How to switch between windows on a Mac

On a Mac, “switching windows” means two different things: jumping to another app, or moving between several windows of the same app. They use different shortcuts, and mixing them up is the usual reason Command-Tab seems to skip the window you wanted. Here are both, plus how to close windows in bulk.

Checked against Apple’s Mac keyboard shortcuts page and the Mac User Guide (macOS 27) on October 23, 2026.

The short version

Switch between apps: Command-Tab

Apple’s shortcut list describes Command-Tab as “switch to the next most recently used app among your open apps.” A quick press and release flips you between the two apps you were using last, which covers most of the day: editor and browser, mail and calendar.

To reach an app further back, keep Command held down after the first Tab. A row of app icons appears in the middle of the screen. Press Tab again, or the Left and Right Arrow keys, to move along the row, and let go of Command when the app you want is highlighted. If you change your mind, press Esc or the Period key before releasing Command and nothing switches (Apple’s “Move and arrange app windows” guide).

The switcher works on apps, not windows. Bring up Safari with Command-Tab and you get whichever Safari window was in front last, not necessarily the one you meant. That’s where the next shortcut comes in.

Switch between windows of the same app: Command-`

Command–Grave accent (`) switches between the windows of the app you’re using. On a US keyboard the grave accent is the key above Tab, to the left of the 1. Apple notes the character on that key varies by keyboard layout, so on some international keyboards it’s labeled differently, but it’s generally in the same spot.

If you have many windows open in one app, it can be faster to look than to cycle:

• Control-Down Arrow lays out all the windows of the current app so you can click the one you want (App Exposé).
• Control-Up Arrow opens Mission Control with every open window from every app, plus your desktops along the top.
• Window › Merge All Windows in apps that support it folds the windows into tabs of one window. Apple notes that if an app has more than one window type, only the active type is merged.

Coming from Windows: Alt-Tab on a Mac

Apple’s “What’s it called on my Mac?” page maps the Windows Alt-Tab habit to Command-Tab. The difference to get used to is the one above: Windows Alt-Tab lists every window, while Command-Tab lists apps and Command-` handles the windows inside an app. If you’re missing other Windows habits, our guide to snapping windows on a Mac maps the Windows snap shortcuts to macOS.

How to close all windows on a Mac

• Command-W closes the front window.
• Option-Command-W closes all windows of the front app.
• Command-Q quits the app. Apple points out that closing one or all of an app’s windows doesn’t quit the app; the app keeps running.

Apple doesn’t list a shortcut that closes the windows of every app at once. If you just want a clear screen without closing anything, show the desktop (Fn-H or Command–Mission Control), hide the front app with Command-H, or hide everything except the front app with Option-Command-H. Command-M minimizes the front window to the Dock, and Option-Command-M minimizes all windows of the front app.

Less switching: give each window a place

A lot of window switching is really window hunting: the thing you need is open, just buried under three others. Two ways to cut that down. macOS can tile windows side by side or into quarters, and Spaces let you keep one task per desktop. Or, if you want a layout that isn’t halves and quarters, Screen Divider lets you draw a grid, merge cells into zones (say a wide main zone with two narrow ones beside it) and drag each window into its zone so everything you’re using stays visible at once. It’s a $12 one-time menu-bar app for macOS 13 and later.

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