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.