- Three ways to open Activity Monitor
- The Mac's Control-Alt-Delete
- What the tabs mean
- Quit an app or process from Activity Monitor
- Read the list without panicking
- Change how often it updates
- Spotting what's slowing your Mac
- Activity Monitor versus Windows Task Manager
- Check memory before you buy more
- Watch the battery on a laptop
- My verdict
- Frequently asked questions
The Mac's Task Manager is called Activity Monitor. Press Command-Space, type Activity Monitor and press Return; it shows every running app and process with its CPU and memory use, and lets you quit one that's frozen. For a quick force quit, press Option-Command-Esc instead.
If you've switched from Windows, you'll look for Task Manager and not find it. The Mac has the same tool under a different name: Activity Monitor. It's where you see what's slowing the Mac down, which app is eating memory and what's running in the background. Here's how to open it fast and how to read it without getting lost in the list.
Three ways to open Activity Monitor
| Method | Steps |
|---|---|
| Spotlight | Press Command-Space, type Activity, press Return |
| Finder | Applications, Utilities, Activity Monitor |
| Launchpad | Open the Other folder and click Activity Monitor |
Spotlight is the quickest by far. If you'll use it often, keep it in the Dock: while it's open, Control-click its Dock icon and choose Options, Keep in Dock.
The Mac's Control-Alt-Delete
Many people searching for Task Manager just want to close a frozen app. For that you don't need Activity Monitor at all. Press Option-Command-Esc, choose the app and click Force Quit. Use Activity Monitor when you need to find out which app is the problem, or when the frozen thing isn't a normal app with a window.
What the tabs mean
| Tab | Tells you |
|---|---|
| CPU | Which apps are keeping the processor busy right now |
| Memory | How much RAM each app uses, and whether the Mac is under memory pressure |
| Energy | Which apps drain the battery most on a laptop |
| Disk | Which apps read and write the most data |
| Network | Which apps send and receive the most data |
Click any column heading to sort by it. Sorting the CPU tab by % CPU, highest first, is the fastest way to find the app that's making your fan spin.
Quit an app or process from Activity Monitor
- Find the process in the list. Use the search field at the top right if the list is long.
- A process that's stuck shows in red with (Not Responding) next to it.
- Select it and click the stop button (an X in a circle) at the top left.
- Choose Quit to close it safely, or Force Quit to close it at once.
Apple's warning is worth taking seriously: Force Quit stops the process immediately, so if it has files open you may lose data, and other apps that rely on it can misbehave. If Activity Monitor asks for an administrator password, you're trying to quit something owned by the system or another user, which is usually a sign to leave it alone.
Read the list without panicking
Activity Monitor shows far more than your open apps. Apple describes processes as apps, system apps used by macOS and invisible background processes, so a list of hundreds is normal. Names like kernel_task, WindowServer and mds are part of macOS and shouldn't be quit. To cut the list down, use the View menu: My Processes shows only things running under your account, and Windowed Processes shows just the apps with windows, which is closest to what Windows Task Manager shows by default.
Change how often it updates
By default the window refreshes every 5 seconds. If you're watching a short spike, choose View, Update Frequency and pick a faster setting. Set it back afterwards, because faster updates make Activity Monitor itself use a little more power.
Spotting what's slowing your Mac
- One app stuck at high CPU: quit and reopen it. If it keeps happening, update it.
- Memory Pressure graph in red: too many apps or browser tabs open at once. Close some.
- A browser using lots of memory: it's usually tabs and extensions. Close the tabs you don't need.
- An app you don't recognise: search its name before quitting or deleting anything.
If a streaming app is the culprit, my guide to Spotify not working on a Mac covers clearing its cache and reinstalling. And be wary of utilities that claim to speed up your Mac by quitting things for you; my look at whether MacKeeper is safe explains why.
Activity Monitor versus Windows Task Manager
They do the same core job, with one difference that trips people up: on a Mac, startup apps aren't managed from Activity Monitor. You'll find them in System Settings, General, Login Items. That's the place to stop apps from launching every time you switch on.
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Check memory before you buy more
The Memory tab is the honest answer to whether your Mac needs more RAM. At the bottom is a Memory Pressure graph. Green means the Mac is coping, even if the used memory number looks high, because macOS deliberately fills spare memory with cached files to speed things up. Yellow means it's working harder. Red, for long stretches, means you're regularly asking more of the Mac than it has, and closing apps, fewer browser tabs or a model with more memory will help. Judge by the colour, not by how full the number looks.
Watch the battery on a laptop
On a MacBook, the Energy tab lists each app's Energy Impact and shows which apps have used the most power over the last few hours. If your battery drains faster than it used to, sort this column and look for an app you don't need running all day, such as a chat app or a browser with a video tab left open.
My verdict
Activity Monitor is the Mac's Task Manager. Open it with Command-Space, sort the CPU or Memory tab to find what's hogging the Mac, and use Quit before Force Quit. For a quick fix to a frozen app, Option-Command-Esc is still the fastest route.
Frequently asked questions
What is Task Manager called on a Mac?
Activity Monitor. It's in Applications, Utilities, or open it with Spotlight.
What is the shortcut to open Task Manager on a Mac?
There isn't a single key. Press Command-Space, type Activity Monitor and press Return.
How do I end a task on a Mac?
Select it in Activity Monitor, click the stop button and choose Quit or Force Quit.
Is it safe to quit processes in Activity Monitor?
Quit your own apps freely. Leave system processes you don't recognise alone.
How do I stop apps opening at startup on a Mac?
Go to System Settings, General, Login Items and remove them there.
