How to Quit All Open Applications on Mac with One Click

However, the Automator tool on Mac can help you solve the problem with just one click. Automator is an application that helps automate many of the daily tasks of users on Mac, including closing applications. Through Automator you can create a custom 'widget' that quits all running applications.

Of course, you can also pin this utility to the Dock for quick use if you want. Then, you only need to click once on this custom widget in the Dock when you need to quickly close all of your Mac apps.

How to Quit All Open Mac Apps With One Click With Automator Utility

To get started, open Automator on your Mac. Do this by pressing Command + Space (spacebar) to open Spotlight, enter the search keyword ' Automator ' and click the search results returned.

In the Automator window, navigate to the top menu bar and choose File > New to create a new widget. Or you can also press Command + N to do this.

Immediately, a window titled ' Choose a type for your document ' will open. Here you select ' Application ', then click the ' Choose ' button at the bottom of the window.

Next, the Automator main window will open. In the top left corner, click ' Actions '. Then you click in the text box next to ' Actions ' and enter the name for the custom widget you are about to create, such as ' Quit All Applications '.

A utility called ' Quit All Applications ' will appear below the text box. Use your mouse pointer to drag and drop this utility into the gray frame on the right, as shown below.

Automator will now let you configure your newly added action. In the ' Quit All Applications ' section on the right side of the Automator window, enable the ' Ask to save changes ' option if you want to show a request to save changes before closing running applications.

Then in the 'Do not quit ' section, click ' Add ' to add the apps that you don't want to close when activating this Automator add-on. For example, if you want to close all applications except the web browser, add your web browser here.

Save the Automator utility by clicking File > Save in the menu bar.

In the save option settings dialog that appears, click ' Save As ' and enter a name for the extension. Next, click the " Where " drop-down menu and select " Desktop ", then hit " Save " at the bottom.

The custom Automator widget you just created is now available. Just double-click it to quickly close all running apps on your Mac when needed.

With that said, you can also drag and drop this widget from the desktop to the Dock. Once there, you only need to click once on this widget in the Dock to close all running applications.

Jessica Tanner

Update 08 June 2021