Find a process
Open Processes. Search for a process and use the available sorting options to compare activity.
Terminate a process
Select the intended process and review the termination sheet before confirming. Terminating an app can lose unsaved work. Your SSH account’s permissions determine which processes it can stop.
If a process cannot be stopped
The process may already have exited, belong to another user, or require privileges your account does not have. Check the result before trying again.
Choose a useful sort order
Sort by CPU when the Mac is busy or its fans are active. Sort by Memory when you want to find apps using more RAM. Sort by Name when you already know what you are looking for.
The PID is a process identifier. Several processes can have similar names, so check the name, PID, and user before taking action.
Before you terminate anything
If possible, save your work and quit the app normally first. Termination is useful for a stuck process, but it can interrupt a transfer, stop a command, or discard unsaved changes.
After confirming, check the process list again. A background service may be started again by macOS or another app; seeing it return does not always mean the first request failed.