How to force an app to quit on your Mac
If an app stops responding and you can't quit the app normally, use these steps to force the app to quit.
To quit a Mac app normally, choose Quit from the app's menu in the menu bar, or press Command-Q. If the app doesn't quit, follow these steps to force the app to quit.
Force an app to quit
Press these three keys together: Option (or Alt), Command, Esc (Escape).1 Or choose Force Quit from the Apple menu in the corner of your screen.
A Force Quit window opens. Select the app that you want to quit, then click Force Quit:
The Finder is always open, but if it stops responding, you can force it to quit and then open again: Select Finder in the Force Quit window, then click Relaunch.
Learn how to close an app on your iPhone or close an app on your iPad.
If you can't force the app to quit
If you can't force the app to quit, try restarting your Mac: Choose Apple menu > Restart.
If your Mac won't restart, force your Mac to turn off:
Press and hold the power button on your Mac for up to 10 seconds, until your Mac turns off.2
Turn your Mac back on.
1. Even computers that have a Touch Bar have an Esc key. It's on the left side of the Touch Bar.
2. Every Mac has a power button. On Mac laptop computers, the power button is in the upper-right corner of the keyboard. If the laptop keyboard has Touch ID, that key is also the power button.
