this post was submitted on 16 Jan 2026
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I'm using a Mac for software development at my current job. I prefer it over windows but I still hate it. Can't even alt tab through windows on that piece of garbage without extra software.
You can cmd+tab between applications, and cmd+~ between windows of a given application.
I just want a list of all my windows, like pretty much every other window manager does. This just makes finding the correct window take more keypresses.
There's numerous ways to accomplish this. If you want the windows of your current app, "App Expose" (Ctrl+Down, and then Left/Right/Up/Down to select) is what you want. If it's all the windows, "Mission Control" (Ctrl+Up, granted you do have to click the window with the mouse) is what you want.
I don't want to click anything. I want keyboard shortcuts. Windows of the current app is also not what I want.
Alright, just tried it out here's how it works. cmd+tab to go to the application you want, if you're good there, let go and you're in the app. If you want a specific window of that app, press the down button to see all of the windows of that app and then use left/right arrow to select the window you want, and enter to select and focus, or esc if you saw what you needed to see and want to get back to what you were doing.
I'm not an Apple fan boy (other than I have not been happy with any PC hardware). I would love Linux on my M4, for now it will suffice on my server, my desktop, and my kids' computers. I'm just tired of folks authoritatively crapping on things they may not have experienced or played around with. Same goes when folks crap on KDE or Gnome.
I just put each different program on a different virtual desktop and swipe through them.
Wow, that sounds awful. If you needed to use a touchpad their UX developers already failed.
Look, I'm not an apple fanboy by any means. I kinda hate their UX. So I'm not defending Apple by putting my suggestions here. I'd prefer a Linux desktop 100% obviously, but most jobs (in my experience) do not offer that unless you work for a company with a dedicated IT department.
First of all, I can cmd+tab to different apps/programs just fine. So I don't know what feature your missing that you need additional software.
Second of all, you can use ctrl+arrowkeys to cycle between desktops without a touch pad.
Third, I use an Mx Master mouse with gestures mapped to the Gesture button on the mouse. I hold the button and move my mouse left and right, which switches desktops.
Honestly, I prefer virtual desktops to alt tabbing 100%. When I'm developing a web app, for instance, I have a browser desktop in between a front end code desktop and a backend code desktop. Viewing my changes is just holding down a mouse button and a quick flick of my wrist. Its consistent and quick.
Switch between programs, yes, but not between all of your open windows.
Ah that makes sense. I guess I always got annoyed by that in windows because I didn't want to cycle through 100 different windows to find what I wanted. Conversely, on Mac os, I hate that my window is sometimes hidden from me when I'm "alt tabbing," so I get it.
You can do the separate desktops without using a touchpad, there are keyboard shortcuts to do that.
Still embarrassing that you need separate desktops to easily switch between active programs rather than just cycling through them on one desktop with alt+tab.
Not quite sure what the person is talking about really though. I am able to cmd+tab between applications, and cmd+~ between windows of an application.
So yes, you can't alt+tab, but you can have similar functionality.
This is what I mean. You can absolutely cycle windows with your keyboard. “Out of the box.”