How can I delete an app that when all apps are jiggling with a delete button but this app doesn't have one to delete. I can not move it to the trash either because it says it's open and I can not close it because it's not in the force close apps

Does the app have an uinstaller feature? Try the free app "Appcleaner" and see if that will remove the app. All you have to do is open Appcleaner and drag the unwanted app into Appcleaner.

You cannot delete any app that came with macOS, as that app will be stored on the read-only boot volume. You should be able to delete apps that you installed.

However, it is possible for an app you installed to also set an "immutable" flag via the chflags command (man chflags).

/bin/ls -dleO@ /path/to/the/app

It might help to mention the name of the offending app.

FWIW, AppCleaner will not work with apps that are open.

I just deleted an app yesterday that was fully open and no issue. Perhaps it depends on the app. It is worth a try at least.

Hmmm. It shouldn't, just as a precaution. I get an error message if an app is open.

I deleted "mail to PST convertor" and my "Thunderbird" mail app when both open and no error message. The files just sit in the trash until that is emptied.

This is the error I get if I try deleting Thunderbird while it is open.

Probably because I have these set in AppCleaner.

I think that's it. Mine are not checked off. So this is the possible solution if you have a stubborn non Apple app that you need to get rid of even if opened.

I'm sure that's it. I don't want to accidentally do something dumb. 😎