Boost macOS Productivity: How Alt‑Tab Brings Windows‑Style Window Switching to Mac

Core Functionality

Alt‑Tab brings the Windows Alt+Tab window‑switching experience to macOS. Instead of the native app‑centric Cmd+Tab, it switches between individual windows. When the configured shortcut is pressed, a panel shows live thumbnails of every open window, allowing the user to select a specific Chrome tab, Word document, Finder folder, etc., directly from the preview.

Interaction Details

Within the switcher view a window can be closed or minimized without activating it: hover over the thumbnail and click the close button that appears in the corner, or press the assigned shortcut key to close/minimize the window instantly.

Customization Options

Blacklist specific applications so they never appear in the switcher.

Adjust thumbnail size and title‑font size to suit different screen resolutions.

Define the trigger shortcut, transition animation, and theme (light, dark, or system).

Set the display scope, e.g., show only windows on the active screen or hide minimized windows.

Installation

Download the latest zip package (for example AltTab-8.3.3.zip) from the project’s release page, unzip it, and move the app bundle to /Applications.

Or install via Homebrew Cask with a single command: brew install --cask alt-tab The installer is lightweight (≈11.5 MB). On first launch macOS will request Screen Recording permission so Alt‑Tab can capture window thumbnails; this permission does not expose private data.

Repository

Source code, releases, and issue tracking are hosted at https://github.com/lwouis/alt-tab-macos.