A native macOS app switcher with two shortcuts:
| Shortcut | Destinations | |
|---|---|---|
| Command-Tab | ⌘ + ⇆ | Visible apps, including minimized and windowless apps |
| Command-Option-Tab | ⌘⌥ + ⇆ | Hidden apps; reveal the selected app |
Hold the opening modifier to browse, add Shift to go backward, and release it to switch. A quick tap switches immediately; the panel appears after 150 ms when held. Arrow keys navigate and Escape cancels. Command-Tab excludes apps hidden with Hide / Command-H.
Licence: GPL-3.0-only. Commercial use, modification and redistribution are allowed under GPLv3; distributing a covered binary requires corresponding source under its terms. This choice preserves compatibility with the referenced AltTab adaptations. See licensing, provenance and third-party notices. This folder is not a notarized release.
- macOS 14 or later to run. Liquid Glass requires macOS 26 or later; older systems use the fallback material.
- Swift 6 tools and a macOS 26 SDK or newer to compile (
NSGlassEffectViewis referenced at build time). Xcode or compatible Command Line Tools must be selected withxcode-select. - Python 3 for installer checks and optional integration tooling. No external Swift packages or downloaded binary dependencies.
- A logged-in macOS display session for AppKit checks and benchmarks.
From the project directory:
zsh scripts/check.sh
zsh scripts/build-app.sh
# Quit the currently running ClearCommandTab before installation.
zsh scripts/install-app.sh --no-build
open "$HOME/Applications/ClearCommandTab.app"The build creates .build/ClearCommandTab.app. A fresh checkout explicitly uses ad hoc signing for local development. For updates that should retain Accessibility identity, use a stable local signing certificate: copy config/build.env.example to .local/build.env and configure CCT_SIGNING_IDENTITY. Personal configuration is ignored and excluded from source exports. A configured certificate failure stops the build; it never silently falls back to ad hoc signing. Signing alone does not notarize an app.
--no-build installs the already signed bundle without recompiling or requesting the signing key again. The installer verifies a staged copy before moving an existing installation to macOS Trash. It refuses a running app, an invalid signature, or a failed process check. On systems without /usr/bin/trash, an existing app must first be moved to Trash manually in Finder. A standalone zsh scripts/install-app.sh builds once and installs.
Optional environment settings: CCT_INSTALL_DIR changes the destination directory and CCT_BUNDLE_PATH changes the prepared bundle path. The bundle identifier is io.github.corbeusultra.ClearCommandTab, distinct from the display name. The local pre-publication update preserves saved preferences; macOS may require fresh Accessibility approval after this identity change. See application identity.
Quit other switchers using the same shortcuts. Open ClearCommandTab, choose Check permission, and enable Accessibility through Grant permission… if needed. Return to the app and check again. Accessibility should show Granted and shortcuts Active. Permission and interception failures are reported separately, including while paused. The initial Not checked state deliberately hides the Grant action.
No Screen Recording permission is requested. The app reads app/window metadata and icons, not window contents, and has no network client or typed-text logging. Accessibility necessarily permits broader system access; enable it only for a build you trust.
If permission stops working after changing signing identity, check that System Settings references the installed app. Re-add only that app if required. A terminal-launched diagnostic cannot prove that the GUI app has permission.
- Settings contains glass appearance, login launch, menu-bar visibility, optional yellow-button Hide, and status. Guide describes shortcuts. About shows author, version and build separately.
- Matte uses opaque theme-adaptive colors with no glass or blur. The other glass profiles retain their existing rendering.
- Yellow button hides app changes a plain click on another app's yellow button into Hide for the entire app. Modified clicks keep macOS behavior. Its yellow illustration is drawn with AppKit; it is decorative. Pause suspends switching and this optional behavior.
- Left-click the menu-bar icon to pause/resume. Right-click or Control-click for Settings and Quit. Reopening the app opens Settings even when its icon is hidden. Command-Q quits while a settings tab is active.
- macOS may separately restrict menu-bar visibility. Use Menu Bar Settings… to inspect the system setting; the app cannot read or override that permission.
- About follows light/dark appearance. The dark artwork uses black arrows on deeper blue; the Finder icon stays original. See selected artwork and construction.
GitHubRepositoryURL in Resources/Info.plist is optional. An empty value displays GitHub repository — Coming soon; a valid HTTPS URL enables the link. Version and Build come from the bundle. Build distinguishes constructions of the same version.
See testing, measured performance, validation, and change history. Private focus/rendering APIs are guarded and may change with macOS; unsupported capabilities retain fallbacks. Fullscreen, Spaces, multiple displays, Secure Input, and login behavior require live checks on the target OS.
Window-only switching is currently parked; its implementation is retained for later work. See parked features.
Create a curated source copy, without Git history, local settings, builds or abandoned designs:
python3 scripts/export-source.py .dist/ClearCommandTab-sourceThe exporter refuses an existing destination and writes a SHA-256 manifest. It includes LICENSE and third-party notices. It does not initialize Git, publish, or push. Start the public repository from this export with a new history: the existing development history retains older local paths and author metadata. See publication privacy and file selection before creating a public repository.
Created and maintained by CorbeusUltra with the help of OpenAI Codex.