Finder fixes and how-tos

When Finder freezes and keeps freezing

Updated 2026-10-30 · 4 min read

Relaunching Finder takes ten seconds and clears the freeze. Staying fixed means finding the share, drive, folder or extension that keeps tripping it.

Relaunch Finder

Finder is always running, so "not responding" means it's stuck waiting on something, not that it has quit. Relaunching it drops whatever it was stuck on. Apple's instructions:

1. Press ⌥⌘Esc to open the Force Quit window.
2. Select Finder in the list.
3. Click Relaunch.

If that window won't open, or you'd rather type, open Terminal (⌘Space, then type Terminal) and run:

killall Finder

macOS starts Finder again on its own a moment later. Open Finder windows may close, and the Desktop icons disappear briefly while it comes back. A third route is the Dock: hold Option, Control-click the Finder icon, and the menu offers Relaunch.

That clears the freeze for now. If it comes back within minutes, something keeps handing Finder the same bad job, and the sections below cover the usual suspects.

Busy or hung?

Open Activity Monitor (Applications > Utilities) and find Finder in the list. A hung process is shown as "Finder (Not Responding)". If the label isn't there and its CPU figure stays high, Finder is working hard, often drawing previews or reading a very large folder. Give a busy Finder a minute before relaunching it.

A network share that stopped answering

When a file server, NAS or another Mac goes to sleep or drops off the network, Finder can keep waiting for it every time it refreshes the sidebar or a window, which looks like a freeze with no cause.

Terminal can list connected shares without touching them:

mount | grep -E "smbfs|afpfs|nfs|webdav"

Each line reads like //user@server/Office on /Volumes/Office (smbfs, ...); the path after "on" is where the share is mounted. Eject it from the Finder sidebar if you can. If Finder is too stuck for that, diskutil unmount force /Volumes/Office does it from Terminal; the diskutil manual calls force "less kind to any open files", so save anything you have open from that share first. Then relaunch Finder. If the share hangs it again, look at the server or the network before reconnecting.

A slow or failing external drive

Finder reads a drive when you open its window and when it draws previews, so a drive that stalls on reads takes Finder down with it. Eject it if Finder will let you, unplug it, and see whether Finder recovers. If it does, try another cable and port, and read why a drive won't eject if it refuses to let go. Repeated stalls from one drive point at that drive, not the Mac.

A folder that is too much to draw

A folder with thousands of items, or one full of big photos and videos, makes Finder build a lot of previews, and icon and gallery views are the heaviest. Switch the window to list view with ⌘2 (on Apple's list: ⌘1 icons, ⌘2 list, ⌘3 columns, ⌘4 gallery) and see whether the folder opens quickly. If the hang comes from a copy that won't start rather than a folder that won't open, see Finder stuck on Preparing to Copy.

A Finder extension from another app

Cloud storage apps and file utilities add Finder extensions for badges and right-click items, and a faulty one can hang Finder each time it loads. Where to switch them off depends on the version:

• macOS 15 and later: System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions, in the extensions list.
• macOS 13 and 14: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Extensions.

Apple's guide says a Finder extension shows a Finder option under the app's name: turn it off for the app you suspect, relaunch Finder, and watch for a day. If an app's extension isn't listed, its own settings, or an update from its maker, is the way to turn it off.

Narrow it down: safe mode or another account

If none of that finds it, two tests from Apple's troubleshooting advice tell you where to look. Safe mode starts the Mac without login items and extensions that macOS doesn't need. On Apple silicon, shut down, press and hold the power button until "Loading startup options" appears, select your startup disk, then hold Shift and click Continue in Safe Mode. On an Intel Mac, hold Shift as it starts up.

• Finder fine in safe mode: a login item or extension is the likely cause. Restart normally and switch those off one at a time.
• Still hanging in safe mode: create a new user account in System Settings > Users & Groups and try Finder there. If it behaves in the new account, the cause is something in your own account, such as its settings or a file Finder keeps opening; if not, the problem is Mac-wide.

Opening a file while Finder is stuck

You don't need Finder to open a document. Everywhere runs as its own app: press ⌥Space, type part of the file name, and press ↵, and the file opens in its usual app while Finder sorts itself out. Revealing a result in Finder needs a working Finder, so leave that until after the relaunch. Results from Desktop, Documents and Downloads only appear once Everywhere has Full Disk Access.

Common questions

How do I relaunch Finder on a Mac?

Press Option-Command-Esc, select Finder and click Relaunch. Or run killall Finder in Terminal; macOS starts Finder again by itself.

Why does Finder keep freezing on my Mac?

Usually it's waiting on something: a network share that stopped answering, a slow external drive, a folder with thousands of items in icon or gallery view, or a Finder extension from another app. Disconnect shares and drives first, then test the others.

Finder is not responding after relaunch. What now?

Disconnect network shares and external drives, switch the window to list view, and turn off third-party Finder extensions in System Settings. If it still hangs, start up in safe mode, then try a new user account to see whether the cause is in your account.

Is it safe to force quit Finder?

Yes. Apple's own instructions are to select Finder in the Force Quit window and click Relaunch. Anything Finder was copying at that moment stops, so check the destination afterwards.