Files, locations and uninstalling

Alcuin keeps everything it stores in one data folder of your own, plus its logs, an updater cache and one entry in your system’s key store. It sends none of it anywhere: Privacy has the detail.

The folder name is lowercase alcuin on every system. On Linux, where case matters, ~/.config/Alcuin is a different folder.

The data folder

System	Folder
macOS	~/Library/Application Support/alcuin
Linux	~/.config/alcuin, or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/alcuin when that variable is set

What’s in it:

File or folder	What it holds
state.sqlite	Your connections, query history, saved queries, open tabs and staged edits. state.sqlite-wal and state.sqlite-shm belong with it
state.sqlite.bak-<n>	A copy taken before Alcuin upgrades the store’s format
state.sqlite.corrupt-<time>	A store Alcuin could not read, set aside so it can start with a new one
secrets.json	Saved passwords, SSH passwords and key passphrases, the assistant’s API key, your password-command approvals and the assistant’s approved address. Each is encrypted with a key from your system’s key store
settings.json	Receive pre-release builds and the window background. Readable only by you
agent-tokens.json	Agent tokens, kept only as hashes. Readable only by you
found-secrets.key	A salt for passwords Alcuin finds in a project folder
mcp/	The local socket agents connect through
spool/	Large results, encrypted, while they are open. Cleared when Alcuin starts
Crashpad/	Crash dumps. They stay on your computer and are never uploaded
Cache, Code Cache, GPUCache, Local Storage, Session Storage and others	The window’s own caches. Local Storage keeps your Appearance, Code, Grid and Behavior settings, your own keys, the layout of panels, column widths, pinned rows and your colorway

If you used Alcuin under its earlier name, a hanno folder beside this one was copied in once and is no longer used. You can delete it.

Logs

System	Folder
macOS	~/Library/Logs/alcuin
Linux	~/.config/alcuin/logs

The folder holds main.log, up to 2 MB, and main.old.log, the one before it. Open it with Help → Open Logs Folder. Logs and the diagnostics bundle says what they contain.

The key store entry

Alcuin keeps one key in your system’s key store, and uses it to encrypt every secret in secrets.json.

System	Where
macOS	The login keychain: an item named alcuin Safe Storage, account alcuin Key
Linux	The desktop keyring, through the Secret Service, as alcuin Safe Storage

On Linux with no keyring, or a locked one, Alcuin keeps a secret in memory until it quits, and saves nothing.

The updater cache

System	Folder
macOS	~/Library/Caches/alcuin-updater
Linux	~/.cache/alcuin-updater

It holds a downloaded update until Alcuin installs it on quit.

In a project folder

Alcuin reads a project folder you link and writes to it only when you ask:

• Save as seed writes alcuin.seed.json, and Save seed.sql writes seed.sql.
• Save as migration… writes a migration file into the project’s migrations folder.
• Connect your app adds keys to the project’s .env, after you name each one.

It writes no hidden folder of its own there. Migrations covers linking a folder.

Uninstall

Removing the app leaves your data in place, so a reinstall picks up where you left off. To remove everything, delete the files as well.

macOS

1. Quit Alcuin.

2. Drag Alcuin from Applications to the Trash.

3. To remove your data too, delete these folders:

   • ~/Library/Application Support/alcuin
   • ~/Library/Logs/alcuin
   • ~/Library/Caches/alcuin-updater

4. Open Keychain Access, search for alcuin Safe Storage, and delete that item. Or, in Terminal:

   security delete-generic-password -s "alcuin Safe Storage"

Linux

1. Quit Alcuin.

2. Remove the app. For the .deb:

   sudo apt remove alcuin

   For the AppImage, delete the .AppImage file.

3. To remove your data too, delete these folders:

   • ~/.config/alcuin (with its logs)
   • ~/.cache/alcuin-updater

4. Open your desktop’s keyring manager (Passwords and Keys on GNOME, KWallet Manager on KDE), find alcuin Safe Storage, and delete it.

You’ll know it worked when none of the folders above exist and the key store has no alcuin Safe Storage entry.

Reset

To start fresh without reinstalling, for example to see Alcuin as a new user would, remove its data and keep the app. There is no command for this inside Alcuin.

1. Quit Alcuin.
2. Delete the data folder: ~/Library/Application Support/alcuin on macOS, ~/.config/alcuin on Linux. To clear the logs and the updater cache as well, delete those folders too.
3. Delete the alcuin Safe Storage entry from the key store, as in Uninstall.
4. Start Alcuin. It opens as on the first day, with no connections.

Delete the data folder and the key store entry together. Deleting only the key store entry keeps your connections but makes every saved password and API key unreadable, so you have to enter each one again.

To keep your connections, export them first: Export project… writes a project’s connections and saved queries to a <project>.alcuin.json file, without saved passwords or keys, and Import project… reads it back.