Quit All Open Apps at Once with osascript
Send a graceful quit signal to every foreground macOS application.
Run the osascript loop over System Events foreground processes and tell each application to quit.
01Command
Command
$ osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to set quitApps to (name of every process whose background only is false)' -e 'repeat with appName in quitApps' -e 'tell application appName to quit' -e 'end repeat'02What it does
Unlike force-killing processes, `quit` lets each app show its save dialog and shut down cleanly, which prevents data loss and avoids the “reopen windows after crash” state. It is a common step before macOS updates, Time Machine restores, or rebooting a heavily used Mac.
03Risk
!Warning: Unsaved documents will still prompt — sit at the Mac until the dialogs are handled, or you may block a scheduled shutdown. Skip this for apps you expect to relaunch automatically.
04Undo
✓No undo needed — this command does not change persistent state.
05Sources
- osascript – Execute AppleScripts and OSA scriptsEvidence: System Events process control through AppleScript
Last verified: 2026-09-18 · Category: System & Settings