HopTab
Mac window management keyboard shortcuts
A cheat sheet of the window and Space shortcuts macOS ships with — and the snapping and tiling shortcuts it doesn't, which you can add with a free window manager. Bookmark this one.
macOS has good shortcuts for switching apps, windows, and Spaces — but almost nothing for positioning windows by keyboard. That second table is what a window manager fills in.
Built-in macOS shortcuts
These work on a stock Mac with no extra software. (A few, like full screen and show-desktop, depend on your Keyboard settings.)
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Switching | |
| Switch between apps | ⌘ + Tab |
| Switch windows of the current app | ⌘ + ` |
| Show all windows of the current app (App Exposé) | ⌃ + ↓ |
| Mission Control (all windows) | ⌃ + ↑ |
| Spaces & desktops | |
| Move to the Space on the left / right | ⌃ + ← / → |
| Toggle full screen for the front window | ⌃ + ⌘ + F |
| Window basics | |
| Minimize the front window | ⌘ + M |
| Hide the front app | ⌘ + H |
| Hide all other apps | ⌘ + ⌥ + H |
| Close the front window | ⌘ + W |
| Quit the front app | ⌘ + Q |
| Tiling (drag, no shortcut) | |
| Tile to a half / quarter | Drag the window to a screen edge / corner |
| Tiling options menu | Window → Move & Resize (Sequoia+) |
The shortcuts macOS is missing (add with HopTab)
Install a window manager and these become global — they work in any app, and every one is rebindable. Below are HopTab's defaults.
| Action | HopTab default |
|---|---|
| App switcher | |
| Cycle your pinned apps | ⌥ + Tab |
| Cycle backward | ⇧ + ⌥ + Tab |
| Snapping & tiling | |
| Halves (left / right / top / bottom) | ⌃⌥ + ←→↑↓ |
| Quarters | ⌃⌥ + UIJK |
| Thirds | ⌃⌥ + DFG |
| Two-thirds | ⌃⌥ + E / T |
| Maximize / center | ⌃⌥ + ⏎ / C |
| Cycle through all positions | ⌃⌥ + . / , |
| Undo the last snap | ⌃⌥ + Z |
| Monitors & profiles | |
| Move window to next / previous monitor | ⌃⌥⌘ + → / ← |
| Switch workspace profile | ⌥ + ` |
Get the missing shortcuts
Global snapping, an app switcher, move-to-monitor, and profiles — all rebindable. Free and open source, macOS 14+.
FAQ
What is the shortcut to switch windows on Mac?
⌘+Tab switches between apps. To switch between windows of the same app, press ⌘+`. ⌃+↓ (App Exposé) fans out all windows of the front app. See our full guide on switching between windows on Mac.
Is there a Mac shortcut to snap a window to the left or right?
macOS has limited built-in tiling in the Window menu on recent versions, but no consistent global shortcut for left/right halves. A window manager like HopTab adds ⌃⌥+arrow for halves and a lot more. See how to snap windows on Mac.
How do I switch between desktops (Spaces) on Mac?
Press ⌃+← or ⌃+→ to move between Spaces and full-screen apps, or ⌃+↑ to open Mission Control and see them all.