How to Close Background Apps and Processes on Mac

In this article, we’ll show you various easy ways to find and close programs and hidden system processes running in the background on your Mac.Closing unnecessary or problematic background programs or processes can help in the following cases:

• If your Mac is running slow and freezing.
• RAM is running low.
• Programs constantly crash.
• The computer is getting very hot.
• The internet is slow.

It also helps conserve battery life on your MacBook. We’ll look at different methods below.

Close the program

This is the first thing you can do if a program isn’t working properly. For example, after changing settings on a Mac, you might need to close the program and relaunch it for the changes to take effect.

If you’re new to Mac, you should know that clicking the red button in the upper-left corner of an app’s window doesn’t necessarily close it. To definitely close an app, click its name next to the Apple logo in the menu bar at the top and select ” Quit [app name] .”

Force close the program

If an app stops responding, you won’t be able to close it normally. In this case, click the Apple logo in the menu bar and select ” Force Quit .” You can also use the keyboard shortcut Command + Option + Esc .

After that, select the program and click ” Force Quit .” You can also select all items in the list by pressing Command + A  and close them all at once.

Please note that when you force quit a program, your work in it is not saved.

Indicator in the menu bar

Some programs and extensions that are open and running don’t appear as regular programs in the Dock or in the Force Quit Programs window.

Such programs can be closed by clicking their icon in the menu bar and selecting ” Quit .” Some display a quit option when you right-click their icon in the menu bar.

Use System Monitor

Activity Monitor is a standard Apple tool that displays all programs and processes running on your Mac. It also displays how much CPU, RAM, and other resources each program or process is using.

If a specific program or your entire computer is running slowly, you should find the problematic program or process using Activity Monitor and close it. Here’s how:

1. Open Activity Monitor on your Mac via Spotlight search, Launchpad, or the Applications folder.
2. Make sure the CPU tab is selected .
3. The processes using the most system resources will be displayed at the very top. If this is not the case, click the % CPU section to sort the list.
4. Select a process that’s using a lot of resources, even though you’re not actively using it. You can also select programs and processes that aren’t responding. They’ll be labeled “Not Responding.”
5. Once you’ve selected the desired program or process, click the X button  at the top and select ” Quit ” or ” Force Quit .” You can also double-click the process and select ” Quit ” > ” Quit ” or ” Force Quit .”

Note:  The “Quit” option will not work if terminating the program would result in data loss or disrupt the operation of another program. In such cases, you should use the “Force Quit” option, but this will result in the loss of any unsaved work.

Don’t close all processes using Activity Monitor. Also, don’t close processes whose purpose you don’t understand. Closing them can cause your computer to freeze, or even crash. In this case, your mouse and trackpad will stop working, and you’ll need to force restart your Mac by holding down the power button.

Restart your computer

Regularly shutting down and starting your Mac is another proven way to clear background processes and apps. This generally improves resource management on your Mac and makes it run faster.

In the menu bar, click the Apple logo and select Restart .

Use Terminal

You can also use the Terminal tool to view active processes and close them.

1. Open the Terminal program on your Mac.
2. Enter text

   top

   and press Enter to display a list of all active processes. You’ll also see how many resources each one is using.

3. Look through the list, find the process you want to terminate and remember its number – Process ID ( PID ).
4. Now, from the menu bar, click Shell  > New Window to open another window. Type

   kill  [number - PID ]

   For example, kill -712  and press Enter to terminate this process.

Third-party tools like QuitAll

You can also rely on third-party apps for this job. One of the options I love is a little utility called

You can also use specialized third-party programs. One such option is a program called QuitAll . You can download it from  the official website .

Once you’ve installed the program, launch it and click its icon in the menu bar at the top. You can now click the Quit All button to close all running programs. You can also click the quit button next to a specific program to close just that one.

If you tap the settings icon in the lower right corner and select “View background apps ,” a long list of running processes will be displayed. You can terminate them all at once or just specific ones.