# How to Uninstall Python, Node and Java on Windows > Remove Python, Node.js, Java and Eclipse from Windows completely, including the PATH entries, caches and config folders their uninstallers leave behind. - Source: https://zepe.online/guides/uninstall-dev-tools-windows - Author: Robert Moca (https://zepe.online/author/robert-moca) - Topic: Performance and storage - Published: 2026-07-23T09:00:00+00:00 - Updated: 2026-08-13T09:00:00+00:00 - Author: Zepe editorial team (https://zepe.online/editorial-standards) - Image: https://zepe.online/img/uninstall-dev-tools-windows-featured-e055dd3480.webp ## The short answer Start with **Settings → Apps → Installed apps** and choose **Uninstall**. That leaves the leftovers: PATH entries, caches in `%APPDATA%` and `%LOCALAPPDATA%`, and config folders. Clearing those stops a reinstall inheriting the mess. ## Key takeaways - Uninstallers remove the runtime; they deliberately leave your packages and configuration behind. - Stale PATH entries pointing at deleted folders are the usual cause of "command not found" after a reinstall. - npm's global folder and pip's cache routinely run to several gigabytes and survive every uninstall. - Uninstall multiple Python versions oldest-first, and check the Python Launcher entry separately: it is listed as its own app. Development tools are unusual among Windows programs in that they deliberately leave things behind, and that is the right default: your installed packages and configuration are your work, not the vendor's files. It only becomes a problem when you are uninstalling precisely because something is broken, and the reinstall cheerfully picks up all the same broken state you were trying to escape. This guide covers the ordinary uninstall and then the leftovers, per tool. ## The uninstall itself ### Remove the program 1. Open **Settings → Apps → Installed apps** (Windows 11) or **Apps & features** (Windows 10). 2. Search for the tool by name and click the **⋯** menu → **Uninstall**. Control Panel → Programs and Features still works and sometimes lists things the Settings page misses, particularly older MSI installs. 3. Repeat for every related entry. Python installs a separate **Python Launcher** entry, Java often has several versions listed, and Node may have a separate npm entry. 4. Restart before reinstalling anything. PATH changes are read at process start; without a restart, an open terminal still holds the old value. **Figure: Typical leftover size after uninstalling** Approximate figures from a machine used for a couple of years of mixed development. None of this is removed by the uninstaller. - npm cache and global packages: 4 GB (%APPDATA%\npm and npm-cache) - Maven repository: 2 GB (%USERPROFILE%\.m2) - pip cache and site-packages: 1.5 GB (%LOCALAPPDATA%\pip\Cache) - Eclipse workspace and p2 store: 1 GB (workspace and .p2 folders) ## Python Python is the one most likely to leave a machine in a genuinely confusing state, because it is so easy to end up with three versions installed from three different sources without ever having decided to. 1. **Uninstall every Python entry** in Installed apps, oldest first. Also remove **Python Launcher**, which is a separate entry and is what actually resolves the `py` command. 2. **Check for a Microsoft Store version.** Typing `python` on a machine without Python opens the Store, and some people install it from there. It appears in Installed apps as *Python 3.x* published by the Python Software Foundation. 3. **Delete the leftover folders:** `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Python`, `%APPDATA%\Python` and `%LOCALAPPDATA%\pip\Cache`. 4. **Clean PATH.** Remove entries pointing at Python directories that no longer exist; see the PATH section below. 5. **Remove the Store aliases.** Settings → Apps → Advanced app settings → **App execution aliases**, and turn off the `python.exe` and `python3.exe` entries. Left on, they intercept the command and reopen the Store, which looks exactly like a broken install. > **Shortcut — The app execution alias catches almost everyone** > > You uninstall Python, reinstall it properly, type `python`, and the Microsoft Store opens. That is the execution alias, not your installation. Turning both aliases off under App execution aliases fixes it immediately. ## Node.js and npm Node's uninstaller takes the runtime and leaves behind every globally installed package plus the entire npm cache, which on a working development machine is usually the largest leftover of the lot. 1. **Uninstall Node.js** from Installed apps. 2. **Delete `%APPDATA%\npm`** — globally installed packages and their shims. 3. **Delete `%APPDATA%\npm-cache`** or `%LOCALAPPDATA%\npm-cache` depending on version. This is frequently several gigabytes. 4. **Delete `C:\Program Files\nodejs`** if it survived the uninstall. 5. **Remove `%USERPROFILE%\.npmrc`** if you want a genuinely clean slate — note that it may hold registry credentials you need. 6. **Clean PATH** of any `nodejs` or `npm` entries. If you juggle Node versions, consider not installing Node directly at all. A version manager such as nvm-windows keeps each version in its own folder and switches the PATH for you, which removes this entire category of problem. ## Java Java machines accumulate versions the way drawers accumulate cables. Check Installed apps for every entry beginning *Java*, *Java SE*, *JDK*, *OpenJDK*, *Temurin*, *Zulu* or *Corretto*: different vendors, all providing the same thing, and very often all present at once without anyone remembering installing them. 1. **Uninstall each Java entry.** Oracle also publishes a Java Uninstall Tool that removes older versions its installer left behind. 2. **Delete leftover folders** under `C:\Program Files\Java` and `C:\Program Files (x86)\Java`. 3. **Remove the Maven repository** at `%USERPROFILE%\.m2` if you no longer need the cached dependencies. It is commonly a gigabyte or two. 4. **Remove the Gradle cache** at `%USERPROFILE%\.gradle`, which is often larger still. 