HopTab
The workspace manager macOS should've shipped with.
Pin apps. Snap windows to halves, thirds, quarters. Switch profiles per desktop. Save and restore sessions. All from keyboard shortcuts. Free tier covers everything you need — Pro adds time tracking, calendar auto-switch, and scheduling for $5 one-time.
Features
Focused App Switching
Pin only the apps you care about. Press Option+Tab to cycle through your pinned list — not the 20 random apps macOS shows. Release to switch, Escape to cancel.
Click to switch works too. Cmd+Q/H/M while the switcher is open to quit, hide, or minimize the highlighted app.
Window Tiling
Global keyboard shortcuts snap any window to halves, thirds, quarters, or fullscreen. Works anytime — no switcher needed.
Press the same direction again to cycle sizes: ½ → ⅓ → ⅔. Or use universal cycle shortcuts to step through all 15 positions with just two keys. Undo any snap instantly.
Drag-to-Snap: Drag any window to a screen edge or corner to snap it. A translucent preview overlay shows the target zone. Edges snap to halves (or maximize/bottom), corners snap to quarters. Toggle on/off in Settings → Snapping.
Layout Templates
Five built-in layouts plus a custom layout editor. Split zones, use presets, or build your own from scratch — perfect for rotated monitors and non-standard setups.
Works with stubborn apps — Chrome, Zed, Wezterm, Electron. Multi-retry positioning with dual strategies for GPU-rendered windows.
Profiles
Create profiles for different workflows — Coding, Design, Research. Each profile has its own pinned apps, layout, hotkey, and sticky note.
Assign profiles to macOS Spaces. Swipe between desktops and HopTab auto-switches the active profile. Save and restore full window sessions per profile.
Fully Customizable
Every shortcut is configurable. The app switcher hotkey, profile switcher, all 17 snap directions, per-profile hotkeys — record whatever combo you want.
Want to replace macOS Cmd+Tab entirely? One-click preset. Supports Option, Control, Command, and any key. HyperKey compatible.
Window Rules
Set persistent rules like “Chrome always snaps to left half on launch.” Define it once, and every time that app opens or gets focus, it snaps to the right position automatically.
Free tier includes 2 rules. Pro unlocks unlimited.
HopTab Pro
$5 One-Time
Time Tracking
Zero-effort — tracks time per profile automatically. See exactly how long you spend coding, designing, or researching each day.
Calendar Auto-Switch
Maps calendar events to profiles. Detects Zoom/Teams/Meet links. Fullscreen meeting reminder with a one-click Join button.
Time-Based Scheduling
“At 7 PM switch to Entertainment.” Day-of-week filters for different weekday and weekend routines.
Focus Mode Integration
Maps macOS Focus modes to profiles. Turn on Do Not Disturb → deep work profile activates. Multiple profiles per mode.
Display Auto-Profiles
Dock at work → work profile. Undock → laptop profile. Auto-switches when monitors connect or disconnect.
Unlimited Window Rules
“Chrome always left half on launch.” Free tier gets 2 rules. Pro removes the limit entirely.
Custom Layouts
Build layouts with exact zone percentages. Perfect for ultrawide monitors, rotated displays, and non-standard setups.
Unlimited Profiles
Free tier includes 3 profiles. Pro removes the limit — create as many as you need.
Student / Can't Afford It?
Email [email protected] for a free Pro key. No questions asked.
Free
Open source — everything you need
- ✓ App switching (Option+Tab)
- ✓ Window tiling (17 snap directions)
- ✓ Drag-to-snap (edges & corners)
- ✓ Snap size cycling & undo
- ✓ Move between monitors
- ✓ 5 built-in layout templates
- ✓ 3 profiles with hotkeys & sticky notes
- ✓ Session save/restore
- ✓ 2 window rules
- ✓ Configurable gaps
Pro
$5 one-time, lifetimeEverything in Free, plus automation
- ✓ Time tracking
- ✓ Calendar auto-switch
- ✓ Time-based scheduling
- ✓ Focus mode integration
- ✓ Display auto-profiles
- ✓ Unlimited window rules
- ✓ Custom layouts (exact %)
- ✓ Unlimited profiles
Student / can't afford it? Email [email protected] for a free Pro key. No questions asked.
Workflows
Use CasesAnd More
Space-Aware Window Picker
Multi-window apps show a picker filtered to your current Space. No more getting yanked to another desktop when picking a Safari window.
Move Between Monitors
Throw windows to the next display with Ctrl+Opt+Cmd+Arrow. Proportional placement across screen sizes.
