What key combination opens the Force Quit Applications window on macOS?

The key combination that opens the Force Quit Applications window on macOS is Command+Option+Escape.

Pressing Command, Option, and Escape together opens a system dialog listing currently running applications. You can select an unresponsive app and choose Force Quit, which terminates it without waiting for the application’s normal shutdown process. Apple also writes the shortcut as Option-Command-Esc, and the Option key may be labeled Alt on some keyboards.

This shortcut is different from several familiar Mac commands. Command+Q asks the active application to quit normally, giving it an opportunity to save work and clean up. Command+W closes a window or document, while Command+Shift+Q signs the user out of macOS. None of those commands opens the Force Quit dialog.

The Finder appears in the Force Quit list because it is always running as part of the desktop environment. If Finder becomes unresponsive, selecting it may show Relaunch instead of Force Quit. If the entire Mac is frozen and the dialog cannot open, the remaining options may include restarting or, as a last resort, holding the power button to shut the computer down.