How to Force Quit an Application on Mac: 5 Methods That Work

Few things are more frustrating than a frozen app that won't close. The spinning beach ball appears, nothing responds to clicks, and your Mac feels hostage to one misbehaving application. The good news? macOS gives you multiple ways to force quit stubborn apps and get back to work.

You might see this referred to as “close a frozen application,” “stop an unresponsive app,” or “kill” a process—this guide covers them all safely.

This guide covers every method to force quit applications on Mac, from quick keyboard shortcuts to terminal commands for the toughest cases.

What Does "Force Quit" Actually Do?

When you force quit an app, you're telling macOS to immediately terminate the application without letting it save data or close gracefully. It's the equivalent of turning off power to the app.

What happens:

• App stops instantly
• Unsaved work is lost
• App can't perform cleanup tasks
• Open files aren't saved
• Preferences may not save

When to force quit:

• App shows spinning beach ball indefinitely
• App window is frozen and won't respond to clicks
• App menus are grayed out or won't open
• App is consuming excessive CPU and won't quit normally
• "Application Not Responding" message appears

Try this first: Before force quitting, try waiting 30-60 seconds. Sometimes apps recover from temporary hangs.

Method 1: Keyboard Shortcut (Fastest)

The quickest way to force quit is with the Force Quit Applications window:

Step-by-step:

1. Press ⌘ Cmd + Option + Esc
2. The Force Quit Applications window opens
3. Select the frozen app from the list
   • Unresponsive apps show "(Not Responding)" in red
4. Click Force Quit button
5. Click Force Quit again to confirm

What you see: A list of all running applications. The problematic app usually appears with "Not Responding" next to its name.

Pro tip: This shortcut works even when your Mac is severely frozen—it's the first thing to try.

Method 2: Apple Menu Force Quit

If you can still use your mouse but the app is frozen:

Step-by-step:

1. Click Apple menu (top-left corner)
2. Hold down Shift key
3. Notice "Force Quit [App Name]" appears instead of "Quit"
4. Click Force Quit [App Name]

Alternative without Shift:

1. Click Apple menu
2. Select Force Quit (without Shift held)
3. Select frozen app from list
4. Click Force Quit button

This method is useful when keyboard shortcuts aren't responding.

Method 3: Right-Click Dock Icon

The Dock provides a quick force quit option:

Step-by-step:

1. Locate the app icon in your Dock
2. Hold Option key
3. Right-click (or Control + click) the app icon
4. Notice "Quit" changes to "Force Quit"
5. Click Force Quit

Visual indicator: Frozen apps often show a small dot under their Dock icon and may appear dimmed or unresponsive.

Troubleshooting: If right-click doesn't work, the Dock itself may be frozen. Try Method 1 or 4 instead.

Method 4: Activity Monitor (For Stubborn Apps)

When standard force quit methods fail, Activity Monitor is your power tool:

Step-by-step:

1. Open Activity Monitor:
   • Spotlight: ⌘ Cmd + Space, type "Activity Monitor"
   • Or: Applications > Utilities > Activity Monitor
2. Find the frozen app in the process list
   • Click CPU column header to sort by CPU usage
   • Look for apps using unusually high CPU (>100%)
   • The app may show red text indicating "Not Responding"
3. Select the frozen app
4. Click the Stop button (⊗) in toolbar
5. Choose Force Quit
6. Click Force Quit again to confirm

Advanced uses:

• View real-time CPU, memory, energy, disk, and network usage
• Identify which apps are slowing down your Mac
• Force quit processes related to the app (helper processes)
• See parent-child process relationships

Pro tip: Some apps run multiple processes. If force quitting the main app doesn't work, force quit related helper processes too.

Method 5: Terminal Commands (Nuclear Option)

For apps that resist even Activity Monitor, Terminal commands provide ultimate control:

Basic kill command:

Step-by-step:

1. Open Terminal: Applications > Utilities > Terminal
2. Type: ps aux | grep [AppName]
   • Example: ps aux | grep Safari
3. Find the PID (Process ID) number in the left column
4. Type: kill [PID]
   • Example: kill 1234
5. Press Return

Forceful kill command:

If regular kill doesn't work:

kill -9 [PID]

The -9 flag (SIGKILL) forces immediate termination with no chance for the app to resist.

Kill by app name:

Don't want to find the PID? Use killall:

killall [AppName]

Example:

killall Safari
killall "Google Chrome"

Important: App names are case-sensitive. Use quotes for multi-word names.

Kill all instances:

To quit all processes with a specific name:

pkill [AppName]

Warning: These commands are powerful. Double-check you're targeting the right process—killing system processes can crash your Mac.

Force Quitting Specific Problem Apps

Safari or Chrome Won't Quit

Browser issues are common due to extensions and heavy tab loads:

Try this:

1. Force quit using ⌘ Cmd + Option + Esc first
2. If that fails, use Activity Monitor to quit:
   • Safari: Quit "Safari" and "Safari Web Content" processes
   • Chrome: Quit "Google Chrome" and "Google Chrome Helper" processes
3. Clear browser cache on next launch

Finder Won't Respond

Finder is special—you can't permanently quit it, but you can relaunch:

Step-by-step:

1. Press ⌘ Cmd + Option + Esc
2. Select Finder in the list
3. Click Relaunch (instead of Force Quit)

Alternative:

• Hold Option key
• Right-click Finder icon in Dock
• Click Relaunch

Background Apps or Menu Bar Apps

Some apps hide in the menu bar without Dock icons:

Finding hidden apps:

1. Open Activity Monitor
2. Sort by App Name column
3. Look through the list for running apps
4. Force quit via Activity Monitor

Menu bar apps: Look for icons in top-right menu bar, right-click, and look for Quit option before force quitting.