5. **Clear `JAVA_HOME`** and remove Java entries from PATH. A `JAVA_HOME` pointing at a deleted folder breaks build tools with a message that does not obviously say so. ## Eclipse Eclipse usually has no uninstaller at all, because it ships as a folder you extract and run. Getting rid of it means deleting that folder, plus three things it quietly created elsewhere that nothing will clean up for you. - **The installation folder**, wherever you extracted it. If you used the Eclipse Installer, look in `%USERPROFILE%\eclipse`. - **Your workspace**, by default `%USERPROFILE%\eclipse-workspace`. This contains your projects — check before deleting. - **`%USERPROFILE%\.p2`**, the plugin bundle pool, which the Eclipse Installer shares between installations and can be large. - **`%USERPROFILE%\.eclipse`**, holding settings and licence acceptance state. ## Cleaning up PATH This is the step that actually matters, and the one everybody skips. A PATH entry pointing at a folder that no longer exists is harmless in itself. Two live entries for different versions of the same tool is not: the wrong version runs, and nothing you do to the one you can see makes the slightest difference. If a tool keeps reporting a version you thought you removed, this is why. ### Edit the PATH environment variable 1. Press **Win + R**, type `sysdm.cpl` and press Enter. Or search for *environment variables* in the Start menu. 2. Go to the **Advanced** tab → **Environment Variables**. 3. In **User variables**, select **Path** and click **Edit**. Repeat afterwards for **System variables**. Tools install into either or both. Checking only one is why a stale entry survives. 4. Delete lines pointing at folders you have removed, then click OK on every dialog. Entries appear greyed out or marked when the folder does not exist, which makes the dead ones easy to spot. 5. Open a **new** terminal and run `where python`, `where node` or `where java` to confirm. `where` lists every match in PATH order. More than one line for a tool you thought you removed is the whole problem in one command. **Where each tool leaves things behind** | Tool | Leftover locations | Safe to delete? | | --- | --- | --- | | Python | `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Python`, `%APPDATA%\Python`, pip cache | Yes | | Node.js | `%APPDATA%\npm`, `npm-cache`, `.npmrc` | Yes — check .npmrc for credentials | | Java | `C:\Program Files\Java`, `.m2`, `.gradle` | Yes — caches re-download | | Eclipse | install folder, `.p2`, `.eclipse`, workspace | **Workspace holds your projects** | | All of them | PATH entries, `JAVA_HOME` | Yes, if the folder is gone | > **Careful — Check before deleting a workspace or .m2** > > An Eclipse workspace contains your actual projects, not just settings. `.m2` may contain internal artefacts that are not available from a public repository and cannot simply be re-downloaded. Both are commonly recommended for deletion in cleanup guides; look inside first. > **Editor's note — On registry cleaners** > > There is no need for a registry cleaner here, and no benefit either. Leftover registry entries from a development tool take up a few kilobytes and do nothing at all. Every problem described on this page comes from PATH and from files on disk, both of which you can see and verify yourself. A registry cleaner cannot fix either, and can break things that were working fine. If the reason for all this is disk space rather than a broken install, it is worth running through the guide on [deleting temporary files and Windows.old](https://zepe.online/guides/delete-temp-files-windows) as well — between the two you will usually find considerably more than you expected. If C: is still short afterwards, [extending the partition](https://zepe.online/guides/extend-c-drive-windows-10) is the next step. To check what is actually installed and running, the [terminal guide](https://zepe.online/guides/open-terminal-windows) covers the `where` and `Get-Command` lookups used above. ## Common questions ### Why does typing python still open the Microsoft Store after I uninstalled it? That is Windows' app execution alias, not your installation. Go to Settings → Apps → Advanced app settings → **App execution aliases** and turn off the `python.exe` and `python3.exe` entries. Until you do, they intercept the command regardless of what is actually installed. ### Does uninstalling Node.js remove my global npm packages? No. Globally installed packages live in `%APPDATA%\npm` and are left in place deliberately, along with the npm cache. Delete both folders manually if you want a clean slate: the cache in particular is often several gigabytes. ### Is it safe to delete the .m2 folder? Usually yes — it is a cache of downloaded dependencies and Maven re-fetches what it needs. The exception is a machine that has built against an internal artefact repository, where some jars may not be available publicly. Look inside before deleting if the machine has ever built company code. ### How do I know which version of a tool is actually running? Run `where python` in Command Prompt, or `Get-Command python -All` in PowerShell. Both list every matching executable in PATH order, and the first one is what runs. Two entries for a tool you thought you uninstalled explains most confusing version behaviour. ## Sources - [Using Python on Windows](https://docs.python.org/3/using/windows.html) — Python Software Foundation. Supports: The installation locations under %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Python, the role of the Python Launcher, and the Microsoft Store distribution. - [How do I uninstall Java on my Windows computer?](https://www.java.com/en/download/help/uninstall_java.html) — java.com. Supports: That multiple Java versions can be installed simultaneously and must each be uninstalled, and the existence of a dedicated uninstall tool. - [Node.js downloads](https://nodejs.org/en/download) — OpenJS Foundation. Supports: That Node.js is distributed both as a Windows installer and through version managers, which is the basis for the nvm-windows recommendation. ## Related guides - https://zepe.online/guides/delete-temp-files-windows - https://zepe.online/guides/extend-c-drive-windows-10 - https://zepe.online/guides/open-terminal-windows --- © 2026 Zepe. Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation; this site is not affiliated with Microsoft.