macOS · Mac · Everyday fixes

Force-quit a frozen app

A spinning beachball means the app is stuck, not your Mac. Kill it cleanly without restarting everything.

  • Difficulty Easy
  • Estimated time 1 min
  • Platform macOS
  • Last updated
Force-quit a frozen app — schematic diagram

Before you start

Low risk. This change is reversible — you can return to the previous state without professional help or data loss.

Steps

  1. Cmd + Option + Esc opens the Force Quit window — pick the app and hit Force Quit
  2. Or right-click (or Control-click) its Dock icon → Force Quit
  3. If Finder itself is frozen: open Activity Monitor, select 'Finder' and hit the ⓧ button — it relaunches automatically

How to verify the fix

The frozen app closes without a full Mac restart, and other apps keep running normally.

If this didn't fix it

The app respawns or freezes again immediately — quit it from Activity Monitor; if Finder itself froze, relaunch it via the X button there.

Next stop: the related fixes below, or start a guided diagnosis.

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