As someone who switched to macos from the hot pile of mess called windows last year, my biggest point of pain was the window management. I use Rectangle Pro, and it helps a lot, but IMHO workspace integration is poor still.
I'll give this one a try. BTW, if this works, can you please consider asking money for it? Keep it open source but perhaps add a friction-less support channel (read: not github issues) for paying customers. Just an idea.
In any case, thanks for the hard work and making it open-source.
This looks awesome and polished. I've made similar app for myself coming from similar setup (Rectangle, altTab)
I needed custom icons, custom names for windows, obligatory custom and persistent order, 'always on' option and keyboard nav for showing/moving windows from the strip. Could not be happier.
Cmd+Tab is one of those things that shipped in 2003 and nobody at Apple has touched since. Surprised it took this long for someone to properly replace it.
I mean to be fair, (1) there are replacements, AltTab and Switcher for example, and (2) why replace ot touch something that isn't broken? Cmd+Tab is supposed to switch to the next open window, and it does exactly that.
No, Cmd+Tab switches to the next application. This is what people get surprised and annoyed by. I've been using Mac for 15 years now and I find it super awkward to switch between windows within an app. On my machine it's Cmd ` or something strange like that. This is also doubly bound sometimes, such that I can only cycle forwards OR backwards. Complete mess.
I've been building HopTab as a free alternative to the combination of Cmd+Tab replacers and window managers. It started as a simpleapp switcher — pin your apps, Option+Tab through them. But the latest release adds a lot.
*What's new*
Global window tiling shortcuts — Ctrl+Opt+Arrow for halves, Ctrl+Opt+UIJK for quarters, Ctrl+Opt+DFG for thirds. Works anytime, no switcher needed. All 17 directions are configurable.
Cycle through sizes — press Ctrl+Opt+Left twice and the window goes from 1/2 to 1/3, press again for 2/3. Same for right. This is the Rectangle feature I missed most.
Undo snap — Ctrl+Opt+Z restores the previous window position. Every snap saves the old frame automatically.
Move between monitors — Ctrl+Opt+Cmd+Arrow throws the window to the next display with proportional placement.
Configurable gaps — 0–20pt gaps between snapped windows. Settings slider with live preview.
Profile switcher shows app icons — instead of generic person avatars, the Option+` overlay shows a grid of each profile's actual pinned app icons.
*What was already there*
Pin apps, Option+Tab to cycle through only those
Profiles per workflow (Coding, Design, etc.) with per-profile hotkeys
Layout templates (50/50, IDE 60/40, three columns, 2×2 grid)
Session save/restore — saves every window's position, size, z-order per profile
Assign profiles to macOS Spaces — auto-switches when you swipe desktops
Window picker for multi-window apps
Cmd+Q/H/M while switcher is open
Sticky notes per profile
What it replaces
I was using Rectangle + AltTab + some manual window dragging. HopTab combines the app switching, window tiling, and workspace management into one app. The main difference from AltTab is that you pin specific apps instead of seeing everything. The main difference from Rectangle is that tiling is integrated with profiles and layouts — snap your windows, save the session, restore it tomorrow.
This looks very cool. Does the window picker for multi-window apps work with the pinning? So if I have a safari windows I want to have associated with a profile, and the option-tab will ignore all the other windows?
It is a constant pain when I cmd-tab in a space with safari, and it throws me out of the space to another one because the window that gets focus isn’t the “closest” one on the current space.
I'll give this one a try. BTW, if this works, can you please consider asking money for it? Keep it open source but perhaps add a friction-less support channel (read: not github issues) for paying customers. Just an idea.
In any case, thanks for the hard work and making it open-source.
I needed custom icons, custom names for windows, obligatory custom and persistent order, 'always on' option and keyboard nav for showing/moving windows from the strip. Could not be happier.
*What's new*
Global window tiling shortcuts — Ctrl+Opt+Arrow for halves, Ctrl+Opt+UIJK for quarters, Ctrl+Opt+DFG for thirds. Works anytime, no switcher needed. All 17 directions are configurable.
Cycle through sizes — press Ctrl+Opt+Left twice and the window goes from 1/2 to 1/3, press again for 2/3. Same for right. This is the Rectangle feature I missed most.
Undo snap — Ctrl+Opt+Z restores the previous window position. Every snap saves the old frame automatically.
Move between monitors — Ctrl+Opt+Cmd+Arrow throws the window to the next display with proportional placement.
Configurable gaps — 0–20pt gaps between snapped windows. Settings slider with live preview.
Profile switcher shows app icons — instead of generic person avatars, the Option+` overlay shows a grid of each profile's actual pinned app icons.
*What was already there*
Pin apps, Option+Tab to cycle through only those Profiles per workflow (Coding, Design, etc.) with per-profile hotkeys Layout templates (50/50, IDE 60/40, three columns, 2×2 grid) Session save/restore — saves every window's position, size, z-order per profile Assign profiles to macOS Spaces — auto-switches when you swipe desktops Window picker for multi-window apps Cmd+Q/H/M while switcher is open Sticky notes per profile What it replaces
I was using Rectangle + AltTab + some manual window dragging. HopTab combines the app switching, window tiling, and workspace management into one app. The main difference from AltTab is that you pin specific apps instead of seeing everything. The main difference from Rectangle is that tiling is integrated with profiles and layouts — snap your windows, save the session, restore it tomorrow.
Free, open source, no telemetry. ~3MB binary.
Website: https://www.royalbhati.com/hoptab
GitHub: https://github.com/royalbhati/HopTab
It is a constant pain when I cmd-tab in a space with safari, and it throws me out of the space to another one because the window that gets focus isn’t the “closest” one on the current space.