TabSwitcher · Mac App Store edition
A quicker way back
to your work.
Help with app cards, search, folders, and keyboard shortcuts on your Mac.
macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon and Intel build · Planned price: US$5.99 once
Get started
- Open TabSwitcher. Its menu-bar icon opens the switcher and Settings.
- Press Control + Option + Tab to open recent app cards. Use the arrow keys or Tab to browse.
- Press Return to switch to the selected app. Press Escape to cancel and return to the app you left, if it is still running.
- Type an app name to search. With preview permission, you can also search available window titles.
The App Store edition stays open when you release the shortcut modifiers. Selecting a card brings its app forward; use that app’s window controls to choose a particular window.
Your keyboard shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Control + Option + Tab | Open app cards; press again to browse forward. Add Shift to browse backward. |
| Control + Option + Space | Open folders separately. Choose a folder, then an app. |
| Command + Option + ← / → | Change folders while browsing the switcher. |
| Command + Option + ` | Switch directly to the previous app. Repeat to move between two apps. |
| Command + Option + R | Return to a saved app. Set it first using “Set Return App” in the menu bar. |
| 1–9 while browsing | Choose a numbered app or folder. Once searching starts, digits edit your query. |
Pin the apps you use most
In Settings → Shortcuts, assign running apps to slots 1–9. The default pin modifier is Command + Option. You can choose Command or Control + Option instead. Pinned shortcuts stay fixed as recent apps move, and can launch a pinned app after it has closed.
Assigned shortcuts take ownership of those key combinations. For example, Command + number may replace a browser’s tab-selection shortcut. Unassigned pin slots are left alone.
Make folders for different kinds of work
In Settings → Folders, create or rename a folder and choose its apps. Office and Internet begin as empty templates. Apps can belong to more than one folder. Folders show their running apps in recent order.
Turn on window previews
Screen Recording permission is optional. Without it, app switching works with app icons. To enable previews, open Settings → Setup in TabSwitcher and choose Enable beside Screen Recording.
macOS manages this permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording (called Screen Recording on some macOS versions). Enable TabSwitcher and follow any macOS request to reopen the app.
If permission is already enabled, choose Recheck access in TabSwitcher Setup. The app checks actual capture access and refreshes available preview information. You can revoke the permission in System Settings at any time.
Previews are still images held in memory on your Mac. TabSwitcher does not upload them, save a screenshot history, or capture microphone or system audio.
The App Store edition does not request Accessibility or Input Monitoring permission. It does not replace Command–Tab, focus an exact window, or restore a minimized window.
Common questions
A shortcut does not open TabSwitcher
Open Settings from the menu-bar icon and look for a shortcut conflict. Another app may own a registered combination. Release that combination in the other app, or change the pin modifier for a conflicting pin, then choose Retry shortcuts. You can still open the switcher from its menu-bar item. If testing a local Store build, quit any direct-download copy of TabSwitcher first so both copies do not compete for shortcuts.
Search cannot find a window title
Window-title search depends on ScreenCaptureKit access and the windows macOS makes available. Enable previews and recheck access. App-name search remains available without that permission. TabSwitcher does not index browser tabs or documents that are not represented by available app windows.
The preview is not the window brought forward
The Store edition activates the selected app. macOS and that app decide which of its windows becomes active. Use the app’s Window menu or other window controls to choose the desired window.
An app is missing from a folder
Folders filter running apps. Open the app, check that it belongs to the folder in Settings → Folders, and confirm it is not excluded in Settings → Apps. The current app is normally left out of the recent destinations; searching can include its available windows.
How will updates arrive?
After the App Store edition is published, Apple delivers its updates through the Mac App Store. TabSwitcher does not download or install updates using its own network client. Direct-download releases use a separate manual update process.
Contact Taskcend
Email contact@taskcend.com with your TabSwitcher version/build, macOS version, Mac model or architecture, and the steps that reproduce the issue.
Review screenshots before sharing them: app previews and titles can contain private messages or documents. Do not send passwords, developer credentials, payment-card details, or signing keys.
For App Store purchase or payment-account questions, use Apple’s store support services.