Even after this, the uninstaller may not delete your or settings . Navigate to:
| Issue | Cause | Solution | |-------|-------|----------| | "Access denied" when deleting folder | Ren'Py or a project is running | Close launcher, check Task Manager for python.exe or renpy.exe . Reboot in Safe Mode if necessary. | | Reinstallation still shows old settings | Residual %APPDATA%\RenPy or ~/.renpy | Delete those folders before reinstalling. | | Steam uninstall leaves files | Steam only removes its own installed files | Manually delete leftover directories from steamapps/common . | | Symbolic links in projects | Projects may have linked assets | Use rm carefully; check ls -l for links before deletion. |
If your operating system prevents you from deleting a Ren’Py folder, the engine or an associated text editor (like Atom or Visual Studio Code) might still be running in the background. uninstall renpy
Normally, deleting Ren’Py won't delete your game projects if you saved them in a separate directory. However, if your project folders are located inside the main Ren’Py directory, they will be deleted along with the app.
The first thing to understand about uninstalling Ren'Py is that it typically does not come with a traditional installer or an uninstaller executable. On Windows, there is no entry in the "Add or Remove Programs" list; on macOS, no drag-to-Trash removal from the Applications folder will suffice. Instead, Ren'Py operates as a self-contained, portable application. This design choice is a double-edged sword. On one hand, it means that uninstalling is as simple as deleting the folder where Ren'Py resides. On the other hand, users accustomed to automated uninstallers may feel uncertain about whether they have removed every trace of the program. Even after this, the uninstaller may not delete
wanting to start a game from scratch, you must delete the corresponding folder in the %appdata%\RenPy directory 1.2.5. Summary Checklist Delete the Ren'Py SDK or Game folder.
Open , go to the location where you saved Ren’Py (e.g., Downloads or Applications). Drag the renpy-[version]-sdk folder to the Trash . | | Reinstallation still shows old settings |
On Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Fedora, Arch), Ren’Py is distributed as a .tar.bz2 archive. No package manager is used unless you manually installed via a PPA (rare).
Navigate to where you unzipped the Ren'Py SDK (e.g., C:\renpy or your Documents folder).
Ren'Py is a popular, open-source visual novel engine used to create thousands of games. Because it is designed to be lightweight and portable, it does not use a traditional installer—meaning it also does not have a traditional uninstaller.