cmdtab¹

The best Mac-style Alt-Tab window/app switcher replacement for Windows, written in the Lord's language.

What's the deal?

1. On Windows Alt-Tab cycles through different windows from different apps all mixed together, showing small window previews
2. On macOS Cmd-Tab cycles through apps, showing big, clear icons
3. On macOS there is a separate hotkey that cycles through windows of the same app

Here's a real life comparison GIF between Alt-Tab and cmdtab:

So, you like the way Apple does it, but you're using Windows? cmdtab for Windows fixes that:

• A hotkey to cycle apps (Chrome → Spotify → File Explorer)
• A different hotkey to cycle windows (Chrome1 → Chrome2 → Chrome3)
• Big readable app icons
• Super lightweight program (less than 26kb)
• Simple, clean, clear, commented C source code (easy to change/fix/extend by you/me/everyone!)
• Lots of tiny, useful QoL features, like reverse, arrow keys & enter, cancel, restore, mouse support, wrap bump, quit app, close window, delayed show...
• So fast!
• The best macOS-style window switcher for Windows!
• C!

Features

The basics of window switching are easy to understand, but why is cmdtab the best macOS-style window switcher alternative for Windows? Because it packs so many tiny, useful features into such a small and lightweight package without bloat:

• Configurable hotkey to cycle apps (default Alt-Tab)
• Configurable hotkey to cycle windows of the same app (default Alt-Tilde/Backquote)
• Reverse direction by holding Shift
• Arrow keys are supported (selects apps in switcher)
• Enter key is supported (switches to selected window)
• Mouse is supported (click an app icon to switch to that app) (WIP!)
• Big readable app icons (not those tiny bewildering window previews)
• Cancel and close the switcher by pressing Escape
• Smart key capture so key presses don't unexpectedly bleed through to other apps
• Wrap bump is hard to explain but easy to feel: Try holding Alt-Tab until the end, then press Tab again—works in reverse, too!
• Press Q to close the selected application (by closing all its windows) (WIP!)
• Press W to close the selected window
• Option to return to the initial window when cancelling switcher by pressing Escape. This doesn't override or block Windows' native Alt-Escape hotkey
• Press F4 while the switcher is open to quit cmdtab

That's a lot of useful stuff, and the code is small! Go read it, and learn some C while you're at it.

Footnotes

1. Keywords (you're welcome): CmdTab for Windows // macOS window switcher on Windows // Alt-Tab replacement alternative // Mac style Alt-Tab window switching replacement for Windows ↩