How to “alttab” to switch windows on a mac
David Richardson
Published Mar 29, 2026
Benj Edwards is an Associate Editor for How-To Geek. For over 15 years, he has written about technology and tech history for sites such as The Atlantic, Fast Company, PCMag, PCWorld, Macworld, Ars Technica, and Wired. In 2005, he created Vintage Computing and Gaming, a blog devoted to tech history. He also created The Culture of Tech podcast and regularly contributes to the Retronauts retrogaming podcast. Read more.
If you’re a Mac user familiar with quickly switching between apps on Windows using Alt+Tab, you might be delighted to learn that there is a built-in way to do something very similar on a Mac. Here’s how.
Switching Open Apps with Ease
In the world of Windows, many users are familiar with a feature often called “Task Switcher” that allows you to quickly switch between open applications by pressing Alt+Tab. This feature has been in Windows since Windows 2.0 in 1987, and macOS has a similar shortcut.
If you’d like to quickly switch between open apps on a Mac, press Command+Tab. A row of app icons will appear in the center of your screen. If you hold the Cmd key down while tapping the Tab key, the cursor will move between the icons from left to right.
You can also hold down Command+Shift and tap “Tab” to move the selection cursor in the opposite direction—from right to left. Or you can press Command+Tab and use the left- and right-arrow keys to select an app.
Once you’ve highlighted the app you want to switch to, release Command+Tab and the app will be brought into the foreground.
Exposing Open Window Thumbnails with Command+Tab
There are other things you can do with the Command+Tab switcher. If you press Command+Tab, highlight an app’s icon, then push the up or down arrow, you will launch a mode that shows thumbnails of all that app’s open windows on the screen. This is similar to a long-time macOS feature called Exposé or Mission Control.
From there, you can select any window you’d like by clicking on it with your mouse pointer or by highlighting the window with the left- and right-arrow keys and pressing Return.
Quitting and Hiding Apps with Command+Tab
You can also manage open applications with the Command+Tab shortcut. With the Command+Tab app list open, highlight an app and press the “Q” key to quit the application. Or you can press the “H” key to hide or unhide the application.
Quickly Switching between Open App Windows
Here’s a related window management tip that doesn’t involve Command+Tab. If you have two or more windows from the same app open and would like to cycle through them with a keyboard shortcut, press Command+` (that’s Command and the backtick/tilde key).
You can also press Command+Shift+` to cycle through them in the opposite direction. When you find the window you’d like in the foreground, just release the keys. Happy app switching!
How to “Alt+Tab” to Switch Windows on a Mac
How to “Alt+Tab” to Switch Windows on a Mac: If you’re a Mac user familiar with quickly switching between apps on Windows using Alt+Tab, you might be delighted to learn that there is a built-in way to do something very similar on a Mac. Here’s how.
Switching Open Apps with Ease
In the world of Windows, many users are familiar with a feature often called “Task Switcher” that allows you to quickly switch between open applications by pressing Alt+Tab. This feature has been in Windows since Windows 2.0 in 1987, and macOS has a similar shortcut.
If you’d like to quickly switch between open apps on a Mac, press Command+Tab. A row of app icons will appear in the center of your screen. If you hold the Cmd key down while tapping the Tab key, the cursor will move between the icons from left to right.
You can also hold down Command+Shift and tap “Tab” to move the selection cursor in the opposite direction—from right to left. Or you can press Command+Tab and use the left- and right-arrow keys to select an app.
Once you’ve highlighted the app you want to switch to, release Command+Tab and the app will be brought into the foreground.
Exposing Open Window Thumbnails with Command+Tab
There are other things you can do with the Command+Tab switcher. If you press Command+Tab, highlight an app’s icon, then push the up or down arrow, you will launch a mode that shows thumbnails of all that app’s open windows on the screen. This is similar to a long-time macOS feature called Exposé or Mission Control.
From there, you can select any window you’d like by clicking on it with your mouse pointer or by highlighting the window with the left- and right-arrow keys and pressing Return.
Quitting and Hiding Apps with Command+Tab
You can also manage open applications with the Command+Tab shortcut. With the Command+Tab app list open, highlight an app and press the “Q” key to quit the application. Or you can press the “H” key to hide or unhide the application.
