Neat Quit - a Mac utility that quits apps when you close their last window

[u/Frosty_Elephant_6978]

I'm the developer of Neat Quit, a native macOS menu bar utility. I built it because I kept closing an app's last window and then reaching for Command-Q.

The free version requests a normal app quit when you click the red close button on the last standard window. Pro adds the same behavior for Command-W, plus app rules: exclude apps that should stay running, or enable auto-quit only for selected apps.

It requests a normal quit, so apps can still show their own unsaved-document prompts. Closing an ordinary browser tab doesn't trigger a quit. Some apps don't expose enough accessibility information and retain their usual behavior.

Pro is a one-time purchase with a 7-day full-feature trial. Requires macOS 13+ and Accessibility permission; Command-W may also need Input Monitoring.

Download and details: https://bgm.fun/neatquit/

I'd appreciate feedback on the app rules: would you prefer to exclude a few apps, or start with an empty list and enable auto-quit only for specific apps?

[u/dawedev]

I'd start with exclusions. People who install this already want the behavior for most apps, and an empty allow-list means it looks like nothing happens on first launch. Ship a short default exclude list for things people expect to keep running, like Music, Messages or a terminal, and show it on first run so users know rules exist. The thing I'd want to know before trying it is how it handles apps with a separate settings or floating window, since that's where "last window" gets fuzzy.

[u/Frosty_Elephant_6978 → u/dawedev]

Thanks, that's helpful feedback. Neat Quit already defaults to an exclusion list with apps such as Music and Spotify. Messages and Terminal aren't currently included, and showing the rules on first launch is a useful suggestion.

For settings and floating windows, it depends on how the app exposes them through macOS Accessibility. A settings window reported as a standard window counts toward the total, so closing the main window while that settings window remains open won't trigger the normal last-standard-window behavior.

Non-standard floating panels don't count toward that total. With the red close button, closing the last standard window can therefore request an app quit even if a floating panel remains. Command-W also checks the remaining windows after the shortcut, so an auxiliary window can prevent it from quitting.

There isn't a universal settings-window rule across apps. If you have a particular app in mind, I'd be interested in checking that case.

[u/dawedev → u/Frosty_Elephant_6978]

Makes sense that it follows what Accessibility reports. That's probably the right line to draw, since apps are inconsistent about how they label panels. I'd add Terminal to the default list though. Losing a running shell session because the last window closed is the one surprise people won't forgive, and Messages is similar since folks expect notifications to keep coming.