A native ⌘Tab replacement for macOS. List, grid, or live window previews, with search, browser tabs, and window tiling built in. Free, open source, no telemetry.
brew install --cask bettercmdtab # stable
brew install --cask bettercmdtab@beta # betaOr download the signed .dmg from Releases. Requires macOS 13+.
On first launch, grant Accessibility in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Without it ⌘Tab does nothing.
| List | Grid | Previews |
|---|---|---|
 |
 |
 |
Switching
- Tap ⌘Tab to switch instantly, hold to open the switcher. Shift steps backwards.
- Type a letter to jump, or press
/to fuzzy-search windows and launch any installed app. ⌘`cycles the front app's windows. The scroll wheel moves the selection.- Opens on the display you're working on. Can stay open after you release ⌘.
- Three- or four-finger swipe opens the switcher or switches Spaces, with optional haptics.
Windows and tabs
- Press
\to pick a tab: Safari, Chrome, Arc, Brave, Edge, Vivaldi, Opera, Dia, Finder, Terminal, iTerm. Or list every tab as its own row. - Close, minimize, zoom, hide, quit, or force-quit (
⌘⌥Q) right from the switcher. - Tile with
⌃⌘arrows (press again for ½ → ⅔ → ⅓), maximize, center, or send a window to the next display.
Filtering
- Sort by recent apps, recent windows, name, or launch order.
- Show all Spaces, the current one, or only what's visible on your displays.
- Pin favorites, hide apps, or let an app skip ⌘Tab (always or in fullscreen).
- Scoped hotkeys open a pre-filtered switcher with its own layout and rules.
- Nine app hotkeys focus or launch a chosen app directly.
Everything else
- Dock unread badges and a playing-audio indicator in the switcher.
- Reopen recently quit apps. Instant Space switching with no animation.
- Keeps working while a password field holds Secure Event Input.
- Hidden from screen sharing and recordings (macOS 14.6+).
- Opacity, corner radius, material, size, and grid columns. Follows your accent color and Reduce Motion.
- Export settings as JSON, or sync them live with
~/.config/bettercmdtab/config.json(a generatedschema.jsongives editors autocomplete).
Every option is documented in the docs.
No telemetry, analytics, crash reporting, or account. The only network requests go to GitHub, and only when checking for updates.
Issues and pull requests welcome. Build and test instructions are in CONTRIBUTING.md.
GPL v3. Built by @rokartur, inspired by AltTab, Witch, and Contexts.