Display-Aware Sessions
Saves window positions per display configuration. Dock your laptop — get your external monitor layout. Undock — get your laptop layout. Automatic.
Undo Snap
Every snap saves the previous position. Ctrl+Opt+Z restores it. Mistake-proof window management.
Auto-Unminimize
Minimized apps are automatically restored when activated through HopTab. No fishing in the Dock.
Configurable Gaps
0–20pt gaps between snapped windows and screen edges. Shared borders get half-gaps automatically.
Auto-Updates
Checks every 4 hours. Shows a banner in the menu bar when a new version is available.
Sticky Notes
Attach a note to each profile. Shown briefly when switching — remind yourself what each workspace is for.
Menu Bar Native
Lives in the menu bar. No Dock icon. Settings, profiles, and status all accessible from the dropdown.
Drag-to-Snap
Drag any window to a screen edge or corner. Translucent preview overlay shows the target zone. Edges for halves, corners for quarters, top for maximize. Toggle in Settings.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Default Bindings| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| App Switcher | |
| Open & cycle forward | ⌥ + Tab |
| Cycle backward | ⇧ + ⌥ + Tab |
| Activate selected | Release ⌥ |
| Cancel | Esc |
| While Switcher Open | |
| Snap left / right / top / bottom | ← → ↑ ↓ |
| Quit / Hide / Minimize | ⌘+Q / ⌘+H / ⌘+M |
| Global Window Tiling | |
| Halves (left / right / top / bottom) | ⌃⌥ + ←→↑↓ |
| Quarters (TL / TR / BL / BR) | ⌃⌥ + UIJK |
| Thirds (first / center / last) | ⌃⌥ + DFG |
| Two-thirds (first / last) | ⌃⌥ + ET |
| Maximize / Center | ⌃⌥ + ⏎ / ⌃⌥ + C |
| Undo snap | ⌃⌥ + Z |
| Cycle next / previous position | ⌃⌥ + . / , |
| Drag-to-Snap | |
| Snap to left / right half | Drag to left / right edge |
| Maximize | Drag to top edge |
| Bottom half | Drag to bottom edge |
| Quarter snap | Drag to any corner |
| Monitors | |
| Next / Previous monitor | ⌃⌥⌘ + → / ← |
| Profiles | |
| Switch profile | ⌥ + ` |
Changelog
v1.2.0
Upcoming- New Drag-to-snap — drag any window to a screen edge or corner to snap it with a translucent preview overlay
- New HopTab Pro tier — $5 one-time via Polar or GitHub Sponsors
- New Time tracking — automatic per-profile time tracking with zero effort
- New Calendar auto-switch — maps calendar events to profiles, detects Zoom/Teams/Meet links, fullscreen meeting reminder with Join button
- New Time-based scheduling — schedule profile switches by time of day with day-of-week filters
- New Focus mode integration — maps macOS Focus modes to profiles, supports multiple profiles per mode
- New Display auto-profiles — auto-switch profiles when monitors connect or disconnect
- New Window rules — define per-app snap rules on launch (2 free, unlimited with Pro)
- New Custom layouts with exact percentages (Pro)
- New Unlimited profiles (Pro, free tier gets 3)
v1.1.0
March 2026- New Space-aware window picker — only shows windows on your current Space, no more getting thrown to another desktop
- New Universal snap cycle shortcuts — ⌃⌥+. and , cycle through all 15 snap positions with smart position detection
- New Custom layout editor — split zones, use presets, build layouts for rotated monitors and non-standard setups
- New Display-aware session snapshots — separate window positions for laptop-only vs external monitor setups, auto-restores the right one
- New Cmd+Tab preset — one-click option to replace the macOS app switcher entirely
- Fix Assign app dropdown now works on macOS Sequoia
- Fix Window picker uses stable window IDs instead of fragile array indices
v1.0.1
March 2026- New Window tiling with global snap shortcuts
- New Global snap shortcuts for halves, thirds, quarters
- New Settings window fixes and improvements
Install
curl -sL "$(curl -s https://api.github.com/repos/royalbhati/HopTab/releases/latest | grep -o '"browser_download_url": *"[^"]*"' | head -1 | cut -d '"' -f 4)" -o /tmp/HopTab.zip && unzip -o /tmp/HopTab.zip -d /Applications && xattr -c /Applications/HopTab.app
Or download from GitHub Releases
System Settings → Privacy → Accessibility → enable HopTab
Pin some apps, set up profiles, start tiling