Force Quit Apps or Programs on Mac
Most native Apps and Services on your Mac are designed to run smoothly, without freezing up or lagging in any way. However, some third party Apps that are not exactly optimized to run efficiently on a Mac may end up freezing or becoming completely unresponsive. In such cases, it becomes difficult to close the unresponsive App in a normal way and the only option left is to Force Quit the application on your Mac. Unlike regular closing of the Apps, Force Quitting abruptly closes the application and does not save your work or settings. However, sometimes you need to be prepared to lose unsaved work and settings, in order to get your Mac back to its normal self.
Force Quit Apps or Programs Using Dock
Perhaps the easiest way to Force Quit Apps on a Mac is through the Dock, located at the bottom of your Mac’s screen.
- Locate the App that you want to close on the Dock of your Mac 2. Next, right-click on the App icon and then click on Force Quit in the little menu that appears (See image below).
Note: The Force Quit option may also appear as “Quit” in some cases, however most of the times when the application is frozen or unresponsive it appears as “Force Quit”. 3. Depending on the App that you are Force-quitting, you may see a pop-up asking to confirm that you do want to Force Quit the App. Tap on the blue Force Quit button to quit the unresponsive app.
Force Quit Apps or Programs on Mac Using Keyboard
You can also force quit Apps on your Mac by using keyboard shortcuts. There are 2 keyboard shortcuts which allow you to Force Quit unresponsive apps.
- On the keyboard of your Mac, press Command + Option + Esc key combination to Force Quit any unresponsive App. In case you are using a Windows keyboard with your Mac, press Windows + Alt + Esc keys. Note: Do not press all 3 keys at the same time, rather press them in a sequence, first Command then Option and then Esc. 2. Pressing above keys will open the Force Quit Application Manager Window on your Mac (See image below)
3. Next, click on the unresponsive App in the Application Manager and then click on the blue Force Quit button to close the unresponsive app. 4. Depending on the App that you are quitting, you may see a pop-up asking to confirm that you do want to Force Quit the App. Tap on the blue Force Quit button to quit from the unresponsive App.
Force Quit Apps On Mac Using Apple Menu Bar
Another way to Force Quit Apps on your Mac is by accessing the Force Quit Applications manager by using the Apple Menu Bar.
- Click on the Apple icon in the top menu bar on your Mac and then click on Force Quit… option in the drop-down menu (See image below)
2. Clicking on Force Quit will open the Applications Manager Window on the screen of your Mac. 3. In the Application Manager, click on the App that you want to Force Quit and then click on the Blue Force Quit button to Quit the selected App on your Mac (See image below)
4. Depending on the App, you may see a pop-up. Click on the blue Force Quit button in the pop-up to close the selected App.
Force Quit Apps On Mac Using Activity Monitor
The Activity Monitor on a Mac is quite similar to the Task Manager as found on a Windows Computer. The Activity Manager on a Mac allows you to take a look at the amount of Memory, CPU, and Storage space used by the apps and also allows you to Force Quit Apps.
- Click on the Finder icon (Happy Face!) in the Dock of your Mac (See image below)
2. Next, click on Applications and then click on the Utilities Folder.
- In Utilities Folder, locate Activity Monitor and click on it (See image below)
4. On the Activity Monitor screen, click on the app that you want to Force-close and then click on the X icon, located in top left corner of the window (See image below)
5. Next, you may see a pop-up, asking you to confirm that you do want to Force Quit the application. Click on Force Quit (or Quit) to close the application.
Force Quit Apps On Mac Using the Terminal Window
In addition to above ways, you can also make use of the Terminal Window to Force Quit Apps on your Mac.
On the keyboard of your Mac, press Command + Spacebar to open the Spotlight Search
Once Spotlight Search opens up on your Mac, type the word Terminal and click on the Top Hit suggestion Terminal to open the Terminal Window on your Mac (See image below)
On the Terminal Window, type in ps –ax (there is a space after ps) and press the Enter key (See image below).
Note: There is a space after ps 4. The above Terminal Command will list all the processes that are currently running on your Mac. Locate the App that you want to Force-close and note down its PID Number (See image below)
- Once you have noted down the PID number of the app. Type kill (PID number) in the Terminal Windows and hit the enter key (See image below)
Once you type in the above command, the unresponsive/frozen application will be closed. For example, in our case we closed the stuck Safari App on our Mac by typing kill 279 in the terminal Window.
