# How to Quit Apps Automatically on Mac

Updated: November 12, 2026

Supercharge: Price: $20, one-time purchase, plus tax where applicable. Platforms: macOS. Get it from: [Setapp](https://go.setapp.com/stp181?refAppID=742&utm_medium=vendor_program&utm_content=button), [Gumroad](https://sindresorhus.gumroad.com/l/supercharge?wanted=true). Free trial: [download](https://sindresorhus.com/supercharge#trial). Requires macOS 26.4 or later. Free older versions for macOS 15: [download](https://sindresorhus.com/supercharge#older-versions).

URL: https://sindresorhus.com/guides/quit-apps-automatically-mac

macOS cannot quit an app after you stop using it. [Supercharge](https://sindresorhus.com/supercharge) quits or hides the apps that you choose, like Slack, some minutes after you switch away from them.

## With Supercharge

1. Open the settings of [Supercharge](https://sindresorhus.com/supercharge), and click “Tweaks”.
1. In the “Apps & Windows” section, click “Configure…” next to “Automatically quit or hide inactive apps”.
1. Click the add button, and choose an app, like Slack.
1. Choose “Quit” or “Hide”, and the time, from 1 minute to 24 hours. The default is 3 minutes.
1. Close the window, and turn on the switch next to “Automatically quit or hide inactive apps”.

The time starts when you switch away from the app. Supercharge does not quit or hide apps while an app uses the camera, while the screen is recorded, or while the app uses the microphone. To turn this off for an app, click its more button, and turn on “Ignore Media Guards”. It never quits the active app or apps that are only in the menu bar.

## Without an app

macOS has no setting for this. Two built-in features come close:

- **Screen Time:** “System Settings › Screen Time › Time Allowances” (“App Limits” on macOS 26 and earlier) sets how long you can use some kinds of apps each day, like social media.
- **Quit all apps:** Quit all apps at once, like at the end of the day. See [How to Quit All Apps on Mac at Once](https://sindresorhus.com/guides/quit-all-apps-mac).

Neither quits an app when you stop using it. Supercharge is for apps that you open for a moment and then forget, like chat apps.