How Quitting Apps Works on Mac
Closing down apps on a Mac works a little differently compared to Windows PCs. In macOS, clicking the red cross in the title bar usually only closes the app window, not the entire app. You’ll notice the app’s icon still appears in the Dock with a dot underneath it, indicating it’s still running in the background.
1) Quitting the Apps Normally
The red cross in the title bar only closes the window you’re working in but doesn’t entirely quit the application. Some apps, especially those that run in a single window, may behave differently. To fully quit an app, use any of these easy methods:
2) Force Quit
If an app becomes unresponsive or won’t close the usual way, you can use “force quit” to close it immediately. Be aware, though, that this method stops the app instantly, so any unsaved work will be lost.
How to Force Quit on Mac
macOS offers several ways to force quit apps, so you can pick whichever is most comfortable for you. You can do it using keyboard shortcuts, the Dock, the Force Quit menu, or the Terminal.
Method 1: Force Quit Applications Menu
macOS includes a built-in Force Quit menu where you can select and close one or more apps at once. To open it, either use the keyboard shortcut Command + Option + Esc, or click the Apple logo at the top-left corner and choose Force Quit. Once the Force Quit window opens, select the app you want, then click “Force Quit” in the bottom-right corner.
Method 2: Force Quit via Dock
Sometimes, apps may freeze or slow down your Mac by using too many system resources. In these cases, you can force quit an app by Control-clicking its icon in the Dock and choosing “Force Quit.”
Method 3: Mac’s Activity Monitor
Similar to the Task Manager in Windows, macOS has an app called “Activity Monitor.” Here, you can select any unresponsive app and click the “Force Quit” button in the upper-left corner to stop it. Although there’s no quick keyboard shortcut to open Activity Monitor, you can access it from Launchpad or by using Spotlight Search (press Command + Space and start typing Activity Monitor).
Method 4: Terminal
If you need a more advanced way to close an app, especially one with several background processes, you can use the Terminal. Open Terminal, type killall [appname] (replace [appname] with the app’s actual name), and press Enter. This will end all running instances of the chosen app, including its background activities.
Why & When to Force Quit
Sometimes, apps freeze, become buggy, or just stop responding, making it necessary to force quit them. But there are other situations when force quitting is a good choice, or when shutting down your whole Mac might be necessary:
↪ Is it Safe to Force Quit an App?
While force quitting an app is usually safe when your system is stuck, some users worry it could be risky, so they prefer to wait in hopes their Mac will recover by itself. There are even myths that using the power button for a shutdown might damage your Mac, but that’s not true in urgent situations. Pressing and holding your Mac’s power button to shut it off is basically the same as using the regular shutdown command. If your computer isn’t responding and you can’t force quit any app, it’s perfectly fine to use the power button as a last resort.
