Every Mac user eventually runs into that one stubborn app that freezes or stops responding. You click, you wait, and nothing happens. When that moment comes, knowing how to force quit an app can save you from a complete system restart. In my latest video, I show the fastest and easiest ways to force quit any app on macOS.

Force quitting is essentially the Mac equivalent of hitting “End Task” on Windows — it shuts down an unresponsive application immediately. There are several reliable methods to do this, depending on your situation.

Here are the main options:

1. Use the Apple Menu:

  • Click the Apple logo in the top-left corner.

  • Select Force Quit.

  • A small window appears listing all open apps.

  • Highlight the one that’s frozen and click Force Quit.

2. Use the Keyboard Shortcut:

  • Press Command + Option + Esc.

  • This opens the same Force Quit window instantly.

  • Select the problem app and hit Force Quit.

3. Use the Activity Monitor:

  • Open Spotlight (Command + Space) and type “Activity Monitor.”

  • Find the unresponsive app in the list.

  • Click the X icon in the toolbar, then choose Force Quit.

This method gives more control since you can see CPU and memory usage for each process — useful if you’re diagnosing recurring issues.

4. Use Terminal (for advanced users):

  • Open Terminal and type top or ps -ax to find the app’s process ID (PID).

  • Then type kill [PID] and press Enter.

It’s not often you’ll need to go this far, but it’s good to know if the GUI methods fail.

After force quitting, reopen the app to check if it behaves normally. If problems persist, consider clearing cache files or reinstalling the program.

Force quitting doesn’t harm your Mac, but any unsaved work in the frozen app will be lost — so always try saving first if possible.

Having these shortcuts memorized is a huge time-saver. Instead of waiting for your Mac to unfreeze, you’ll know exactly what to do to get back to work instantly.