On Nobara 44 with GNOME, clicking the X button closes the window for some applications, but Telegram, Steam, and Discord continue running in the background. I found options in Telegram and Discord before that made closing the window terminate the app completely, but I can no longer locate those settings. Where are these options, and is there a general way to make the X button stop the entire process?
3 Answers
This isn’t unique to Linux—some Windows applications also keep running after their window is closed. The most reliable solution is to disable the background or system-tray behavior inside each application, or use its quit command instead of simply closing the window.
For applications that don’t offer a setting to change this behavior, try pressing Ctrl+Q while the app is focused. In many Linux applications, that sends the normal quit command and fully exits the program, unlike clicking the window’s X button, which may only close or hide the window.
This behavior is usually intentional. Apps like Discord, Telegram, and Steam keep running so they can provide notifications, sync messages, or finish background tasks. Check each app’s own settings for options such as “start minimized” or “close to tray,” then disable them if you want the app to exit when its window closes.
I understand why they do it, but when I close the window I want the applications to stop completely rather than remain active in the background.