Quickly Switching between Open App Windows
Here’s a related window management tip that doesn’t involve Command+Tab. If you have two or more windows from the same app open and would like to cycle through them with a keyboard shortcut, press Command+` (that’s Command and the backtick/tilde key).
You can also press Command+Shift+` to cycle through them in the opposite direction. When you find the window you’d like in the foreground, just release the keys. Happy app switching!
Use alt + tab to switch any window on a Mac like on other systems
alttab alttab4mac is your ALT+TAB application and window task switcher like on Windows and other systems.
Unlike the built-in CMD+TAB it works more like the very well known alt+tab on Windows and Linux systems.
Since the first version of alttab4mac in 2012 there is still a user base for this little Application out there.
“This is great! I was going install Windows from scratch so I could use
alt+tab with Chrome side by side with my MacBook Pro until I found
this AMAZING program. Thanks for saving me a lot of time and effort.
best dollars I’ve spent. ever!” – Elsa (2015)
Screenshots
Switch between every Window by just pressing alt + tab like on Windows and Linux
Features
Set hidden Applications and Windows to front view
Set minimized Applications and Windows to front view
alt+tab: forward cycle
alt+shift+tab: Backward cycle
esc: Cancel
Default built-in CMD+TAB will still work as usual
Hide/Show Menu Bar – Menu shill active as a single space character (” “)
Installation and Setup
1. After downloading just unzip by double click on the alttab4mac.zip archive. You will get something like this:
2. Choose the right version and system.
Note: Try to use the highest version number an OS version on your system. Example: If you are running Yosemite just try El Capitan version first and see if it works for you.
3. Install alttab as usual by just drag & drop it to your Applications Folder or any other location you like.
4. If you start it the first time, you will be asked to grant access.
Click on Open System Preferences. (You can also go to System Preferences. > Security & Privacy, Privacy, Accessibility manually.)
5. Then add alttab and enable it or check it if it’s already added. ( System Preferences. > Security & Privacy, Privacy, Accessibility )
You need to Authenticate. and Unlock this dialog if needed.
You can now press alt+tab, alt+shift+tab, etc.
Q: Does it also works for macOS Sierra (10.12.6), Yosemite, El Capitan?
Support
- macOS Sierra 10.12.6 – Seems to work.
- OS X El Capitan 10.11.2 – Seems to work (+/-. ;).
- OS X El Capitan 10.11 – Seems to work (+/- . ).
- OS X El Capitan BETA 10.11-BETA – partially works but very slow switching, you need to type alt+tab slowly
- OS X Yosemite 10.10 – partially works but very slow switching, you need to type alt+tab slowly
- OS X Mavericks 10.9 – Seems to work well, very fast switching
- Mac OS X Mountain Lion 10.8.2 – unknown
- Mac OS X Lion 10.7.x – unknown
- Mac OS X 10.6 deployment target (not sure if it works)
I then can check if I can compile the application for your system. Just give it a try.
If it does not work on your system, please do the following – and send the error message to me with the information what system you have.
Jan 17, 2020
Comment
macOS has an app switcher that you can activate with the Command+Tab keyboard shortcut. This app switcher isn’t the most intuitive to use. It seems to only let you select an app as its primary function. If you want to switch to an app, you have to release the Tab key and use the Option key to switch to the most recent window for that app. With browsers or the Finder, you have multiple windows and it’s hard to switch to a particular one. You’re better off using Mission Control. If you’d like to use Command+Tab to switch to app windows, you need a free app called AltTab. It not only shows you all the windows for an app, but it can also show windows that have been minimized, and apps that have been hidden.
Command+Tab to switch to app window
Download AltTab. By default, this app works with the Option+Tab key but you can change it from the app’s preferences. Open the Alt key dropdown and select Command. You can also change how much space the app takes up on your screen, the number of thumbnails it shows in a single row, the size of the app window previews, and the size of the text. You can also change which key is paired with it i.e., you don’t have to use the Tab key. Enter the code for the key you’d like to use in its place. If you’re not sure about the key code, the app has a built-in reference that you can use.
