# Ejecta

> Ejecta is a macOS menu bar app that shows exactly which process is blocking your external drive, then lets you quit it and eject in one click. When macOS says "the disk is in use" without telling you what is using it, Ejecta names the process (Spotlight, QuickLook, Finder, a cloud sync client, Time Machine, and so on) and gets the drive out safely. Requires macOS 13 Ventura or later and Full Disk Access.

Key facts:

- Platform: macOS 13 Ventura or later; universal (Apple Silicon and Intel).
- Distribution: direct download, notarized by Apple; sold through Payhip.
- Pricing: one-time purchase of $9.99 for a lifetime license (no subscription). A free version names the blocking process; the paid version unlocks one-click quit and eject.
- What it does: detects the processes holding an external volume (via lsof), lets you quit or force-quit them, and ejects the drive. It is Time Machine aware (wait-and-auto-eject or safely stop a backup), handles system daemons that hold camera cards, and can eject every connected drive at once with "Eject All".
- Privacy: Full Disk Access is used only to read which processes have files open; no data leaves the Mac.

## Product

- [Ejecta homepage](https://www.ejecta.app/en/): what it is, features, pricing, and FAQ.
- [Download Ejecta (free)](https://www.ejecta.app/downloads/Ejecta-1.4.0.dmg): the current notarized DMG.
- [Buy Ejecta ($9.99, lifetime)](https://payhip.com/b/qYvl6): one-time purchase to unlock one-click quit and eject.
- [Support](https://www.ejecta.app/en/support/): help and contact.
- [Privacy Policy](https://www.ejecta.app/en/privacy/)
- [Terms of Use](https://www.ejecta.app/en/terms/)

## Key features

- Lives in the menu bar (no Dock icon, no main window).
- Visual status per drive: green means safe to eject, red means something is using it.
- Reveals the exact blocking process instead of a generic "disk in use" error.
- One-click quit, with a force-quit fallback for stubborn processes.
- Time Machine aware: wait and auto-eject when a backup finishes, or stop it safely.
- Eject All: eject every connected external drive at once from the menu bar, safely, including Time Machine drives.
- Localized into 15 languages.

## Guides and explainers

- [How to safely eject an external hard drive on Mac](https://www.ejecta.app/en/how-to-safely-eject-an-external-hard-drive-on-mac/)
- [How to find what process is using a drive on Mac](https://www.ejecta.app/en/how-to-find-what-process-is-using-a-drive-on-mac/)
- [Why Mac says 'Disk in Use' with nothing open](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/why-mac-says-disk-in-use/)
- [How to fix 'Disk Not Ejected Properly' on Mac](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/fix-disk-not-ejected-properly/)
- [Time Machine won't let you eject your drive](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/time-machine-wont-let-you-eject/)
- [The real reason your external SSD won't eject](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/external-ssd-wont-eject/)
- [How to eject an external drive when Finder won't respond](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/eject-external-drive-when-finder-wont-respond/)
- [Is force eject safe on Mac?](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/is-force-eject-safe/)
- [QuickLook is holding your drive hostage](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/quicklook-holding-drive-hostage/)
- [Why Spotlight blocks disk ejection](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/spotlight-blocks-disk-ejection/)
- [How to stop iCloud and Dropbox from blocking drive ejection](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/icloud-dropbox-blocking-drive-ejection/)
- [diskutil eject: how to eject drives from the Mac Terminal](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/how-to-eject-drive-from-terminal-mac/)
- [The lsof command explained for Mac users](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/lsof-command-mac-users/)
- [How to safely eject external drives on macOS Sequoia and Sonoma](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/safely-eject-drives-macos-sequoia-sonoma/)

## More

- [All blog articles](https://www.ejecta.app/en/blog/)
- Other languages: the site is available in Spanish, Portuguese (Brazil and Portugal), German, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified), Russian, Ukrainian, Indonesian, and Hindi. Replace `/en/` in any URL above with the language code (for example `/de/`, `/ja/`, `/pt-br/`).