Uninstalling is never mentioned?

[yigib]

Hello.
I've searched the docs, read the FAQ, searched the GitHub repo's issues and discussions. I can't seem to find anything has mentioning how to cleanly uninstall stalwart.
As stalwart doesn't use package managers and is installed from a script, I'm curious about how one should carry out an uninstall with proper cleanup.

[LinkPhoenix]

IMPORTANTE NOTE

Version 0.16 has been released. This guide is based on version 0.15; it may work for later versions, but I haven't verified or tested it. You are responsible for your own actions.

Yes you right, this should be documented.

How to Completely Remove Stalwart from Your Server

Prerequisites

• Root or sudo access
• Knowledge of which service manager your system uses (systemd or init.d)

Step 1: Stop the Stalwart Service

For systemd-based systems (Ubuntu 18.04+, Debian 10+, CentOS 8+):

sudo systemctl stop stalwart.service
sudo systemctl disable stalwart.service

For init.d-based systems (Debian 9, CentOS 7 and older):

sudo service stalwart stop
sudo update-rc.d stalwart remove

For macOS:

sudo launchctl stop system/stalwart.mail
sudo launchctl disable system/stalwart.mail
sudo launchctl unload /Library/LaunchAgents/stalwart.mail.plist

---

Step 2: Remove Service Files

Linux (systemd):

sudo rm -f /etc/systemd/system/stalwart.service
sudo systemctl daemon-reload

Linux (init.d):

sudo rm -f /etc/init.d/stalwart
sudo rm -f /etc/default/stalwart

macOS:

sudo rm -f /Library/LaunchAgents/stalwart.mail.plist

---

Step 3: Remove Installation Directory

Replace /opt/stalwart with the actual installation path if you used a different directory:

sudo rm -rf /opt/stalwart

---

Step 4: Remove the Stalwart System Account

On Linux:

# Remove the user
sudo userdel -r stalwart

# OR if the account is named _stalwart (macOS style on Linux)
sudo userdel -r _stalwart

The -r flag removes the user and their home directory.

On macOS:

# Get the UID of the _stalwart user
dscl /Local/Default -list /Users | grep stalwart

# Delete the user and group
sudo dscl /Local/Default -delete /Users/_stalwart
sudo dscl /Local/Default -delete /Groups/_stalwart

---

Step 5: Clean Up Remaining Files (Optional but Recommended)

Check for any remaining Stalwart-related files:

# Search for Stalwart configuration or log files
sudo find / -name "*stalwart*" 2>/dev/null

# Remove any found files manually if needed
sudo rm -f /path/to/stalwart/file

---

Step 6: Verify Complete Removal

Run these commands to confirm Stalwart is completely removed:

# Check if service exists
sudo systemctl status stalwart.service 2>&1 | grep "not-found"

# Check if the user account exists
id stalwart 2>&1 | grep "no such user"

# Check if installation directory exists
ls -la /opt/stalwart 2>&1 | grep "cannot access"

All three commands should return "not found" or "cannot access" messages.

[LinkPhoenix]

I was looking into uninstalling and found this really helpful answer, I would suggest removing -type f flag from the find command to include directories. I configured the storage directory to /var/lib/stalwart/ and no file in there contained stalwart in the name so find didn't find it.

Of course the storage directory should not be deleted if wanting to keep the data, I tried stalwart as a proof-of-concept and I needed to delete it too.

Thanks for the really detailed procedure

You right I edit my answer thank you for feedback

[pepa65]

Also, the -r flag on userdel is not necessary, as there should not be a home directory, the installer doesn't create it, so if it is there you probably don't want to just delete it.

[pepa65]

For myself, I will keep the install in /opt/stalwart by installing with sh installer.sh /opt/stalwart. If you want to start afresh, you only need to delete /opt/stalwart, no need to bother about the service files and user.

[LinkPhoenix]

Also, the -r flag on userdel is not necessary, as there should not be a home directory, the installer doesn't create it, so if it is there you probably don't want to just delete it.

the subject is it : How to ===>Completely<=== Remove Stalwart from Your Server

If a directory has been created—even if the installer doesn't appear to do so—the -r flag is useful because the goal is to “completely uninstall” rather than “uninstall while keeping files/folders.”

[pepa65]

Stalwart does not create /home/stalwart, so if it is present, it is not part of stalwart, and either created by an admin, or by some other software. If you delete it, you are not deleting part of Stalwart the mail server. But whatever...