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How to Uninstall Rainmeter Without Losing Skins and Layouts
Back up actual Rainmeter skin and settings paths, uninstall the standard application and distinguish program removal from a permanent clean-data wipe.
To uninstall a standard Rainmeter installation, first back up the skins and settings you want to keep, exit Rainmeter and remove the application through Windows Apps settings or Add or Remove Programs. Removing the program and permanently deleting your personal skins, layouts and plugins are separate decisions. Do not use a clean-wipe recipe when you only want Rainmeter to stop running.
Scope: this guide follows official installation and clean-uninstall documentation. Default paths are examples; custom, redirected Documents and portable installations can differ.
Choose removal, startup change or a temporary stop
| Goal | Smallest appropriate action |
|---|---|
| Hide one widget | Unload that configuration in Manage |
| Stop Rainmeter for now | Exit from its notification-area menu |
| Keep Rainmeter but not at sign-in | Disable its verified startup entry |
| Remove the installed application | Back up, exit and use Windows uninstall |
| Erase user data or rebuild from a clean state | Deliberately remove verified leftovers after separate backups |
For the sign-in option, follow startup settings and shortcut targets. You do not need to delete skin folders to disable automatic startup. For a normal update or reinstall, Rainmeter says an uninstall is not required and existing settings, skins and plugins are preserved.
1. Identify the paths actually in use
Before exiting, open About → Version from Rainmeter's tray menu. It lists program, settings and skins paths. Record these rather than assuming every copy uses C: or the default Documents folder.
A standard installation normally separates these locations:
- Program:
C:\Program Files\Rainmeter. - Skins:
C:\Users\YourName\Documents\Rainmeter\Skins. - Settings and layouts:
%APPDATA%\Rainmeter, normally under the current user's AppData\Roaming folder.
A portable installation instead keeps program, skins and settings in its selected folder. Follow the portable path guide before removing a folder that may contain your entire setup.
2. Back up user data separately from layouts
- Save a named layout if you want a convenient restore point for active configurations and positions.
- Exit Rainmeter so it can save current settings before you copy them.
- Copy the actual skins root and settings folder to a safe location outside any folder you plan to remove. Keep custom plugins and supporting resources with the backup.
- Check that the backup contains your edited skin files and settings, not merely a shortcut or a layout name.
A layout does not include skin files. Copying only Layouts loses customized .ini, .inc, images and scripts. Conversely, copying only Skins does not preserve all saved positions and app settings. See the layout-versus-files distinction.
3. Uninstall the standard application
With Rainmeter closed, open Windows Settings → Apps and locate Rainmeter. Use its Uninstall action; the older Add or Remove Programs route is also the method named in Rainmeter's documentation. Follow the uninstall dialog instead of deleting only the executable.
If you have more than one copy, verify the installation involved. A shortcut that launches a portable folder is not evidence that the standard installed copy is still present. Do not delete unrelated folders merely because their names contain Rainmeter.
4. Delete leftovers only if that is your intention
Permanent deletion loses custom work. Rainmeter's clean-install guide explicitly removes the program folder, the user's Documents\Rainmeter folder, the roaming settings folder and Rainmeter startup shortcuts. That is a reset procedure, not the necessary default for every uninstall.
If you intend a full wipe, compare the actual paths recorded earlier with the remaining folders and preserve your backup before deleting them. Remove only Rainmeter shortcuts from your Startup folder, not the Startup folder itself. A custom SkinPath can point somewhere else, so the default list is not proof that all of your data has been removed.
For a portable copy, exit that copy and preserve the whole selected folder before removing it. Check any manually created shortcuts separately. Portable mode does not create the standard Start menu and registry entries, but any shortcuts you created yourself can remain.
Reinstall without restoring the original problem immediately
If your purpose is a clean repair, use the installer from the official Rainmeter site. Confirm the default setup first, then restore skins and plugins selectively. Immediately replacing the entire fresh settings and skin tree can bring back the same configuration problem.
Uninstalling Rainmeter does not revoke third-party service credentials, uninstall every separately installed companion program or diagnose a Windows performance problem. Those actions need the relevant program's own documented procedure.