BetterCmdTab
The Cmd+Tab macOS deserves.
A fast, native window switcher and app launcher for macOS.
Free forever, zero telemetry, no subscription.
brew install --cask bettercmdtab
Features
Switch & launch
- Letter-prefix jumptype a name to jump to it
- Search & launchpress / to fuzzy-find, or launch any installed app
- Window switchingCmd+` cycles windows of the front app
- Scoped shortcutsadd as many hotkeys as you like, each opening the switcher pre-filtered (all windows, this Space, Visible Spaces, the current app, or minimized) with its own layout, sorting, filters, and colors
- Tap or holdtap to switch instantly, hold to open the switcher
- Stay openoptionally keep the switcher open after you release Cmd: confirm with Return or a click, dismiss with Esc
- Reverse stephold Shift to keep stepping backwards, or turn the tap-Shift reverse off
- Scroll to switchspin the mouse wheel to move through apps
- Keyboard onlyoptionally turn off selecting with mouse hover and mouse click
- App hotkeysassign a global shortcut to focus or launch a chosen app (9 slots)
Layouts & looks
- Three layoutsclassic list, grid of icons, or live window previews
- Window titlesshow each window's title under its icon in Grid and Previews
- Preview titleschoose how window titles align in previews and whether the selected name is bold
- Liquid Glasssystem material on macOS 26
- Themingpanel opacity, corner radius, and background material — the highlight follows your macOS accent color
- Multi-monitoropens on the display you're actively working on
Tabs
- Tab drill-inpress \ to pick a tab from Safari, Chrome, Arc, Finder, Terminal, …
- Tabs as rowssurface each native or browser tab as its own row, with an experimental most-recently-used order and a hint when Safari/Chrome need automation permission
Window actions
- Quick actionsquit, close, minimize, maximize, hide inline
- Hover actionsquick-action buttons appear on hover: close, minimize, zoom, hide, quit, force-quit
- Force quitCmd+Option+Q SIGKILLs hung apps when graceful Quit hangs
- Window managementtile to halves or corners, maximize, or center with Ctrl+Cmd arrows; cycle ½ → ⅔ → ⅓ widths
- Move windowssend the highlighted window to the next display
- Recently closedreopen an app you just quit
Filter & organize
- Sort orderorder apps by recents, alphabetically, launch order, or most-recent windows across every app
- Minimized & hiddeninclude minimized windows, hidden and windowless apps
- Pin & filterkeep favorites up top, hide the rest
- Per-app ruleshide an app, or have it ignore Cmd+Tab always or only when fullscreen
Spaces & indicators
- Instant Spacesswitch Spaces with no animation
- Show windows fromAll Spaces, the current Space, or Visible Spaces — made for multiple monitors, showing what's on screen across all displays
- Unread badgesDock badge counts, in the switcher
- Audio indicatorflags apps playing sound
System & input
- Secure-input survivorCmd+Tab keeps working even while a password field holds Secure Event Input
- Trackpad & hapticsthree-finger swipe to open the switcher or switch Spaces, with optional haptic and click feedback
- Hide from screen sharingkeep the switcher out of screen recordings and shared screens. Needs macOS 14.6+
- Export & importback up and move your whole setup as a plain JSON file
- Config fileoptionally keep settings in ~/.config/bettercmdtab/config.json — file edits apply live, app changes write back
- Configurablecustom hotkey, size, scale, layout, grid columns, and reveal delay
FAQ
Yes. BetterCmdTab is free forever and open-source under GPL v3, with zero telemetry and no subscription.
macOS 13.0 or later, on both Apple Silicon and Intel. The Liquid Glass material lights up on macOS 26.
All three switch what you have open; the real difference is what costs money. The built-in Cmd+Tab only cycles apps — no windows, search, or previews. AltTab is free at its core but now locks search, extra layouts, and multiple shortcuts behind a paid Pro tier. BetterCmdTab is a native AppKit menu-bar app that stays free forever and open-source with no paywall and no telemetry: list, grid, and live-preview layouts, fuzzy search that also launches any installed app, window cycling, browser-tab drill-in, and window tiling the stock switcher cannot do.
Yes. A Carbon survivor trigger keeps the switcher working even while a password field holds Secure Event Input.
No. There is no telemetry, analytics, or background network. The only network call is an opt-in check for updates on GitHub Releases.