ck uninstall

Remove ClaudeKit installations from your system with intelligent customization preservation and ownership-aware file management.

Quick Start

# Interactive mode (prompts for scope and confirmation)
ck uninstall

# Uninstall local installation only
ck uninstall --local

# Uninstall global installation only
ck uninstall --global

# Uninstall both without confirmation
ck uninstall --yes

# Preview what would be removed
ck uninstall --dry-run

What It Does

The ck uninstall command:

Detects ClaudeKit installations (local .claude/ and/or global ~/.claude/)
Prompts you to choose scope (local, global, or both)
Analyzes files using ownership tracking
Shows preview of files to delete and preserve
Removes ClaudeKit-owned files
Preserves user customizations and configurations
Cleans up empty directories

Syntax

ck uninstall [OPTIONS]

Options

Flag	Description	Default
`--local` / `-l`	Uninstall only local installation (`.claude/`)	Prompt
`--global` / `-g`	Uninstall only global installation (`~/.claude/`)	Prompt
`--all`	Uninstall both local and global	Prompt
`--yes` / `-y`	Skip confirmation prompt	`false`
`--kit <name>`	Uninstall specific kit only (multi-kit installations)	All kits
`--dry-run`	Preview changes without removing files	`false`
`--force-overwrite`	Delete modified files (use with caution)	`false`
`--verbose`	Enable verbose logging	`false`

Installation Scopes

Local Installation

Located in project’s .claude/ directory:

my-project/
└── .claude/
    ├── agents/
    ├── commands/
    ├── skills/
    └── ...

When to uninstall:

Removing ClaudeKit from specific project
Switching to global installation
Project no longer needs ClaudeKit

Global Installation

Located in user’s home directory:

macOS/Linux: ~/.claude/ Windows: %USERPROFILE%\.claude\

When to uninstall:

No longer using ClaudeKit
Switching to local-only installations
Clean reinstall needed

Multi-Kit Installations

If multiple kits are installed (Engineer + Marketing), you can:

Uninstall specific kit: ck uninstall --kit engineer
Uninstall all kits: ck uninstall

Examples

Interactive Uninstall

Let the CLI guide you through the process:

ck uninstall

Example output:

ClaudeKit Uninstaller

Detected ClaudeKit installations (both)
  Local : /Users/you/my-project/.claude
  Global: /Users/you/.claude

[!] This will permanently delete ClaudeKit files from the above paths.

Which installation(s) do you want to uninstall?
> Local only
  Global only
  Both

Local only selected

Continue with uninstalling local ClaudeKit installation? (y/n) y

Removing local ClaudeKit files...
✓ Removed 245 files, cleaned 15 empty directories, preserved 8 customizations

Preserved customizations:
  - .env (user-created)
  - commands/custom-cmd/ (user-created)
  - workflows/my-workflow.md (modified by user)
  ...

ClaudeKit uninstalled successfully!

Local Installation Only

Remove ClaudeKit from current project:

ck uninstall --local

Equivalent short form:

ck uninstall -l

Global Installation Only

Remove ClaudeKit from user directory:

ck uninstall --global

Equivalent short form:

ck uninstall -g

Non-Interactive Uninstall

Skip all prompts (useful for scripts):

# Local only, no confirmation
ck uninstall --local --yes

# Global only, no confirmation
ck uninstall --global --yes

# Both, no confirmation
ck uninstall --yes

Dry Run

Preview what would be removed without actually deleting:

ck uninstall --dry-run

Example output:

DRY RUN MODE - No files will be deleted

DRY RUN - Preview for local installation:

Files to DELETE (245):
  ✖ agents/planner/
  ✖ commands/plan/
  ✖ skills/ai-multimodal/
  ...
  ... and 235 more

Files to PRESERVE (8):
  ✓ .env (user-created)
  ✓ commands/custom-cmd/ (user-created)
  ✓ workflows/my-workflow.md (modified by user)
  ...

Dry-run complete. No changes were made.

Uninstall Specific Kit

For multi-kit installations, remove one kit while keeping others:

ck uninstall --kit engineer

Example output:

Kit-scoped uninstall: engineer kit only

Removing local engineer kit files...
✓ Removed 150 files, marketing kit preserved

Remaining kits after uninstall: marketing

Force Overwrite Modified Files

Delete even files you’ve modified (use with caution):

ck uninstall --force-overwrite --yes

Warning: This permanently deletes your customizations. Use only when:

You want a completely clean slate
Customizations are backed up elsewhere
Starting fresh installation

File Ownership and Preservation

The CLI uses ownership tracking to intelligently preserve your work.

