Sometimes, you might have many apps open on your Windows 11 computer and want to close them all quickly without turning off your PC. This guide will show you simple steps to close all open apps at once using built-in Windows tools.

Open apps are programs running on your computer, like your web browser, music player, or games. They might be visible on your taskbar or running quietly in the background.

Closing all apps at once can help your computer run faster or fix problems caused by too many apps running at the same time.

How to Force Close All Open Apps Using Command Prompt

Command Prompt is a tool where you can type commands to control your computer. Follow these steps:

1. Open Windows Terminal: Click the Start button, type Windows Terminal, and press Enter.
2. Inside Windows Terminal, click the down arrow (˅) next to the plus (+) tab at the top and choose Command Prompt.
3. In the Command Prompt window, copy and paste this command, then press Enter:

PowerShell -Command "Get-Process |? {$_.MainWindowTitle -ne "" -and $_.Id -ne $PID -and $_.ProcessName -ne "explorer"} | Stop-Process -Force"

This command will close all apps except for File Explorer and the Windows Registry Editor.

How to Force Close All Open Apps Using PowerShell

PowerShell is another tool similar to Command Prompt but more powerful. Here’s how to use it:

1. Open Windows Terminal again.
2. Click the down arrow (˅) next to the plus (+) tab and select PowerShell.
3. Copy and paste this command, then press Enter:

Get-Process |? {$_.MainWindowTitle -ne "" -and $_.Id -ne $PID -and $_.ProcessName -ne "explorer"} | Stop-Process -Force

This will also close all running apps except File Explorer and the Windows Registry Editor.

Summary

• You can close all open apps in Windows 11 quickly using Command Prompt or PowerShell.
• These commands close all apps except important system programs like File Explorer.
• This method frees up your computer’s memory and can help fix problems caused by many apps running at once.

Note: Use these commands carefully because any unsaved work in your apps will be lost.

If you want a step-by-step guide with screenshots on how to open Command Prompt in Windows Terminal or PowerShell in Windows 11, check out these helpful tutorials.