Claude Code Uninstaller — Development skill for Claude Code

Claude Code Uninstaller

Anthropic's native binary installation (currently in beta) doesn't provide an uninstall method. This script removes both npm and native binary installations completely.

**Anthropic now provides [official uninstall instructions](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/setup#uninstall-claude-code).** As of 2026‑01‑06 you can follow their guide directly, but this script remains available if you prefer a single command that cleans up every installation source and makes backups for you.

Usage

Why this exists

Mixed npm/native installs used to leave stray binaries, shell completions, and caches that interfered with new releases. This script gives you a clean slate by removing every known Claude Code path (with backups) in one pass, which was especially important before Anthropic shipped an official uninstall flow.

Quick install (recommended)

chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh            # installs to ~/.local/bin/cc-uninstall by default
cc-uninstall --help

**Verification:**

command -v cc-uninstall   # should print ~/.local/bin/cc-uninstall
cc-uninstall --help       # shows usage banner

Run directly

chmod +x cc-uninstall.sh
./cc-uninstall.sh

**Options:**

• --force - Skip prompts
• --quiet - Silent mode (implies --force, perfect for scripts)
• --help - Show help

**Examples:**

# Interactive (asks before removing ~/.claude)
./cc-uninstall.sh

# Automation/CI-CD
./cc-uninstall.sh --quiet

What Gets Removed

• Binaries: ~/.local/bin/claude, /usr/local/bin/claude, etc.
• Data cache: ~/.local/share/claude
• NPM packages: Global installations and broken leftovers
• Shell configs: Removes Claude lines from .bashrc, .zshrc, etc. (creates backups)
• User settings: ~/.claude, ~/.claude.json
• Project settings: .claude/ directory and .mcp.json in the directory where you run the script

Safety Features

**Shell config backups**: Before modifying