Once you have the app set up, close the preferences and allow it to run from the menu bar. Use the Command+Tab keyboard shortcut and you will see a preview of every single app window that is open. If you do not release the Command key, you can use the Tab key to cycle through the different windows. Release the Command key when the window you want to switch to is active/selected.
The stock ap switcher on macOS can do all this but it’s a far more complicated process that involves several different keys to be used. The behavior that AltTab introduces mimics the app switcher that you get on Windows. If you’re switching to macOS from Windows 10, or you’d just like an easier way to switch between apps, this app is worth a try. It is compatible with Catalina and still in active development.
There are other apps that add the same, or similar functionality to macOS but AltTab is both free and highly customizable. It also works really well when it comes to generating a thumbnail for a window.
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alt + tab doesn’t switch between multiple windows on a mac
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Anyone else having the same problem or solved the issue where there are multiple windows open in Firefox, and hitting keyboard shortcut `alt`+`tab` doesn’t switch between windows?
I’m running: MacOS Mojave 10.14.1 on MacBook Pro Firefox Quantum 63.0.3 (64-bit)
Chosen solution
To switch between applications, use “Command + Tab”. To switch between Firefox windows, use: (Shift) “Command +
Alt key on Mac is indeed exist. And it’s called Option key.
Windows vs Mac—there are so many differences. A lot of our customers have used a PC before and then decide they want to switch to Mac for better performance, nicer design, or for better security. However, they were afraid they would have a hard time getting used to the macOS keyboard. We hear questions like, “How can I close a Window? The Mac keyboard doesn’t have the Alt + F4 shortcut.” We always give them two answers:
1. With Parallels Desktop for Mac you have the choice to use the same keyboard shortcuts you had on your PC.
2. If you want to use the Mac keyboard you will experience that the alt key is very different, as we explain in this blog post.
Where is the Alt key on a Mac keyboard?
The PC-keyboard equivalent of Alt on a Mac is called the Option key, and you’ll find the Option Key on your Mac if you go two keys to the left of the spacebar. However, the option key on a Mac keyboard is used in a different way than the alt key on a Windows PC. In terms of functionality, the alt key in Windows is often more comparable with the Command key than with the Option key on a Mac. You might be also familiar with the Ctrl and Alt keys from your PC. On your Mac keyboard, you have Command (⌘ cmd), Control (ctrl), and Option (⌥ alt) keys.
How do Windows shortcuts change on a Mac?
Check out some equivalents of popular Windows alt shortcuts on a Mac, which might be especially helpful for those users who are new to Mac:
I opened two Google Chrome windows (because I am using multiple Gmails) and when I do the Cmd ⌘ Tab ⇥ shortcut it just shows me other applications that I opened but does not show me the other Chrome windows that are already opened.
How to switch to the other Google Chrome window that I opened using keyboard shortcut?
13 Answers 13
UK Keyboard
[see below for other languages]
Cmd ⌘ Shift ⇧ ` to go the other way.
Left of z on a UK keyboard [non-shifted
Note: This only works if all windows are in the same Space, not if they are spread over multiple Spaces, which includes fullscreen. To overcome this, use Cmd ⌘ Tab as usual and on the icon of the application you want to switch windows in press the down arrow key (with Cmd ⌘ still pressed). Then use left/right keys to navigate to the desired window across spaces and desktops.
You can also achieve this by clicking the app’s icon in the Dock – this method will also switch to fullscreen windows, which the other methods will not..
From comments – You can check which key command it is for your language by switching to Finder, then look at the Window menu for ‘Cycle through windows’.
BTW, specifically in Chrome, Safari & Firefox, but no other app I know of on Mac, Cmd ⌘ (number) will select individual tabs on the frontmost window.
It also would appear that Cmd ⌘ ` is yet another of those language-specific shortcuts; so if anyone finds any more variants, please specify for which language & keyboard type.
If anybody finds new combos for different languages, please check Keyboard layout here – Apple KB: How to identify keyboard localizations – & add that as well as which Input Source you use in System Prefs > Keyboard > Input Sources.
Add a keyboard picture from the KB page too, if that would help.
That will make it easier for future Googlers.
