Force quit an app that has stopped responding
The Mac equivalent of Ctrl+Alt+Delete for a single frozen app.
Works on: macOS Big Sur 11 and later · checked on macOS Golden Gate 27
Published: · Source: Genius Manu
When an app stops repainting and the pointer turns into a spinning colour wheel, you do not need to restart the Mac. Close just that app.
Open the Apple menu and choose Force Quit, or press ⌥ + ⌘ + Esc. A small window lists everything that is running; pick the app and press Force Quit again to confirm.
An app closed this way loses anything unsaved, so try clicking its window first — sometimes it is only busy. The list is also a quick way to see what is actually open, which is not always obvious when windows are minimised.
The Apple menu is worth knowing for its neighbours too: Recent Items reopens something you closed by mistake, and About This Mac shows the chip, memory and serial number.
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