Apps That Reopen Automatically

Some apps relaunch after force quit due to:

Launch Agents/Daemons:

• Check: System Settings > General > Login Items
• Remove unwanted launch items
• Restart Mac if app persists

Parent processes:

• Some apps are managed by parent processes
• Use Activity Monitor to identify and quit parent process
• Check for management software (MDM, antivirus, etc.)

Preventing Future App Freezes

Force quitting treats symptoms, not causes. Here's how to prevent freezes:

Common freeze causes:

1. Insufficient Memory

• Too many apps running simultaneously
• Browser with 50+ tabs open
• Memory-intensive apps (video editing, VMs)

2. Excessive CPU Usage

• Background processes running wild
• Browser extensions consuming resources
• Malware or cryptocurrency miners

3. Disk Issues

• Full hard drive (less than 10GB free)
• Failing SSD/HDD
• Spotlight indexing large files

4. Software Bugs

• Outdated app versions
• macOS compatibility issues
• Corrupt preferences or caches

5. System Resource Conflicts

• Competing apps accessing same files
• Database locks
• Network timeouts

Proactive monitoring with Sensei

Rather than waiting for apps to freeze, monitor your system in real-time to catch problems early. Sensei provides:

Real-time visibility:

• CPU usage per app: Spot runaway processes before they freeze
• Memory pressure: See when you're running low on RAM
• Menu bar stats: Quick glance at system health
• Process monitor: Identify and quit problem apps in one click
• Performance alerts: Get notified when apps spike CPU/memory

Preventing freezes:

• See which apps consume the most resources
• Quit background apps before launching intensive work
• Monitor memory pressure to avoid system hangs
• Get alerts when processes go rogue

For example, if Chrome's helper processes are consuming 8GB RAM, Sensei shows you immediately—before it freezes your entire system. The built-in process manager lets you force quit any app with one click, faster than Activity Monitor.

What to Do After Force Quitting

After force quitting an app, take these steps:

Immediate actions:

1. Reopen the app to see if it was temporary
2. Check for unsaved work: Some apps auto-save or offer recovery
3. Restart your Mac if multiple apps are freezing (indicates system issue)

Investigate the cause:

1. Check Console app (Applications > Utilities) for crash logs
2. Look for error messages related to the app
3. Check app's support site for known issues
4. Verify macOS and app are up to date

Long-term solutions:

• Update macOS: System Settings > General > Software Update
• Update apps: Check App Store or vendor websites
• Clear app caches: ~/Library/Caches/[AppName]
• Reset app preferences: ~/Library/Preferences/[AppName]
• Reinstall the app if problems persist
• Report bugs to app developers

When Force Quit Doesn't Work

In rare cases, even force quit fails. Try these escalations:

1. Force quit multiple times

• Sometimes it takes 2-3 attempts
• Wait 10 seconds between attempts

2. Log out and back in

• Apple menu > > Log Out
• Forces quit of all apps
• Faster than full restart

3. Restart your Mac

• Apple menu > > Restart
• Hold Power button 5 seconds if Mac won't respond
• Last resort: Force shutdown

4. Safe Mode boot

• Restart and hold Shift during boot
• Disables extensions and caches
• Helps isolate software conflicts

5. Reset SMC (Intel Macs)

• For persistent system freezes
• Instructions vary by Mac model
• See Apple Support for your specific model

Force Quit Shortcuts Summary

Keep this quick reference handy:

Troubleshooting Force Quit Issues

Force Quit window won't open?

• Mac may be severely frozen
• Try restart: Hold power button 5 seconds
• Boot into Safe Mode and investigate

Can't select app in Force Quit window?

• Entire system may be frozen
• Try clicking several times (delayed response)
• Force restart if nothing works

App immediately reopens after force quit?

• Check Login Items (System Settings > General > Login Items)
• Check for LaunchAgents: ~/Library/LaunchAgents
• Parent process may be relaunching it—quit parent via Activity Monitor

Multiple apps freezing frequently?

• Indicates system-wide problem
• Check free disk space (need 10GB+ minimum)
• Run First Aid in Disk Utility
• Check for malware
• Update or reinstall macOS

For Apple’s official guidance, see If an app freezes or quits unexpectedly.

Conclusion

You're now equipped to handle any frozen app on Mac with five reliable force quit methods—from the quick ⌘ Cmd + Option + Esc shortcut to advanced Terminal commands for stubborn processes.

Remember:

• ⌘ Cmd + Option + Esc is your go-to shortcut
• Activity Monitor shows what's really happening
• Terminal commands provide ultimate control
• Prevention is better than cure—monitor your system with Sensei

Experience the Sensei Difference

From real-time performance monitoring to comprehensive storage cleanup, Sensei provides features that keep your Mac running at peak performance.

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