How to Open Task Manager on Chromebook and End Frozen Apps

To open Task Manager on a Chromebook, press Search + Esc. The Task Manager window lists your open tabs, apps and extensions, so you can see what’s using memory or CPU and close anything that’s frozen. Google’s Chromebook Help also gives Shift + Esc for the same window.

No keyboard handy? Open Chrome, select More (the three dots) and go to More tools > Task Manager. Below are the steps for both, how to end a frozen task safely, and when to use the Diagnostics app instead.

Three ways to open Task Manager

Method	How	Notes
Keyboard shortcut	Search + Esc	Listed in Google’s ChromeOS developer docs; use Launcher + Esc if your keyboard has a Launcher key
Alternative shortcut	Shift + Esc	Listed in Chromebook Help’s troubleshooting steps
Chrome menu	More > More tools > Task Manager	Works with a mouse or touchscreen

Note: Depending on your keyboard, you have either a Search key or a Launcher key. Google says both work the same for shortcuts. On a Windows or Mac keyboard connected to a Chromebook, press the Windows key or the Command key instead.

Method 1: Search + Esc

1. Press and hold the Search (or Launcher) key.
2. Press Esc.
3. The Task Manager window opens with a list of your tabs, apps and extensions.

Method 2: Shift + Esc

Chromebook Help’s troubleshooting steps for low memory say to “Open the Task Manager (press Shift + Esc)”. Use it if Search + Esc doesn’t respond on your keyboard.

Method 3: From the Chrome menu

1. Open Chrome.
2. At the top right, select More (the three dots).
3. Select More tools > Task Manager.

How to end a frozen tab or app

When a tab or app stops responding, Task Manager lets you force it closed. These are the steps from Google’s Chrome Help:

1. Open Task Manager with Search + Esc.
2. Select Memory to sort the tasks by memory use, so the heaviest items are easy to spot.
3. Select the tab, extension or app you want to close.
4. Select End process.

Important: Any unsaved work in that tab or app is lost when you end it. If the page still responds at all, save or copy what you need first.

What to look for

• A single tab using far more memory than the rest. If it has stopped responding, end it, then reopen the page.
• Items labeled “Background page”. Google’s Chrome Help suggests looking for these. If one belongs to an extension you don’t need, turn the extension off or remove it in Chrome under More > Extensions > Manage Extensions.
• Video or app tasks you’re no longer using. Google’s advice is to close tasks you no longer need that use a lot of resources.

Tip: Closed a tab by mistake? Press Ctrl + Shift + T to reopen the last tab or window you closed.

Check CPU and memory with the Diagnostics app

Task Manager shows what each tab and app uses. To check the Chromebook as a whole, use the built-in Diagnostics app, available on ChromeOS version 90 and later.

Open Diagnostics

• From Settings: Select the time at the bottom right, select Settings, then About ChromeOS > Diagnostics.
• From the launcher: Press the Launcher key (or select the launcher button) and type Diagnostics.
• With the keyboard: Google’s ChromeOS release notes give the key sequence Ctrl + Search + Esc.

What Diagnostics shows

Section	What you can check
Battery	Battery health, cycle count and current; a discharge test
CPU	A live CPU usage graph, current usage, temperature and speed, plus CPU tests
Memory	A memory test that measures system memory
Connectivity	Ethernet, Wi-Fi, cellular and Google Services connection tests

The CPU graph is the part to watch when your Chromebook feels slow: Google says it can help identify which applications use the most CPU. Open Task Manager alongside it to find the tab or app behind a spike.

Important: The CPU tests can stress the device. Google warns that your Chromebook may run slowly while they run and the tests can take a long time, so save your work and run them when you don’t need the laptop.

If a memory or CPU test fails, Google says it may point to faulty hardware or a cooling problem, and to contact your Chromebook manufacturer.

Coming from Windows or a Mac?

Chromebook shortcuts are different from the ones you may know:

System	Task Manager shortcut	Tool
Chromebook	Search + Esc	Task Manager
Windows 10 and 11	Ctrl + Shift + Esc	Task Manager
Mac	See our Mac guide below	Activity Monitor

On Windows, our guide to why your computer is so slow shows how to read Task Manager there, and on a Mac, see the Mac version of Task Manager.

If it still doesn’t work

If your Chromebook keeps freezing or Task Manager won’t open, work through Google’s steps for crashes and freezes:

1. Turn your Chromebook off, then on again. This closes everything, including a task that’s stuck.
2. Close all your apps and browser windows you don’t need.
3. Hard refresh a problem page with Ctrl + Shift + R if one tab keeps causing the freeze.
4. Remove recently added apps or extensions. If the problems started after you installed something, uninstall it.
5. Install updates. Select the time, then Settings > About ChromeOS > Check for updates.
6. Run Diagnostics for memory and CPU, as above.
7. Reset or recover the Chromebook as a last resort. Google lists both as the final steps for crashes and freezes.

Important: A factory reset erases all user data on the Chromebook’s drive, including the Downloads folder. Back up your files to Google Drive or an external drive first. On a school or work Chromebook you can’t reset it yourself; contact your administrator.

If tabs keep reloading on their own, Google says the Chromebook might be running low on memory: close tabs you aren’t using, check Task Manager, and turn off extensions you don’t need.

Running several apps at once is where memory runs out fastest; our guide on how to split screen on a Chromebook covers working with two windows side by side, and how to rotate the screen on a Chromebook fixes a display that turned sideways. For more guides, browse Tech Tips.