AltTab brings the Windows Alt+Tab back to your Mac

I installed AltTab, and all my Windows Alt+Tab muscle memory came straight back.

If you are coming from Windows, this is the app I would install first. It is free, it is open source, and it fixes the one thing that feels wrong about switching windows on a Mac. The free version is more than enough. I love it.

It was the first app I added after I asked everyone what to install on a new Mac.

Why Cmd+Tab feels broken coming from Windows

On a Mac, Cmd+Tab switches apps, not windows.

That sounds small until you live in it. On Windows, Alt+Tab walks through every open window, so two spreadsheets and a doc are three separate stops. On a Mac, Cmd+Tab jumps between apps, and you still have to dig for the right window once you land. Worse, if you Cmd+Tab to a minimized app, it often does nothing at all.

You came in knowing exactly which window you wanted. The Mac makes you hunt for it anyway.

What AltTab does

AltTab replaces that switcher with a window-based one, the way Windows does it.

Press the shortcut and you get a thumbnail of every open window, across apps, spaces, and screens. From there you can:

• Switch straight to any window, including a second window of the same app.
• Bring up minimized and hidden windows, instead of being ignored.
• Close, minimize, or quit a window right from the switcher.

The default trigger is Option+Tab. If you want it to feel exactly like Windows, set the modifier to Cmd in settings, and AltTab takes over as your switcher completely.

It is free, and trusted

This is not some abandoned side project.

AltTab has over 8 million downloads, it is open source, and it runs native on Apple Silicon. How-To Geek titled their guide "You Need This App if You've Just Switched From Windows to a Mac." It is the kind of app people list first when they set up a new machine.

There is a paid Pro tier that adds window search and extra styles for power users. I am on the free version, and it does everything I wanted.

Installing it

There are two easy ways to get it.

• Download it from alt-tab.app.
• Or with Homebrew: brew install --cask alt-tab.

On first launch it asks for two permissions, Accessibility and Screen Recording. It needs them to control your windows and to show the thumbnails. Grant both, and you are set.

That is it. The first time you hold the key and your windows fan out as thumbnails, the old reflex just comes back.