How to quickly hide all apps except for the active one on Mac

Is your screen cluttered with app windows? This handy trick will hide all apps on your Mac, except for the one you’re currently using, enabling you to declutter your workspace and concentrate on the task at hand.

MacBook desktop with one app on the screen

I’m pretty messy when it comes to working on my Mac. I multitask a lot, and as such, I always have a gazillion windows open at any given time. But sometimes I need to focus, and when those times come, I like to get rid of every potential distraction and hone in on a specific app. macOS contains a very handy shortcut that allows you to do just that.

Note that hiding apps on Mac does not close or quit them but just removes them from the desktop for a cleaner appearance.

Related: The difference between Minimizing and Hiding apps on Mac

Hide all Mac apps except the current one you’re working on

  1. Open the app that you wish to keep open.
  2. Click the name of the app in the menu bar next to the Apple icon .
  3. Click Hide Others.
Hide all other apps on Mac except the current one using Hide Others option in menu bar

This takes just a couple of clicks, but if you prefer using keyboard shortcuts, you can press Option + Command + H to hide all other applications except the one you’re using.

To see all hidden apps once again, click the app name in the top menu bar and select Show all.

Show all hidden apps on Mac

I use this handy feature every single day I use my Mac. As someone who always has a ton of different windows open, I couldn’t live without this shortcut.

What do you think? Do you often hide other apps so that you can focus on a particular task? Sound off down below with your thoughts and use cases.

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