Closing all open apps in Windows 11 at once can be a useful and efficient task, especially when you want to free up system resources or simply start from scratch. Today, efficient management of open applications is essential to maintaining an agile and fluid operating system.
With the release of Windows 11 , Microsoft has introduced a number of changes and improvements to the user interface compared to its predecessors. Of course, there are also several ways to close open applications and other interesting additions.
In this article, you’ll see the various strategies to close all open applications in Windows 11 at once , giving you options and knowledge so you can optimize your user experience.
Now you can read about the different techniques available, so you can find the one that best suits your work style and make the most of the Windows 11 experience:
Close all open applications at once using the taskbar
The first way you can close all open applications at once in Windows 11 is to use the taskbar.
The taskbar is the place where you can manage all the open and pinned programs, so it will be the simplest and easiest way to manage them all. The steps you must follow are the following:
- Go to the taskbar and determine an application that has multiple windows active at the moment.
- Right-click the application icon in the taskbar and choose Close all windows from the context menu.
- It’s that easy to close all active application windows.
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Close all open applications with Resource Monitor
The big advantage of opting for Resource Monitor over Taskbar and Task Manager to close all open apps in Windows 11 is its built-in auto-recovery feature.
This is really useful, especially if you have made a mistake and closed a process that is vital for the functioning of the system, since you will be able to select the Resume process option to restart the applications. The steps to close all the apps in Windows 11 at the same time are:
- The first thing you need to do is press the Windows key and then type Resource Monitor in the search bar and click on the corresponding search result.
- Go to the General Information tab and check the boxes for the programs that are active and that you want to end.
- Right-click on each of the selected programs, then select End Process from the menu that opens.
Close all open applications batch scripts
You have the option to close all open applications in Windows 11 at once by creating a batch file that performs this action with a single click.
Batch scripts are command line sequences that, when loaded, perform actions assigned to them.
For this reason, a batch script can be effective for closing apps, since you can tell it to perform the action you are interested in today:
- Right-click anywhere on the desktop and choose New Text Document from the context menu.
- Now, double-click the newly formed text file to open it and insert the following command: taskkill /f /im Chrome.exe /T > nul
- If you have multiple windows open from different applications, repeat this command for each application, replacing Chrome with the name of the separate application.
- Next, switch to the File tab within the text editor and select the Save option.
- Now type Close all Windows applications simultaneously.bat (for example) and hit Save .
- Go back to your desktop (or wherever you saved it) and double-click the document you saved to verify that it works correctly.
Close all open applications in Windows 11 with Command Prompt
There is no single command to use in Command Prompt to close all open applications at once in Windows 11.
That’s why the procedure to close all open programs in Windows 11 is a bit longer, but not complicated at all. Here’s how to do it:
- Press the Windows key to open the Start menu and type cmd .
- Next, click on Run as administrator in the result that will be given to you (Command Prompt).
- Click Yes on the User Action Control prompt to start the command prompt with administrative privileges.
- Now type taskkill /f /im app.exe
- Remember that you must replace where it says app with the name of the application you want to cancel.
In short, closing all open apps in Windows 11 at once is an essential skill to optimize your system performance and maintain an uninterrupted user experience.
As you become familiar with the Windows 11 interface and master these app closing techniques, you’ll be able to take full advantage of the capabilities of this operating system and focus on your tasks without worrying about unnecessary apps running in the background.
This article has provided you with the ways to close all open applications in Windows 11 at once in an easy and effective manner.