How to close all windows on a Mac at once

Close every window of an app with one shortcut, quit apps in bulk, and stop old windows reopening each time you start up. The keys and settings that do it.

Guide · Updated 13 October 2026

⌘ ⌥ W closes every window of the app in front. Hold ⌥ and click any window's red button for the same thing. The app keeps running; ⌘ Q quits it.

Closing windows

To closePress
The front window⌘ W
Every window of the front app⌘ ⌥ W, or ⌥ and click the red button
The front tab (browsers, Finder)⌘ W
The app and all its windows⌘ Q

Quitting several apps at once

  • Hold ⌘ and press Tab to open the app switcher. Keep holding ⌘, move to an app with Tab, and press Q to quit it. Repeat without letting go.
  • Force Quit (⌘ ⌥ Esc) lists open apps. Select several with ⌘ and click Force Quit only for apps that stopped responding; unsaved work is lost.
  • Log out (⇧ ⌘ Q) quits everything, and asks about unsaved work.

Stop windows coming back

  • When you restart: untick Reopen windows when logging back in, in the dialog that asks to restart or shut down.
  • When you open an app: System Settings, Desktop & Dock, turn on Close windows when quitting an application. Apps then open without last time's windows.

When you close windows just to cope

If you close windows because the screen is a mess, not because you are done with them, you lose your place each time. ClutterFreeMac keeps every window open in a column on a strip; the ones you are not using wait off screen, one swipe away, so there is no need to close what you still need.

Questions

How do I close all windows of an app on a Mac?

Press ⌘ ⌥ W, or hold ⌥ and click the red close button of any of its windows.

How do I stop my Mac reopening windows after restart?

Untick Reopen windows when logging back in when you restart. To stop apps reopening their windows, turn on Close windows when quitting an application in System Settings, Desktop & Dock.

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