Instructions Nik CleanupTool (macOS only)

This information applies to all versions

Given Nik Collection's long history and the significant changes in technology introduced during the software's 25-year legacy, you may at some point have worked with an older version of Nik Collection which was installed in a custom location. Over time, these folders may have been moved, renamed, or had their permissions changed by other software or by background processes, and they might still hold data that may negatively affect the performance of more recent Nik Collection versions.

This can lead to various issues, such as seeing old versions of the Selective Tool, two Selective Tools, two Nik Collection menus in Adobe Lightroom, or missing plugins in Adobe Photoshop or the Start menu.  In these cases, we recommend uninstalling, then using our Nik cleaning tool.

It's possible to fix such issues by searching manually for these misplaced files and deleting them. However, this would be a time-consuming and potentially risky procedure with the danger of accidentally removing important files.

To simplify this procedure, we created a Cleaning Tool that will search for and delete these files for you and assist with Nik Collection installation and usage. This tool will be permanently updated.

NOTE: We do not delete any presets, images, or your personal files: the tool searches only for the files with specific names that relate to old settings and former Nik Collection tools.

Please follow these steps to clean up the software installation:

1. Uninstall the Nik Collection from your Mac using the uninstaller located in Applications > Nik Collection > Uninstaller. You will likely be prompted to enter your Mac’s password.
2. Then download and unzip the Nik Cleanup Tool from this link and save it to your desktop.
3. Open the terminal application in the folder “/Programs/ Utilities”.
4. Type the following command (without ") in the terminal window to change the directory " cd desktop "  and confirm with the Enter key.
5. Now type the following command (without “) “ sudo sh ./NikCleanup.sh ” in the terminal window and then enter the password of your Mac to authorize the script to run.
6. You will then receive a NikCleanup. Log file and NikCleanupBackup_* (contains removed Nik files/folders) on your desktop. Those files can be deleted after you've successfully reinstalled Nik Collection.
7. Install the Nik Collection again from your customer account.

1. Download the attached file (NikCleanup.sh), unarchive it, and place it in the Desktop folder.
2. Open the Terminal app. You can do it by pressing the ‘Command’ + ‘Space’ buttons to open Spotlight search, then type ‘Terminal’ and press ‘Enter’.
3. Go to the Terminal app that you have already opened and copy-paste cd Desktop, and press ‘Enter’. Now Terminal will search files inside the Desktop folder (where we have located the file), which means that we can proceed to the final step and execute the script.
4. Copy this command: sudo chmod +x ./NikCleanup.sh ; and paste it to the Terminal, then press ‘Enter’.
5. Then execute this one: sudo sh ./NikCleanup.sh

1. Go to System Preferences, find and open Security & Privacy.
2. Choose the Privacy tab, then find Full Disk Access on the left sidebar (for macOS13: on the right).
3. Click on the lock in the left corner and unlock it (with Touch ID or password of your username on this mac).
4. In the Apps section window (on the right from Full Disk Access) check the box near the Terminal app. It will allow you to make changes via Terminal. If Terminal is not there, click the + icon on the right pane, find Terminal from Applications, and click Open.
5. Then Terminal will be listed in the apps, check it and click on the lock to lock the settings.
6. After that close System Preferences and try executing the script again.

To log in to your Customer Account directly from this article, please click on this link.