The Mac's version of Alt-Tab is ⌘Tab: hold ⌘ and press Tab to switch between apps. To switch between windows of the app you're in, press ⌘` (the key above Tab). macOS has no single shortcut that steps through every open window the way Alt-Tab does on Windows. For that, you need a window switcher.
On Windows, Alt-Tab shows every open window and takes you to the one you pick. ⌘Tab works differently: it switches between apps, not windows. If you have three Chrome windows and two Word documents open, ⌘Tab shows one Chrome icon and one Word icon, and takes you to whichever window of that app you used last.
That's why "Alt-Tab on Mac not working" is such a common search: it's working as designed, just not the way Windows trained you.
How do you switch between windows on a Mac?
- ⌘Tab switches apps. Keep holding ⌘ and press Tab to move along, or ⇧Tab to go back. While the app switcher is showing, press ↓ to see all the windows of the selected app.
- ⌘` (Command and the key above Tab) switches between windows of the app you're in, for example between two Chrome windows. On some keyboard layouts the key is in a different place: look for Move focus to next window in System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Keyboard.
- Mission Control (F3, ⌃↑, or swipe up with three fingers) spreads out every window so you can click one.
- App Exposé (⌃↓) shows only the windows of the current app.
Each covers part of what Alt-Tab does, but none of them shows every window in one list you can move through with the keyboard.
Using a Windows keyboard?
The key labelled Alt on a Windows keyboard is Option ⌥ on a Mac. So on a Windows keyboard, Alt-Tab sends ⌥Tab, which macOS doesn't use for anything. To get ⌘Tab from the keys where your fingers expect them, see using a Windows keyboard on a Mac.
Questions
Does Alt-Tab work on a Mac?
Not the way it does on Windows. ⌥Tab, which is Alt-Tab on a Windows keyboard, doesn't switch anything, and ⌘Tab switches apps rather than windows. A window switcher can put Windows-style switching on ⌥Tab.
How do I switch between Chrome windows on a Mac?
Press ⌘` while Chrome is in front to go to its next window, and ⇧⌘` to go back. You can also pick a window by name at the bottom of Chrome's Window menu, or right-click Chrome's icon in the Dock.
Real Alt-Tab, with previews
Window Switcher in MrFixable adds Windows-style switching:
- Hold ⌥ and press Tab to see the windows on your current desktop, with a preview of each once you allow Screen Recording.
- Keep pressing Tab to move along, ⇧Tab or the arrow keys to go back, and let go of ⌥ to switch.
- Esc closes it without switching.
⌘Tab keeps working as before, so you can use both. And on a Windows keyboard, ⌥Tab is exactly where Alt-Tab was.
Related
- Seeing windows from the Dock: Dock Window Previews shows every window of an app when you hover over its Dock icon, like the taskbar on Windows.
- Jumping straight to an app: App Shortcuts gives any app its own keyboard shortcut.
- Coming from Windows? See everything that works differently, and how to fix it.