What is AltTab?
AltTab makes macOS switch windows the way Windows does. Instead of cycling through applications, it shows a panel of every open window with live thumbnails, so you can see what you are switching to before you commit. It is free and open source under the GPL version 3, and it also supports dark mode, trackpad gestures and window controls. A paid tier, AltTab Pro, adds three appearance styles, typing to search windows by title or application name, thumbnails that resize themselves to the number of open windows, and up to nine independent keyboard shortcuts with their own keys and filters. It suits anyone who has moved from Windows and finds the Mac's application-level switching too coarse.
Verified product facts
- Type
- window switcherEditorially reviewed
- Platform
- macOS
- Pricing
- FreemiumDeveloper-stated
- Open source
- Yes
- Relationship to Nuanyue
- Third-party product — not published by NuanyueEditorially reviewed
- Licence
- GPL-3.0
- Current version
- 11.8.0Developer-stated
- Official website
- alt-tab.app/
Last updated . Facts marked developer-stated come from the developer and are not independently confirmed; editorially reviewed marks a Nuanyue judgement.
Key features
What AltTab does at a glance.
Switches
Between individual windows rather than whole applications
Live window thumbnails
In the switcher panel
Dark mode support
Window controls and trackpad gestures
AltTab Pro adds three appearance styles: thumbnails, app icons and text-only titles
AltTab Pro adds search, filtering windows by title or application name as you type
AltTab Pro adds auto-sizing thumbnails that adapt to the number of open windows
AltTab Pro allows up to nine independent keyboard shortcuts, each with its own keys and filters
What you can use AltTab for
- Switching to a specific window when an application has several open
- Seeing what is open before choosing, rather than cycling blindly
- Setting up separate shortcuts for different workflows, such as documents and terminals
- Reproducing Windows muscle memory after moving to a Mac
Who is AltTab for?
- People who have moved from Windows and miss window-level Alt-Tab
- Users who keep many windows open in the same application and need to pick between them
Who is AltTab not for?
- Anyone who is happy with macOS application-level switching and does not want an extra switcher
- Users who need the search and extra shortcuts without paying, since those are Pro features
Limitations
- Search, the extra appearance styles, auto-sizing and multiple shortcuts require the paid Pro tier
- The price of AltTab Pro is not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks
- The minimum macOS version is not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks
- Apple Silicon support is not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks
- It requires accessibility permission so it can enumerate and focus windows belonging to other applications
Strengths and trade-offs
What AltTab does well, and what to weigh before choosing it. Points marked developer-stated come from the developer’s own material and have not been independently confirmed.
Strengths
- Switches between individual windows rather than whole applications, with live thumbnails.Developer-stated
- Is free and open source under the GPL version 3, with the source published on GitHub.
- Includes dark mode, live preview, window controls and trackpad gestures at no cost.Developer-stated
- AltTab Pro can show up to nine independent keyboard shortcuts, each with its own keys and filters.Developer-stated
- Auto-sizing thumbnails adapt to the number of open windows, so the switcher stays readable.Developer-stated
Trade-offs
- Search and the extra appearance styles are Pro features, not part of the free application.
- The Pro price is not published in the sources Nuanyue tracks, so the cost has to be confirmed at purchase.Editorially reviewed
- Requires accessibility permission to enumerate and focus other applications' windows.Derived
- The minimum macOS version is not published in the sources Nuanyue tracks.Editorially reviewed
First-use experience
What the app asks of you when you set it up. Only established facts appear here; anything we could not confirm is left out rather than guessed at.
- Installation
- Downloaded from alt-tab.app or installed through a package manager; the source is published on GitHub.
- First launch Derived
- Requires accessibility permission before it can enumerate and focus windows belonging to other applications.
- System integration Developer-stated
- Replaces or supplements the system window switcher, and responds to trackpad gestures.
What it does
AltTab changes what the window switcher on macOS shows. The system switcher works at the application level: you cycle through apps and the one that comes forward decides which of its windows you see. AltTab shows every open window instead, with live thumbnails, so the choice is made before you commit rather than after.
That difference matters most when one application holds several windows. With macOS alone, reaching the third document in an editor means cycling and hoping; with AltTab the windows are visible and selectable directly.
Free and Pro
The free application is not a trial. It is open source under the GPL version 3, and it covers window switching with high-quality thumbnails, dark mode, live preview, window controls and trackpad gestures.
AltTab Pro adds four things: three appearance styles, so the switcher can look like thumbnails, app icons or a compact text list; search, which filters windows by title or application name as you type; auto-sizing thumbnails that grow or shrink according to how many windows are open; and up to nine independent keyboard shortcuts, each with its own keys and filters. That last one is what allows separate switchers for separate kinds of work — one for documents, another for terminals — and it is the most substantial of the four.
What to check before buying Pro
Two things are not stated in the sources Nuanyue tracks: the price of Pro, and the minimum macOS version. Both are worth confirming before paying. The free application is enough to establish whether window-level switching suits you at all, since the core behaviour is identical in both versions.
The application needs accessibility permission, which is inherent to what it does — enumerating and focusing windows that belong to other applications is not something macOS allows without it.
Questions about AltTab
Is AltTab free?
Yes. The vendor states that AltTab is free and open source, licensed under the GPL version 3. AltTab Pro is a paid tier that adds search, extra appearance styles, auto-sizing thumbnails and multiple shortcuts.
What does AltTab Pro add over the free version?
Four things: three appearance styles (thumbnails, app icons and window titles), the ability to search windows by typing, auto-sizing thumbnails, and up to nine independent keyboard shortcuts each with their own keys and filters.Developer-stated
How is AltTab different from the macOS app switcher?
macOS switches between applications. AltTab shows every open window with a live preview, so you can pick the specific window you want rather than bringing forward whichever one the application decides to show.Developer-stated
Does AltTab run on Apple silicon Macs?
The pages Nuanyue checked do not state this, so it is not recorded here either way.Editorially reviewed
Alternatives to AltTab
Apps that could replace this one — the same job, a different trade-off.
Contexts
Window switcher with search, a better Command-Tab, a sidebar and gestures.
Both replace the macOS window switcher with a preview-based one, but Contexts is a paid commercial application while AltTab is free and open source with a paid Pro tier.
Similar apps
Related in purpose, but not a straight swap.
yabai
Tiling window manager for macOS with binary space partitioning.
Both change how you move between windows on macOS, but yabai manages window layout with keyboard-driven tiling while AltTab replaces the switcher itself.
Works well with
Not a replacement — apps commonly used alongside this one.
Rectangle
Free open-source window manager for macOS, with a paid Pro tier.
AltTab switches between the windows you have open and Rectangle arranges where they sit on screen, so they solve different halves of the same problem.
Links
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the sources below. Last updated .
- AltTab — official websiteGrade B
- AltTab — source repositoryGrade D
