Good question - Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) is notoriously persistent on macOS. Even if you delete Office or Teams, MAU often remains behind and keeps relaunching or running background updates.
Let's take it apart methodically.

Step 1: Quit all Microsoft processes

First, make sure no Microsoft background daemons are running:

ps aux | grep Microsoft 

Then quit or kill any of these processes if you see them:

• Microsoft AutoUpdate


• MAU


• Microsoft Update Assistant


• com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper

Use:

killall "Microsoft AutoUpdate" 

Step 2: Remove the AutoUpdate app bundle

It's usually here:

sudo rm -rf /Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0 

That folder holds the AutoUpdate binary and all its resources.

Also check and remove (if they exist):

sudo rm -rf /Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft/MAU 
sudo rm -rf /Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft/AutoUpdate 

Step 3: Delete the LaunchAgents and LaunchDaemons

This is what actually makes MAU respawn. Remove all these if present:

sudo rm -f /Library/LaunchAgents/com.microsoft.update.agent.plist 
sudo rm -f /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist 
sudo rm -f ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.microsoft.update.agent.plist 

Then unload any that are still active:

launchctl bootout system /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist 
launchctl bootout gui/$(id -u) ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.microsoft.update.agent.plist 

Step 4: Remove user-level cache and preferences

These prevent MAU from reinstalling itself via background calls:

rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Microsoft/MAU* 
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.autoupdate* 
rm -rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.autoupdate*.plist 

Step 5: Prevent reinstallation

If you still use Word, Excel, Outlook, etc., they will reinstall MAU when launched.
You have two options:

Option A - Disable updates but keep MAU

Open Terminal:

defaults write com.microsoft.autoupdate2 HowToCheck -string "Manual" 

Option B - Block its network access

Add this line to /etc/hosts to block the update domain:

127.0.0.1 officecdn.microsoft.com 
127.0.0.1 officecdn.microsoft.com.edgesuite.net 

That prevents MAU from calling home.

Step 6: Reboot

Reboot to flush launchd caches. After restart, confirm it's gone:

launchctl list | grep microsoft 

If nothing returns, you've successfully exorcised it.

Love it. Here's a single, reusable cleanup script that removes Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) from macOS with safety checks, backups, and clear logging. It supports --dry-run (default), --execute, and optional --block-hosts to stop MAU coming back via Office apps.

TL;DR: copy this to a file, run with --execute when you're happy with the plan.

1) Save the script

Create a file called mau-clean.sh and paste this in:

#!/usr/bin/env bash 
set -euo pipefail 

# Microsoft AutoUpdate (MAU) remover for macOS 
# Modes: 
#   --dry-run   (default) print what would be done 
#   --execute   perform removals 
#   --block-hosts  also add hosts-file entries to block MAU CDNs 
#
# Safe: backs up plists & helpers before deletion, logs everything. 
# Restore: remove the backup folder (no system changes to revert except hosts). 

DRY_RUN=1 
BLOCK_HOSTS=0 

for arg in "$@"; do 
  case "$arg" in 
    --execute) DRY_RUN=0 ;; 
    --dry-run) DRY_RUN=1 ;; 
    --block-hosts) BLOCK_HOSTS=1 ;; 
    😉 echo "Unknown option: $arg" >&2; exit 2 ;; 
  esac 
done 

timestamp() { date +"%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M-%S"; } 
TS="$(timestamp)" 
LOG="${HOME}/mau_cleanup_${TS}.log" 
BACKUP_DIR="${HOME}/mau_backup_${TS}" 

log() { echo "[$(timestamp)] $*" | tee -a "$LOG"; } 

need_sudo() { 
  if [[ $DRY_RUN -eq 1 ]]; then return 0; fi 
  if [[ $(id -u) -ne 0 ]]; then 
    log "Elevating with sudo..." 
    sudo -v 
  fi 
}
 
do_cmd() { 
  if [[ $DRY_RUN -eq 1 ]]; then 
    log "DRY-RUN: $*" 
  else 
    log "RUN: $*" 
    eval "$@" 2>&1 | tee -a "$LOG" 
  fi 
}
 
backup_file() { 
  local p="$1" 
  [[ -e "$p" ]] || return 0 
  do_cmd "mkdir -p \"$BACKUP_DIR\"" 
  do_cmd "cp -pR \"$p\" \"$BACKUP_DIR/\"" 
}
 
remove_path() { 
  local p="$1" 
  if [[ -e "$p" ]]; then 
    backup_file "$p" 
    do_cmd "$( (( $(id -u) == 0 )) && echo "" || echo "sudo " )rm -rf \"$p\"" 
  fi 
}
 
unload_plist() { 
  local scope="$1"  # system|gui 
  local plist="$2" 
  if [[ -e "$plist" ]]; then 
    if [[ "$scope" == "system" ]]; then 
      do_cmd "launchctl bootout system \"$plist\" || true" 
    else 
      do_cmd "launchctl bootout gui/$(id -u) \"$plist\" || true" 
    fi 
  fi 
}
 
# -------- Start ---------- 
log "Microsoft AutoUpdate Cleanup started" 
log "Log file: $LOG" 
log "Backup dir: $BACKUP_DIR" 
if [[ $DRY_RUN -eq 1 ]]; then 
  log "Mode: DRY-RUN (no changes will be made)" 
else 
  log "Mode: EXECUTE (changes will be made)" 
fi 

