Control-Alt-Delete on a Mac: the keys that do the same job

There is no Control-Alt-Delete on a Mac. The key combination that does the same job is Option-Command-Escape, which opens the Force Quit Applications window so you can end an app that has stopped responding. On a Windows PC, Control-Alt-Delete opens a menu that includes Task Manager. On a Mac, the closest match to Task Manager itself is a different set of keys, Control-Shift-Escape, which opens Foreman.

So the answer depends on what you used Control-Alt-Delete for. This page matches each Windows habit to what the Mac offers.

Option-Command-Escape: force quit

If you pressed Control-Alt-Delete because a program froze, press Option, Command and Escape together. The key you know as Alt is the Option key. A window titled Force Quit Applications opens and lists your apps. An app that has stopped answering is marked “(not responding)”.

Select the app and click Force Quit. macOS asks you to confirm, since anything unsaved in that app is lost, and then ends it. That is the whole job, and it is what most people want from Control-Alt-Delete on a Mac.

The window lists apps only. It does not show how much processor or memory each one uses, and it does not list background processes. For that you need a different tool, described below.

Control-Shift-Escape: a Task Manager

On Windows, Control-Shift-Escape opens Task Manager directly. macOS does not assign those keys to anything, but Foreman does. It is a Task Manager for the Mac, and Control-Shift-Escape opens it from any app. The shortcut is fixed, so it cannot be changed to other keys, and Settings can turn it off if another app needs those keys.

Once it is open you get a list of every app, with the helper processes of each app grouped under it, and columns for CPU, Memory, Disk, Network, GPU and Power usage. An app macOS has marked as hung shows “Not responding”. You can sort by a column to find what is using the most, and select a row to end it.

Foreman is $12 once, free for 24 hours from the first launch. If you only need to end a frozen app, the Force Quit window is enough and costs nothing.

Lock screen and sign out

Some people use Control-Alt-Delete to lock the computer or sign out. On a Mac, these have their own keys. Control-Command-Q locks the screen immediately. Shift-Command-Q logs you out, after asking you to confirm. Both are macOS’s own defaults.

Restart

Control-Alt-Delete is also what many Windows users press to restart a stuck PC. On a Mac, open the Apple menu and choose Restart. If the whole Mac has frozen and the menu does not respond, see what to do when your whole Mac freezes. Restarting is rarely needed for a single frozen app, because force quitting the app is enough.

What each one can and cannot do

• Force Quit window (Option-Command-Escape): lists apps, ends a hung app. Does not show resource use or background processes.
• Foreman (Control-Shift-Escape): lists apps and processes with figures, ends an app politely with End Task or force quits it. Offers Restart, which quits an app and opens it again.
• Control-Command-Q: locks the screen.
• Shift-Command-Q: logs you out.

Foreman does not end parts of macOS that would break the Mac. It never offers to end kernel_task or launchd, and it warns before ending something like WindowServer or loginwindow, because you would be logged out. Processes that belong to macOS or to other users need an administrator password, which Foreman asks for first.

What about Windows’ blue menu?

The menu Windows shows after Control-Alt-Delete also has options for changing a password or switching user. On a Mac you change your login password in System Settings > Touch ID & Password (called Login Password on a Mac without Touch ID), and Users & Groups is where you add and manage other accounts.

Why the Mac has no single menu

Windows puts several jobs behind one key combination: lock, switch user, sign out, change a password and Task Manager. The Mac spreads them out. Each job has its own shortcut or its own menu, and most live under the Apple menu. Open it and you will find Force Quit, Restart, Shut Down, Lock Screen and Log Out in one place, which is the nearest thing to the Windows menu.

If you remember only one thing, remember the Apple menu. Every action on this page can be reached from it or from the keys beside it, even if you forget a shortcut.

Which one should you use

Use Option-Command-Escape whenever an app freezes and you want it gone. It is built in and costs nothing. How to force quit an app on a Mac: every way that works lists the other routes, in case the keys are not doing anything.

Use Control-Shift-Escape and Foreman when you want to see what is using the processor, memory or battery, or when you want the familiar Windows Task Manager layout. If you are moving across from Windows, Ctrl-Shift-Esc on a Mac: open a Task Manager with the same keys goes into it further.

A note on keyboards

Some Mac keyboards print alt on the Option key as well. Both names mean the same key, so Option-Command-Escape is what you press whichever word your keyboard shows. The Mac’s Delete key removes the character before the cursor, like Backspace on Windows, so the familiar Windows combination is not the one to reach for on a Mac.