Ownership Categories

Ownership	Description	Default Action
ck-owned	Original ClaudeKit files, unmodified	DELETE
ck-modified	ClaudeKit files you’ve edited	PRESERVE
user-created	Files you created	PRESERVE

Always Preserved

Regardless of ownership:

.env, .env.local, .env.*.local
*.key, *.pem, *.p12, *.pfx
settings.json, settings.local.json
CLAUDE.md (in global mode)
Files in node_modules/, .git/, dist/, build/

Customization Detection

The CLI detects customizations via:

Manifest comparison - Files not in release manifest are user-created
Checksum verification - Modified files detected via SHA-256 hash
Pattern matching - Known user config files preserved

Common Patterns

Clean Project Uninstall

Remove ClaudeKit from project while keeping configs:

cd my-project
ck uninstall --local

Preserves:

.env files
Custom commands
Modified workflows

Complete Removal

Remove all ClaudeKit installations system-wide:

ck uninstall --yes

When prompted, select “Both” to remove local and global.

Safe Uninstall with Preview

Check what will be removed before confirming:

ck uninstall --dry-run
ck uninstall  # Proceed if satisfied

Switch from Local to Global

# Remove local installation
cd my-project
ck uninstall --local --yes

# Install globally
ck init --global

Switch from Global to Local

# Remove global installation
ck uninstall --global --yes

# Install locally
cd my-project
ck init

Troubleshooting

”No ClaudeKit installations found”

Cause: No valid ClaudeKit installations detected.

Explanation:

The CLI only uninstalls directories that:

Contain metadata.json (ClaudeKit installation marker)
Are valid ClaudeKit installations

Regular .claude directories from Claude Desktop are NOT affected.

Solution:

If you believe ClaudeKit is installed:

# Check for metadata
cat .claude/metadata.json
cat ~/.claude/metadata.json

# Run doctor to diagnose
ck doctor

“Kit engineer is not installed”

Cause: Specified kit not found in installation.

Solution:

# Check installed kits
ck doctor

# Uninstall all kits
ck uninstall  # Don't use --kit flag

Files Still Exist After Uninstall

Expected: User customizations are intentionally preserved.

To view what was preserved:

ck uninstall --dry-run

To force complete deletion:

# WARNING: Deletes ALL customizations
ck uninstall --force-overwrite --yes

Or manually:

rm -rf .claude/  # Local
rm -rf ~/.claude/  # Global

Permission Denied

Symptoms:

Failed to remove files from /path: EACCES: permission denied

Solutions:

Linux/macOS:

sudo ck uninstall

Windows:

Run PowerShell as Administrator, then:

ck uninstall

What Gets Removed

After uninstalling, ClaudeKit-owned files are deleted:

Deleted

agents/ directory (ClaudeKit-owned agents)
commands/ directory (ClaudeKit-owned commands)
skills/ directory (ClaudeKit-owned skills)
workflows/ directory (ClaudeKit-owned workflows)
hooks/ directory
metadata.json
Empty parent directories

Preserved

.env files
Custom commands (not in manifest)
Modified workflows
User-created skills
settings.json, CLAUDE.md

Reinstallation

To reinstall ClaudeKit after uninstalling:

Fresh Install

ck init --fresh

Or for new projects:

ck new --kit engineer

With Preserved Customizations

After uninstall (which preserves customizations), simply:

ck init

Your preserved files will be merged with new installation.

Platform-Specific Notes

Windows

Global path: %USERPROFILE%\.claude\
Use PowerShell or Windows Terminal
May require administrator privileges

macOS

Global path: ~/.claude/
Preserved files shown in Finder
Uses native file operations

Linux

Global path: ~/.claude/
WSL fully supported
May need sudo for system directories

Alternative: Manual Removal

If CLI uninstall fails, manually remove:

Local Installation

rm -rf .claude/

Global Installation

# macOS/Linux
rm -rf ~/.claude/

# Windows (PowerShell)
Remove-Item -Recurse -Force $env:USERPROFILE\.claude

Warning: Manual removal bypasses ownership tracking and deletes everything, including customizations.

Next Steps

After uninstalling:

Reinstall if needed:

ck init

Install different kit:

ck new --kit marketing

Uninstall CLI itself:

npm uninstall -g claudekit-cli

ck init - Reinstall ClaudeKit
ck new - Create fresh project
ck doctor - Diagnose installation
Installation - Setup guide