How to switch between windows of the same app on Mac
You have three Finder windows, two Preview documents, and a handful of browser windows open. You press Cmd-Tab, land on the app — and you're staring at the wrong window. That's because Cmd-Tab switches apps, not windows. To switch between windows of the same app on a Mac you need a different move, and macOS does have one built in. It's just not very good once you lean on it.
The built-in shortcut: Command-backtick
The native answer is Command-backtick (⌘ plus the ` key
above Tab). With an app focused, hold Command and tap backtick to cycle
forward through that app's open windows; add Shift (⌘⇧` ) to cycle
backward. No extra software required — it's been in macOS for years.
For two or three windows of one app, this is genuinely all you need. Tap it a couple of times and you're on the right window. The trouble starts when window-hopping becomes part of how you actually work.
Why Command-backtick falls short
The shortcut is real but thin, and the gaps show up fast:
- No preview. You're cycling blind. There's no overlay showing the windows, so with four or more you end up tapping repeatedly and hoping you land on the right one.
- It's brittle. The shortcut is known to stop responding after you've used Cmd-Tab — especially after cycling backward — until you trigger Mission Control or click around to reset it.
- App support is uneven. Some apps, including certain JetBrains IDEs, have historically failed to register `⌘`` at all.
- The key isn't always above Tab. On non-US keyboard layouts the backtick lives somewhere else entirely, so the "Command plus the key above Tab" muscle memory breaks.
None of these matter if you switch windows twice a day. All of them matter if you do it two hundred times a day.
A faster way to switch between windows of the same app on Mac
The fix is a switcher that treats windows as first-class — shows you what you're choosing, reaches across monitors, and doesn't fall over after you've used Cmd-Tab.
That's exactly what Let's Switch does. Hold ⌥ and tap ` to bring up an overlay of just the current app's windows, then keep tapping to step through them — every other app stays out of the way. Release Option and you land on the highlighted window. Because there's a visible overlay, you're never guessing which window is next. This same-app cycling is part of the free tier.
It's the scoped version of the app's main move: hold ⌥ and tap ⇥ (Option-Tab) to flip through all your windows in most-recently-used order — across apps and monitors — newest first, so the window you just came from is one tap away. Let's Switch is a quiet menu-bar app with no Dock icon and no window of its own.
If you'd rather jump straight to a window by name, the Pro tier adds a search palette: press ⌥ Space, start typing, and the list of open windows narrows instantly — press Return to jump there. Pro is a one-time purchase with a license key good for up to 20 devices, no account and no subscription.
Built-in vs. Let's Switch, side by side
| Command-backtick (built-in) | Let's Switch | |
|---|---|---|
| Cycle one app's windows | Yes (⌘` ) | Yes (⌥` ), with a visible overlay |
| Visual preview | No | Yes |
| Reaches windows on other monitors | Often no | Yes |
| Switch all windows by recency | No | Yes (⌥⇥, most-recently-used) |
| Jump to a window by name | No | Yes (⌥ Space, Pro) |
| Survives Cmd-Tab without breaking | Not reliably | Yes |
| Price | Free, built in | Free tier; Pro is pay-once |
The honest summary: if Command-backtick already does the job for you, keep using it — it costs nothing and it's right there. Reach for a dedicated switcher when the blind cycling, the missing previews, and the breakage after Cmd-Tab start costing you time.
A note on the bigger picture
Switching is only half of a keyboard-first window workflow. The other half is putting windows where you want them in the first place, which is what a tiler like Let's Tile handles. Place windows with one, reach the right one with the other, and you've got a mouse-free way to move around your Mac. There's more on that approach over on the blog.
Frequently asked questions
What's the shortcut to switch between windows of the same app on Mac?
Command-backtick (⌘` ). Hold Command and tap the backtick key (above
Tab on US layouts) to cycle forward; add Shift to go backward. It works
within the currently focused app.
Why does Cmd-Tab not switch between windows? Cmd-Tab is an application switcher — it moves between apps and brings the app's most recent window forward, but it won't step through that app's other windows. For windows you need Command-backtick or a window switcher.
Why does Command-backtick sometimes stop working? It's a known quirk: the shortcut can stop responding after you use Cmd-Tab, particularly after cycling backward. Triggering Mission Control usually resets it. A dedicated switcher like Let's Switch avoids the issue.
Can I switch between windows on other monitors? Yes — Let's Switch's Option-Tab lists your open windows across monitors in most-recently-used order, so a window on another display is just as reachable as one on your main screen.