# 0) Elevation if needed 
need_sudo 

# 1) Kill running MAU processes 
log "Step 1: Stopping MAU processes" 
for p in \ 
  "Microsoft AutoUpdate" \ 
  "MAU" \ 
  "Microsoft Update Assistant" \ 
  "com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper" 
do 
  do_cmd "pkill -f \"$p\" || true" 
done 

# 2) Unload launch agents/daemons 
log "Step 2: Unloading LaunchAgents/LaunchDaemons" 
SYS_DAEMONS=( 
  "/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist" 
)
SYS_AGENTS=( 
  "/Library/LaunchAgents/com.microsoft.update.agent.plist" 
)
USER_AGENTS=( 
  "$HOME/Library/LaunchAgents/com.microsoft.update.agent.plist" 
)
 
for pl in "${SYS_DAEMONS[@]}"; do unload_plist "system" "$pl"; done 
for pl in "${SYS_AGENTS[@]}";  do unload_plist "system" "$pl"; done 
for pl in "${USER_AGENTS[@]}"; do unload_plist "gui"    "$pl"; done 

# 3) Remove helper tools, app bundle and support dirs 
log "Step 3: Removing helper tools and app bundles" 
SUPPORT_DIRS=( 
  "/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0" 
  "/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU" 
  "/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/AutoUpdate" 
)
HELPERS=( 
  "/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools/com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper" 
)
PLISTS=( 
  "/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist" 
  "/Library/LaunchAgents/com.microsoft.update.agent.plist" 
  "$HOME/Library/LaunchAgents/com.microsoft.update.agent.plist" 
)
 
for p in "${HELPERS[@]}"; do remove_path "$p"; done 
for p in "${SUPPORT_DIRS[@]}"; do remove_path "$p"; done 
for p in "${PLISTS[@]}"; do remove_path "$p"; done 

# 4) User caches & preferences 
log "Step 4: Removing user caches & preferences" 
USER_STUFF=( 
  "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU" 
  "$HOME/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/MAU2.0" 
  "$HOME/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.autoupdate.fba" 
  "$HOME/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.autoupdate2" 
  "$HOME/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.autoupdate2.plist" 
  "$HOME/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist" 
)
for p in "${USER_STUFF[@]}"; do remove_path "$p"; done 

# 5) pkg receipts (so macOS doesn't think MAU is installed) 
log "Step 5: Forgetting installer receipts (if present)" 
PKGS=$(pkgutil --pkgs | grep -i "com\.microsoft\.autoupdate" || true) 
if [[ -n "$PKGS" ]]; then 
  while IFS= read -r pkg; do 
    [[ -z "$pkg" ]] && continue 
    do_cmd "$( (( $(id -u) == 0 )) && echo "" || echo "sudo " )pkgutil --forget \"$pkg\"" 
  done <<< "$PKGS" 
else 
  log "No MAU-related receipts found." 
fi 

# 6) Optional: block hosts 
if [[ $BLOCK_HOSTS -eq 1 ]]; then 
  log "Step 6: Blocking MAU/CDN endpoints in /etc/hosts" 
  HOSTS_LINES=( 
    "127.0.0.1 officecdn.microsoft.com" 
    "127.0.0.1 officecdn.microsoft.com.edgesuite.net" 
  ) 
  for line in "${HOSTS_LINES[@]}"; do 
    if ! grep -qF "$line" /etc/hosts; then 
      do_cmd "sudo /bin/sh -c 'echo \"$line\" >> /etc/hosts'" 
    else 
      log "Hosts already contains: $line" 
    fi 
  done 
else 
  log "Skipping hosts blocking (use --block-hosts to enable)." 
fi 

# 7) Final checks 
log "Step 7: Verifying" 
do_cmd "launchctl list | grep -i microsoft || true" 
do_cmd "pgrep -afil Microsoft || true" 

log "Done. If any processes or plists still appear above, reboot to flush launchd." 
log "Backups stored at: $BACKUP_DIR" 

Make it executable:

chmod +x mau-clean.sh 

2) Dry-run first (highly recommended)

This prints the full plan and what will be removed, without touching your system:

./mau-clean.sh 

Skim the log it prints (also saved to ~/mau_cleanup_*.log).

3) Execute for real

When you're satisfied:

sudo ./mau-clean.sh --execute 

Optional: also block MAU's CDN endpoints to stop silent re-installs via Office:

sudo ./mau-clean.sh --execute --block-hosts 

4) Aftercare

• Reboot once to flush any cached launchd state.

  
  



• Verify:

  
  

  launchctl list | grep -i microsoft || echo "No Microsoft launch items found." 
  pgrep -afil Microsoft || echo "No Microsoft processes found." 
  

  
  



• If you still use Office apps: they may try to reinstall MAU. Consider leaving updates set to manual:

  
  

  defaults write com.microsoft.autoupdate2 HowToCheck -string "Manual" 
  

  
  

You can tailor this to only disable MAU (not remove files) for managed Macs, or wire it into a Jamf/Intune remediation script with exit codes.