How to Force Quit Apps and Programs on Mac

The most commonly used method to deal with an unresponsive app is to close and restart the app. If the App is not closing, you can find below multiple ways to Force Quit Apps and Programs on Mac.

Force Quit Apps and Programs on Mac

While the problem of Apps getting stuck is more common with third-party apps, it is not uncommon to find native App Store Apps getting stuck and going through problems on a MacBook.

In such cases, it becomes difficult to close the unresponsive App in a regular way and the only option left is to Force Quit the application.

Unlike regular closing of the Apps, Force Quitting abruptly closes the application and does not save your work and settings.

With this understanding, let us go ahead and take a look at different methods to Force-Quit apps on Mac.

1. Force Quit Apps from the Dock

The easiest way to Force Quit any App or desktop Program on MacBook is to right-click on the App Icon in the Dock and select the Force Quit option.

1. Right-click on the App icon in the Dock and click on Force Quit in the menu that appears.

Note: In certain Apps the Force Quit option may only appear as Quit.

2. On the confirmation pop-up, select the Force Quit option to confirm.

In most cases, this should help you deal with any unresponsive App on your Macbook.

2. Force Quit Apps Using Apple Menu Bar

Another easy way to Force Quit Apps on Mac is to click on the Apple Logo in top-menu bar and select the Force Quit option.

1. Click on Apple icon in the top-menu bar and select the Force Quit… option in the drop-down menu.

2. On Force Quit Applications window, make sure that the App or Program that you want to close is selected and click on the Force Quit button.

2. On the confirmation pop-up, select the Force Quit option to confirm.

3. Force Quit Apps and Programs Using Keyboard

If you have fast fingers, you can find below the keyboard shortcut to force quit any App or Program on your MacBook.

1. Press Command + Option + Esc keys to Force Quit any unresponsive App. If you are using a Windows keyboard on Mac, press Windows + Alt + Esc keys.

2. On Force Quit Applications window, make sure that the App or Program that you want to close is selected and click on the Force Quit button.

2. On the confirmation pop-up, select the Force Quit option to confirm.

Note: Do not press all 3 keys at the same time, rather press them in a sequence, first Command then Option and then Esc.

4. Force Quit Apps On Mac Using Activity Monitor

Similar to the Task Manager on a Windows computer, the Activity Monitor on a MacBook provides the option to Quit and Force Quit Applications.

Click on the Finder Icon (Taskbar) > go to Applications > Utilities and click on Activity Monitor.app.

On Activity Monitor screen, select the App that you want to close and click on the X button.

On the confirmation pop-up, select the Force Quit option to confirm.

5. Force Quit Apps On Mac Using Terminal

In addition to above ways, you can also make use of the Terminal Window to Force Quit Apps on your Mac.

1. Open Finder > go to Applications > Utilities and click on Terminal.app.

Note: You can press Command + Spacebar to open Spotlight Search > type “Terminal” in Spotlight Search and click on the Top Hit suggestion Terminal to open the Terminal Window.

2. In the Terminal window, type killall “App Name” and press the Enter key.

As soon as you press the enter key, the stuck application should shut down.

If the command is not executed, type in ps –ax (there is a space after ps) and press the Enter key.

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.

Next, type kill (PID number) in the Terminal Window and press the enter key.

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.