How to uninstall XQuartz

[swingerofbirch]

In Mountain Lion, I downloaded Bean's Quest Final from the Mac App Store, and when I tried opening it, it said it required XQuartz. I downloaded it and installed it, and I would like to uninstall it now, but the only instructions I can find to do so are for former OS versions.

These are the instructions, but they seem to only specifically mention Snow Leopard w/ regard to a complete uninstall:
http://xquartz.macosforge.org/trac/wiki/X11-UsersFAQ

The reason I'd like to uninstall XQuartz is that I've noticed everything in Mountain Lion with motion is blurry. I compared it side by side with a MacBook Pro running Lion, and things like switching spaces and scrolling are not blurry at all compared to my MacBook Pro running Mountain Lion.

Given that XQuartz has something to do with graphics, I wondered if it could be the culprit.

I obviously know very little about this. I called Apple, and they knew even less. They said they support no third-party applications, which I understand, but the representative I spoke didn't even understand what I was trying to tell him about this having apparently been an Apple technology in the past and it being the OS itself that prompted me to install it.

Making me download XQuartz to run an application from the Mac App Store is not "it just works." Not to mention the inability to uninstall. The representative told me the only advice he could give me was to erase and install everything on the computer. But there must be a simpler way.

 

[PurrBall]

XQuartz would not cause graphical slowdowns unless it was actually running.

 

[swingerofbirch]

XQuartz would not cause graphical slowdowns unless it was actually running.

I see. So that means it runs on a per-application basis? I assumed it was system-wide in the background because when I open Bean's Quest (the original app that required it), the XQuartz app found in the Utilities folder does not show up as running in the Dock. In fact, the application has never run except when I've opened it (only to see if it had advice on how to uninstall it).

I was thinking XQuartz was perhaps a replacement for whatever Apple now uses for graphics in Mountain Lion, but I know very little about this. I'm obviously not the intended user of this—I don't think most people trying to run Bean's Quest are.

 

[gusbemac]

Imagine to try to run Inkscape and Gimp 2.8 without XQuartz.

 

[MisterMe]

I see. So that means it runs on a per-application basis? I assumed it was system-wide in the background because when I open Bean's Quest (the original app that required it), the XQuartz app found in the Utilities folder does not show up as running in the Dock. In fact, the application has never run except when I've opened it (only to see if it had advice on how to uninstall it).

I was thinking XQuartz was perhaps a replacement for whatever Apple now uses for graphics in Mountain Lion, but I know very little about this. I'm obviously not the intended user of this—I don't think most people trying to run Bean's Quest are.

You are totally confused. XQuartz is the OS X port of the X Windowing System aka X11. It has absolutely nothing to do with the standard OS X GUI known as Quartz. With the proper windows manager and compatible applications installed, XQuartz will support non-Apple GUIs as does Linux and the non-Apple ports of Unix.

Some OS X applications--Inkscape and the GIMP come readily to mind--as well as the WINE frameworks require XQuartz. XQuartz will launch if needed. However, it can also be launched and remain happily in the background causing absolutely no problems.