How to Stop Finder Action on Mac: Step-by-Step Guide

Force quit Finder to fix an unresponsive window

Written by Kyle Smith

Last Updated: January 11, 2023

Using a Keyboard Shortcut

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Using the Apple Menu

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Using Activity Monitor

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Tips

Are you seeing the "Stop Finder Action" error when trying to eject a drive or app installer? If Finder is suddenly not responding, you can use Mac’s built-in Force Quit feature to end it. Force Quit is easy to use, and there are multiple ways to force an app to close. This wikiHow shows you how to force Finder to close and restart on a Mac desktop computer or MacBook.

Things You Should Know

Press ⌥ Option+⌘ Command+Esc to open the Force Quit menu.
Select Finder in the Force Quit window.
Click Relaunch to immediately quit Finder and reopen it.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Using a Keyboard Shortcut

1
Press ⌥ Option+⌘ Command+Esc. This will open the Force Quit menu.^{[1]
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2
Click Finder in the Force Quit window. This will select it and highlight it as blue.

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3
Click Relaunch. The “Force Quit” button will be replaced with “Relaunch” when you select Finder. Pressing the button will quit Finder and reopen it.
- If you received the "Stop Finder Action" error when trying to eject a drive or app installer before, you should now be able to do so.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Using the Apple Menu

1
Open the Apple menu. Click the Apple icon in the menu bar to open the Apple menu.
2
Select Force Quit. This option appears in the Apple menu drop down.
3
Click Finder in the Force Quit window. This will select it and highlight it as blue.
4
Click Relaunch. The “Force Quit” button will be replaced with “Relaunch” when you select Finder. Pressing the button will quit Finder and reopen it.
- If your entire Mac isn’t responding, see our guide on restarting a frozen Mac.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Using Activity Monitor

1
Open Activity Monitor. It has a green heartbeat line on a black background.^{[2]
X
Research source} You'll find it on your Launchpad, as well as in the Applications > Utilities folder.
2
Click Finder in the Process Name list. This will select it and highlight it blue.
3
Click the Stop button. This is a gray X in an octagon in the top-right corner of the window.
4
Select Force Quit. This will end Finder immediately.