Uninstalling

Source

Isle-Mesh/isle-cli/UNINSTALL-GUIDE.md in the suite repository. This page is generated from it; edits go there.

This guide explains how to safely uninstall Isle-Mesh and manage system dependencies.

Quick Start

Basic Uninstall (Interactive)

isle uninstall

This will:

• Unlink the Isle CLI from npm
• Prompt you before removing system components
• Prompt you before removing dependencies

Complete Uninstall

sudo isle uninstall --all --remove-deps

This will remove everything including all dependencies.

Keep Shared Dependencies

sudo isle uninstall --all --remove-deps --keep-shared

This removes Isle-Mesh but preserves shared utilities like wget, jq, yq, and avahi-utils.

Options

What Gets Removed

Isle CLI (Always Removed)

• npm global link for isle command
• Command-line interface

System Components (--all)

• No system components currently installed by the CLI

Isle-Mesh Specific Dependencies (--remove-deps)

These are safe to remove if you're not using them for other purposes:

• qemu-kvm / qemu - Virtualization platform
• libvirt-daemon-system / libvirt - VM management
• libvirt-clients / virt-install - VM control tools
• bridge-utils - Network bridging tools
• libvirtd service - Will be stopped and disabled
• User permissions - Removes user from libvirt group

Shared Dependencies (Prompts Before Removal)

These utilities may be used by other applications. The script will prompt before removing them:

• wget - File download utility (very common, used by many tools)
• jq - JSON processor (commonly used in scripts)
• yq - YAML processor (used for config file manipulation)
• avahi-utils - mDNS/DNS-SD discovery tools

NOT Installed by Isle-Mesh (Informational Only)

These are not removed by the uninstall script as Isle-Mesh doesn't install them:

• Docker - Container platform (used but not installed by Isle-Mesh)
• Node.js/npm - JavaScript runtime (required to run Isle CLI)

If you want to remove Docker or Node.js, you must do so manually:

• Docker: https://docs.docker.com/engine/install/
• Node.js: Use your system's package manager

Safety Features

The uninstall script includes several safety features:

1. Interactive Prompts - By default, asks before removing anything beyond the CLI
2. Shared Dependency Detection - Checks which shared utilities are installed
3. Warnings - Clearly indicates which dependencies might be used by other apps
4. Sudo Requirements - Requires sudo only for system-level changes
5. Package Manager Detection - Works with apt, yum, dnf, and pacman

Examples

Scenario 1: Just Remove the CLI

# Unlink the CLI but keep everything else
isle uninstall
# Answer "N" to all prompts

Scenario 2: Remove Isle-Mesh but Keep Virtualization

# Remove CLI and system components, but keep dependencies
sudo isle uninstall --all
# Answer "N" when asked about dependencies

Scenario 3: Complete Clean Uninstall

# Remove everything including all dependencies
sudo isle uninstall --all --remove-deps
# Follow prompts for shared dependencies

Scenario 4: Automated Uninstall (Keep Shared)

# Remove everything but automatically preserve shared utilities
# Useful for scripts and automation
sudo isle uninstall --all --remove-deps --keep-shared

Dependency Decision Tree

Not sure whether to remove dependencies? Use this decision tree:

Isle-Mesh Specific Dependencies (KVM, libvirt, bridge-utils)

Remove if:

• You don't use virtual machines
• You don't use other VM management tools (virt-manager, etc.)
• You installed Isle-Mesh specifically for its router feature

Keep if:

• You use virt-manager or other libvirt-based tools
• You manage VMs on this machine
• You use other virtualization tools

Shared Dependencies

wget

Remove if:

• You never download files from the command line
• No other scripts or tools use it (unlikely)

Keep if:

• You download files frequently
• Other scripts depend on it (very common)

jq

Remove if:

• You don't work with JSON on the command line
• No other scripts use it

Keep if:

• You process JSON files or APIs
• Other development tools depend on it

yq

Remove if:

• You don't work with YAML files
• No other tools use it

Keep if:

• You manage Kubernetes, Ansible, or other YAML-heavy tools
• Other configuration scripts need it

avahi-utils

Remove if:

• You don't use mDNS/Bonjour discovery
• No other network services need it

Keep if:

• You use AirPrint, AirPlay, or other mDNS services
• You discover network devices regularly

Troubleshooting

"Sudo required" Error

If you see this error, you're trying to remove system components without sudo:

# Instead of:
isle uninstall --all

# Use:
sudo isle uninstall --all

Package Removal Fails

If a package fails to remove, you may need to remove it manually:

# For Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get remove <package-name>

# For RHEL/Fedora:
sudo dnf remove <package-name>

# For Arch:
sudo pacman -R <package-name>

Checking What Depends on a Package

Before removing a shared dependency, check what else might use it:

# Debian/Ubuntu:
apt-cache rdepends <package-name>

# RHEL/Fedora:
dnf repoquery --whatrequires <package-name>

# Arch:
pactree -r <package-name>

Partial Uninstalls

Remove Only mDNS Configuration

isle mdns uninstall

Post-Uninstall Cleanup

After uninstalling, you may want to clean up:

1. Remove unused packages (auto-installed dependencies): ```bash # Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt-get autoremove

# RHEL/Fedora: sudo dnf autoremove

# Arch: sudo pacman -Qdtq | sudo pacman -R --noconfirm -

2. **Remove configuration files** (if you want a completely clean slate):

# Check for any remaining Isle-Mesh configs find ~ -name "isle" -o -name "mesh"

## Reinstalling

If you change your mind, you can reinstall Isle-Mesh:

Reinstall CLI

cd /path/to/IsleMesh/isle-cli npm link

Reinstall dependencies

sudo isle install all

## Getting Help

If you encounter issues:

1. Run with `--help` to see all options:

isle uninstall --help

2. Check this guide for troubleshooting steps

3. Report issues at: https://github.com/anthropics/isle-mesh/issues (replace with actual repo URL)

---

**Note**: This uninstall process is designed to be safe and conservative. When in doubt, the script will ask for confirmation before removing anything that might affect other applications.

← All documentation