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How to uninstall RetroBar
Uninstalling RetroBar takes three clicks, and the Windows taskbar comes straight back. We uninstalled RetroBar 1.22.122 on Windows 11 and two Windows Server versions and checked what was left afterwards: your settings and custom themes stay unless you remove them yourself.
On this page 7 sections
Short answer
How do I remove RetroBar?
Open Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find RetroBar, click the ⋯ menu and choose Uninstall. Answer Yes to remove it, then decide whether to delete your RetroBar settings. RetroBar closes and the Windows taskbar returns.
Only want the normal taskbar for a while? Right-click the RetroBar taskbar and choose Exit RetroBar; start it again from the Start menu.
Just switching back for now
Exit RetroBar in its right-click menu closes it properly, and RetroBar gives the Windows taskbar back as it was. In our tests the Windows taskbar was visible again straight after exiting, on all three machines. RetroBar starts again the next time you sign in only if “Automatically start at logon” is on.
If the Exit item is missing, it was turned off in Properties › Advanced (“Show Exit option in right-click menu”). You can still close RetroBar from Task Manager, but see below if the Windows taskbar then keeps hiding.
Uninstall, step by step
Start the uninstaller
Settings › Apps › Installed apps › RetroBar › ⋯ › Uninstall. On Windows 10, Settings › Apps › RetroBar › Uninstall. RetroBar installs for your user account, so it is listed under your account only. If RetroBar is running, the uninstaller asks you to close it first.
Confirm
Real screenshot · RetroBar 1.22.122 · Windows 11 (Arm64) build 26200.9711“Are you sure you want to completely remove RetroBar and all of its components?” Keep or delete your settings
Yes deletes
%LOCALAPPDATA%\RetroBar\settings.json. No keeps it, so a later reinstall starts with your theme and options. Either way, custom themes in%LOCALAPPDATA%\RetroBar\Themesare not deleted. The question only appears if you ever changed a setting (RetroBar writes the file on the first change).
Real screenshot · RetroBar 1.22.122 · Windows 11 (Arm64) build 26200.9711“Do you want to delete the RetroBar user settings?” Done
Real screenshot · RetroBar 1.22.122 · Windows 11 (Arm64) build 26200.9711“RetroBar was successfully removed from your computer.”
What is left afterwards
We answered No to the settings question, then looked at the PC. On all three test machines:
| Item | After uninstalling |
|---|---|
Program folder %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\RetroBar | Removed completely |
| Entry in Settings › Apps | Removed |
Log files %LOCALAPPDATA%\RetroBar\Logs | Removed (the uninstaller always deletes them) |
%LOCALAPPDATA%\RetroBar\settings.json | Kept, because we answered No |
Custom themes in %LOCALAPPDATA%\RetroBar\Themes | Kept (never deleted by the uninstaller) |
Start at sign-in (Run registry value) | Not present |
| .NET 10 Desktop Runtime | Kept: it is a separate Microsoft component that other apps may use |
| Windows taskbar | Visible again |
To remove the last traces, delete the folder %LOCALAPPDATA%\RetroBar (paste it into File Explorer's address bar). The .NET Desktop Runtime has its own entry in Installed apps if you want to remove it too, but other programs may need it.
Raw results: results.json (look for uninstallDialogs and afterUninstall).
The portable version
There is nothing to uninstall: exit RetroBar and delete the folder you extracted. Then delete %LOCALAPPDATA%\RetroBar for its settings. If you had turned on “Automatically start at logon”, turn it off in Properties first, or remove the RetroBar entry under Startup apps (Settings › Apps › Startup, or Task Manager › Startup apps).
If you installed it with winget
winget uninstall dremin.RetroBarThe Windows taskbar keeps hiding after RetroBar
While it runs, RetroBar hides the Windows taskbar by switching it to auto-hide; when you exit RetroBar normally it restores the setting you had. If RetroBar was ended from Task Manager or crashed, that restore never happens, and the Windows taskbar can stay on auto-hide. RetroBar 1.12 to 1.17 also told Windows 11 users to turn on auto-hide themselves. To turn it off:
Open the taskbar settings
Right-click the desktop › Personalize › Taskbar (or Settings › Personalization › Taskbar).
Turn off auto-hide
Expand Taskbar behaviors and untick Automatically hide the taskbar.
Questions
Does uninstalling RetroBar delete my custom themes?
No. The uninstaller only offers to delete settings.json. Themes in %LOCALAPPDATA%\RetroBar\Themes stay until you delete them.
Will my settings come back if I reinstall?
Yes, if you answered No to “Do you want to delete the RetroBar user settings?”. RetroBar reads the same settings.json again.
RetroBar is not in Installed apps. How do I remove it?
You probably run the portable version: exit it and delete its folder. If you installed it under another Windows account, sign in to that account, because RetroBar installs per user.
Do the Win+number hotkeys stay changed after removing RetroBar?
If you set “Win+[0-9] hotkeys action” to something other than Windows default, RetroBar warns that Windows will not get those hotkeys back until you sign out and in again. Do that after uninstalling.
Keep going
Found something out of date or wrong? Tell us at hello@retrobar.dev and we will fix it.