Further info:
You can change the keys in System Prefs > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Keyboard.
though it doesn’t list the reverse direction, it does still work when you add shift to that new combo. I tested by moving mine from ` (and
You can use the alternative of Ctrl ⌃ F4 [visible in the prefs window above] but that almost indiscriminately marches through every single open window on all Spaces, without switching to the correct Space each time. It’s really not too useful unless you use a single Space, just included here for completeness.
I am sure I am not alone amongst the people new to Mac OS X and familiar with Windows but initially I didn’t like the Command+W (Mac OS X – Close Window) and Command+Q (Mac OS X – Quit Application) over Alt+F4 (Windows – Close Window or Application). Skip a few weeks on though and I really like the Mac model of quitting windows and applications. I think the shift in my attitude towards this is mainly for three reasons:
- The consistency with which these key combinations are implemented within applications. They always just work, predictably. Ctrl+W is implemented in some Windows applications but so inconsistently that I forget it works.
- The key combinations are very easy to press with one hand (something Alt+F4 couldn’t ever be accused of 🙂 and are extremely natural once learned so that using them takes almost zero cognitive power between the thought to close an application or a window and the window closing. The interface is most definitely not getting in the way here.
- The fact that Command+Q works from within the Command+Tab application switch view. It is extremely quick to just move your hand between the Q and Tab keys while holding down Command to quickly quit many applications. This is the “killer app” for this shortcut 😉
Command+Tab (Alt+Tab in Windows) is a bit of a different story for me though and I am not won over with this one yet. I know there are many other ways of switching windows in Mac OS, but as a windows user for such a long time I just can’t help my hand naturally hitting Command+Tab when I want to switch windows. My main issue with this feature in Mac OS is that it shows applications rather than windows and while I can completely understand the design decisions made but I am still at the stage of hitting this when wanting to switch between windows rather than purely applications. I also find it confusing to see what are basically background applications (Quicksilver, Adium, Finder with no open windows) listed in this view and I waste a lot of time tabbing around applications in this view.
I think what I have to do here is start using Expose more and as I am writing this post up, I have mapped it to a mouse button to try and make it more accessible (Fn+F9 as a default pretty much ensured that I didn’t use it 🙂
There is one more thing about the Command+Tab view that I am going to mention in this post even though it has nothing to do with the keyboard. I love that the icons are drawn dynamically so for example I can see new mail in the Mail icon, I can see my new posts in my NetNewsWire icon and I can see who sent me a message in my Adium icon. I am surprised this is not being used in more innovative ways if (as I suspect) a mac application is responsible for drawing its dock icon just like any other part of its interface rather than simply showing an icon like in Windows.
I drew inspiration from HyperSwitch. Unfortunately, it is no longer maintained and is not free or OSS software, so I couldn’t take over.
Specifically, I wanted to improve on some points:
* visual clarity * size of the thumbnails * size of the app icons
It’s a shame it’s not on github because the customization available through the preferences is great, and the product is great overall. It’s one of those projects where I’m guessing the author is making no money and could release the code without any loss. He just probably forgot about it, unfortunately
I’m also worried about HyperSwitch. When I converted to OSX half a decade ago, coming from Windows, this was the one app which I needed to be able to say “I can use this machine”.
I can’t comprehend how people otherwise can organize their things; it’s just not my thing.
Also Tilde-Tab is the killer; Windows really missed out here.
I looking for a replacement for the same reason: the uncertainty of the future of this app.
The author seems to keep it alive, but it has (or had?) timebombs and once a year the author had to release a new patch version due to this.
I tried contact the author to throw money at it, to make sure I can have this as long as I use OSX, but he didn’t really respond to that.
However, what can I say, I still prefer HyperSwitch (HS).
– HS is much faster “coming up”, this is essential for me. I want to quickly use this. Basically I configured HS to be instant, no delay. I can live with the flashes, actually doesn’t really bother me – HS supports CMD-Tab and Tilde-Tab; I need both. And in practice they work amazingly well for me. Tile-Tab is when I strictly need to jump between in-app windows. CMD-Tab can do both, in fact. Jump between apps or within the same apps window.
Also CTRL-Tab hurts to hit combined with TAB.
Anyway, this was on my mind for some time and there was nothing where I could mention it to similar thinking people so I already apologize if this seems inappropriate as a feedback for the hard work you put into it!
Subscribe to it to follow its implementation 😉
