---
title: Closing the window is not the same as quitting
question: close vs quit on mac
area: quadrants
surface: desktop
audience: beginner
keywords: [close window, quit codus, still running, agents keep running, how to quit, dock, command q, cmd q, red button, x button, reopen, close vs quit]
related: [what-happens-when-i-first-open-codus, how-do-i-answer-the-agent-in-the-terminal, what-the-words-mean]
updated: 2026-07-21
---

# Closing the window is not the same as quitting

On a Mac, closing the codus window does not quit codus. When you click the red close button in the top-left corner of the window, codus stays alive in the Dock and your [agents](../glossary/what-the-words-mean.md) keep running, so reopening it (click the **codus** icon in the Dock) drops you back into your quadrants with their chat and history intact. To actually stop everything, quit codus from the menu bar or the Dock. Quitting ends every running agent, so only quit when you want them to stop, not when you just want the window out of the way.

## How do I actually quit?

1. In the menu bar at the top of the screen, click **codus** (next to the Apple logo), then click **Quit codus**. The keyboard shortcut is Command-Q.
2. Or right-click the **codus** icon in the Dock (or hold Control and click it), then click **Quit**.