ImageCaptain Kill Switch
Free · macOS, Windows, Linux

Close all your apps.
One button.

A quiet menu-bar button that shuts down every running app the instant you need a clean slate. No Alt-Tab. No Cmd-Q marathon. Just one calm, decisive click.

See how it works

Free download · macOS, Windows & LinuxNo accountFree, no ads

Captain Kill Switch — the big red button

One calm, decisive click.

Runs 100% locallyNo account, everAnonymous stats onlySigned & notarised
Why it's good

Built to do one thing extremely well

No bloat, no dashboards, no upsell. Captain Kill Switch lives in the background and waits for the one moment you need it.

Instant, one-click reset

Click once and every open application closes in milliseconds. Perfect before a presentation, a screen-share, a game, or just to clear your head.

Clean close, not a crash

Every app gets a proper quit request first, then a short force floor of about two seconds. Relaunch and there are no crash-recovery prompts: sessions survive, nothing lingers.

Lives in your menu bar

A discreet tray icon, nothing more. Minimal memory, no dock clutter, no background CPU. You will forget it is there until you need it.

Protects what matters

Smart detection closes your apps while leaving critical system processes untouched — so your Mac or PC stays stable, not stranded.

Truly cross-platform

The same calm, single-button experience on macOS, Windows, and Linux. Learn it once, use it on every machine you own.

Zero configuration

Install, and it just works. No setup wizard, no permissions maze, no manual — just a quiet tray icon and a single button.

How it works

Three seconds to a clean desktop

STEP 01

Install & forget

Download for your OS and open it once. Captain Kill Switch tucks itself into your menu bar or system tray automatically.

STEP 02

Hit the button

When you need a fresh start, click the tray icon, then Kill All Apps. That is the whole interface.

STEP 03

Clean slate

Every app closes at once, leaving you a quiet, empty desktop ready for whatever is next. Repeat whenever the chaos returns.

Download

Get Captain Kill Switch

Free forever. Pick your platform — we've highlighted the build for the device you're on.

Windows

Windows

Windows 10/11

winget (App)
Scoop (CLI)
macOS

macOS

macOS 10.15+

Homebrew (App)
Homebrew (CLI)
Linux

Linux

Ubuntu, Debian, Arch

APT repository (App)
Terminal (CLI)

Checking for the latest release…

Good to know

Questions, answered

Is the macOS app signed and safe to open?
Yes. Every macOS build is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarised by Apple, so it opens with a normal double-click — no right-click workarounds, no security warnings. It still runs entirely on your machine and never phones home.
Windows SmartScreen popped up. What do I do?
Click More info, then Run anyway. SmartScreen flags apps it has not seen widely downloaded yet; the warning clears on its own as more people install it. The app is tiny and runs locally — it never phones home.
Will it close apps with unsaved work?
Yes — everything closes; that is the point. Each app is asked to quit properly first, so your next launch is clean (no crash-recovery prompts), but anything still open a couple of seconds later is force-closed, unsaved work included. Save what matters before you fire it.
Is there a keyboard shortcut?
Not in the tray app yet. If you want a keystroke, install the cks command-line version (Homebrew on macOS, Scoop on Windows) and bind cks --yes to any hotkey with your operating system's shortcut tools. It does exactly what the button does.
Is it really free? What is the catch?
No catch. It is genuinely free, with no account and no ads. Anonymous usage statistics and crash reports help us improve it — nothing personal ever leaves your machine.
What data does the app collect?
Anonymous usage statistics and crash reports, used solely to improve the app: which features are used (for example, how many apps a sweep closed), the app version, operating system, and language — plus a crash report if the app itself crashes. Events carry a random install ID, never your name or anything about the apps, files, or windows on your machine. Nothing is sold or shared.
How do I uninstall it?
Quit it from the menu bar, then drag the app to the Trash (macOS), uninstall from Apps & Features (Windows), or remove the package (Linux). It leaves nothing lingering behind.
Ready when you are

One button between you and a clean slate

Install it in under a minute. Forget about it until the moment you need it most.

See how it works