Apple Intelligence Remover

Apple Intelligence Remover is a small interactive shell script that helps you:

• Check whether Apple Intelligence is enabled on your Mac.
• Scan for on‑disk AI model and cache directories used by Apple Intelligence / Siri.
• Disable Apple Intelligence via its preference flags.
• Remove large model/cache directories (where possible).
• Generate a separate recovery script that you can run from Recovery OS to remove models from the Data volume.

This tool is intended for advanced users who understand the risks of deleting system assets.
It does not bypass macOS security features like SIP; protected files will simply fail to delete.

How it works

The main script is main.sh. Internally it is structured into a few functions that the menu calls:

• Model paths it looks for

  • It scans a fixed list of known model and cache directories:
    • /System/Library/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_UAF_FM_GenerativeModels
    • /System/Library/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_UAF_FM_Visual
    • /Library/Apple/System/Library/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_UAF_FM_GenerativeModels
    • /Library/Apple/System/Library/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_UAF_FM_Visual
    • /Volumes/Data/System/Library/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_UAF_FM_GenerativeModels
    • /Volumes/Data/System/Library/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_UAF_FM_Visual
  • It also checks cache locations:
    • $HOME/Library/Caches/com.apple.intelligence
    • $HOME/Library/Caches/com.apple.siri
    • /private/var/db/MobileAsset/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_UAF_FM_GenerativeModels
    • /private/var/db/MobileAsset/AssetsV2/com_apple_MobileAsset_UAF_FM_Visual

• check_status

  • Reads the AppleIntelligenceEnabled flag from com.apple.Siri using:
    • defaults read com.apple.Siri AppleIntelligenceEnabled
  • Displays whether Apple Intelligence appears ENABLED or DISABLED.

• scan_models

  • Iterates through the directories above.
  • For each existing directory it:
    • Adds the path to an in‑memory list (FOUND_PATHS).
    • Uses du -sk to get its size in KiB.
    • Accumulates the total size and prints human‑readable per‑directory sizes with du -sh.
  • At the end it prints the total combined size of all found directories in GB.

• disable_ai

  • Writes two preference keys under com.apple.Siri:
    • AppleIntelligenceEnabled = false
    • LLMEnable = false
  • This attempts to turn off Apple Intelligence features at the preference level.

• remove_models

  • Operates on the FOUND_PATHS list from the last scan_models run.
  • Shows the directories that would be removed and asks for confirmation:
    • Continue? (y/N):
  • For each path, runs:
    • sudo rm -rf "<path>"
  • If deletion fails (commonly due to SIP or permissions), it reports that the directory could not be removed.

• generate_recovery_script

  • Creates remove_apple_intelligence.sh on your Desktop.
  • That script:
    • Tries to mount Macintosh HD - Data (or Data).
    • Runs rm -rf on the GenerativeModels and Visual directories under /Volumes/Data/System/Library/AssetsV2/....
  • The script is marked executable (chmod +x).
  • Intended usage: boot into Recovery OS, open Terminal, and run the generated script to remove data from the Data volume where SIP restrictions may differ.

• Interactive menu loop

  • The bottom of main.sh contains a loop:
    • Shows a numbered menu.
    • Reads your choice.
    • Calls the corresponding function (or exits) and then shows the menu again.

Requirements

• macOS with Apple Intelligence / related assets present.
• A user account with administrator privileges to run sudo rm -rf when deleting model directories.
• A Terminal application (e.g., built‑in Terminal or iTerm2).

Usage

1. Clone or download this repository.

2. Open Terminal and navigate to the project directory:

   cd /path/to/apple-intelligence-remover

3. Make the script executable (only needed once):

   chmod +x main.sh

4. Run the script:

   ./main.sh

5. Use the menu:

   • 1 – Check Apple Intelligence status.
   • 2 – Scan for AI model/cache directories and show their sizes.
   • 3 – Disable Apple Intelligence via defaults.
   • 4 – Remove the found model/cache directories (after explicit confirmation; may prompt for sudo password).
   • 5 – Generate a recovery script on your Desktop for use from Recovery OS.
   • 6 – Exit.

Safety, limitations, and caveats

• System Integrity Protection (SIP):

  • The script does not disable or bypass SIP.
  • Any SIP‑protected path will fail to delete, and the script will report that it could not remove the directory.

• Use at your own risk:

  • Deleting system assets may affect Apple Intelligence, Siri, or other system features.
  • There is no automatic restore of deleted model/cache files.
  • You may need to reinstall system components or macOS to fully restore them.

• Version assumptions:

  • The script relies on specific bundle IDs, preference keys, and directory paths that may change between macOS releases.
  • If Apple changes these paths/keys, some options may stop working or only partially work.

Japanese README

For a Japanese explanation of this project and its behavior, see the separate file README.ja.md.