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I then tried to uninstall it. What a nightmare.
Hi!
I am sorry HoudahSpot left you with a bad impression.
The HoudahSpot download comes as a single file: HoudahSpot.app
Typically you would copy that to your Applications folder.
Should you later want to remove it, you can simply drag it to the Trash.
Like most well-behaved Mac applications, HoudahSpot stores it's preferences in ~/Library/Preferences. HoudahSpot actually uses two files: com.houdah.HoudahSpot.plist and com.houdah.HoudahSpotHelper.plist. It also creates a folder in ~/Library/Application Support to hold support files like the license file.
These files are so small, they probably not worth worrying about. If you do, you can simply drag them to the Trash. Alternatively you could use an uninstaller tool like AppZapper or CleanMyMac to remove these files when uninstalling HoudahSpot.
The 3 features listed under HoudahSpot > Preferences > Helper are implemented using a background application: HoudahSpotHelper.app
This runs and stays in System Preferences > Users & Groups > Login Items as long as any of those features is enabled.
HoudahSpotHelper.app lives inside HoudahSpot.app and is thus automatically removed when you trash HoudahSpot. If you wish to clean the dangling entry in Login Items, you can just delete it there or disable all 3 listed features before trashing HoudahSpot.app
Under HoudahSpot > Preferences > Advanced you have the option of installing a button in the Finder toolbar. This is just an alias. You may remove it at any time by command-dragging it out of the toolbar.
Under Mac OS X, applications can provide system-wide services. Applications advertise their service. The system shows services applicable to the current context in the Services and context menus.
HoudahSpot's services don't use any separate installs. They are part of the actual applications. Once you empty the trash, they will no longer be available.
In short: HoudahSpot is uninstalled by dragging it to the Trash. At worst inert files worth a couple kilobytes will be left behind.
Best,
Pierre Bernard
Houdah Software s.à r.l.