleted. Can't you do a global search in finder to determine if the application is still out there somewhere.

Also, mac uses SQL for its local database? Cool.

Hoam Rogh wrote:

So is it a bug?

The SQLite databases seem to get corrupted here and there. It could be a problem with the engine itself or it could be a problem with how it was designed and implemented. When programmers build databases, they don't have the background knowledge to create one that is very robust. Instead of using the tools in the database to ensure consistency, they program it in the interface. That will lead to problems when they fail to cover all the possibilities. Now, SQLite is no SQL Server or Oracle, so it may not have all the necessary safeguards and must be programmed around. I don't know enough about it to say.

When you delete an app outside of Launchpad, something has to update the database. Or, the databases has to constantly poll the OS for the items. There is a file system database (fsevents) that does this and is what Time Machine uses to determine what needs backing up.

I don't know how they implemented the updates to the Launchpad items, but most methods have at least the potential for failing to update something that changes, which appears to be what happened here.

I always thought the LaunchPad was a half-baked idea to make something familiar for the switchers that were brought in by first owning an iPad. If I am correct, it will probably always have these glitches. It has absolutely no use to me, is difficult to manage yourself, and doesn't seem to be improving.

Roote wrote:

Scroll the table to locate the record for the app you want to delete.

If you prefer to sprint to the record rather than take a leisurely scroll, use a filter.

What would you consider to be easier? The suggestion I made should take you no more than about 30 seconds to complete, not counting the logout or restart.

that was awesome. Easily the best e-mail I got all day. Thanks!

Hi Hoam, you're welcome.