Flick and ⌘Tab, side by side

The short answer

⌘Tab (Command-Tab) switches between apps. Hold ⌘ and tap Tab, and macOS shows your open apps, one icon each, in the order you last used them; let go and you're in the selected app (Apple's guide to app windows). Flick switches between windows: every open window gets its own row with its title, whichever Space or display it's on, and typing a few letters finds the one you mean.

If you keep about one window per app, ⌘Tab is all you need. If you keep several, or spread them across Spaces and full-screen apps, Flick saves you hunting for the right window once you're in the app. You don't have to give anything up: Flick uses ⌥Tab out of the box, and ⌘Tab works exactly as before. For ⌘`, Mission Control and the Dock as well, see Flick and the built-in switchers.

At a glance

When ⌘Tab fits better

• You keep about one window per app. Then an app and its window are the same thing, and ⌘Tab gets you there with nothing to install. A quick ⌘Tab takes you back to the app you just left.
• You'd rather not install or allow anything. ⌘Tab is part of macOS and needs no permission. Flick needs Accessibility, which macOS requires for any app that switches other apps' windows, and Automation for each browser whose tabs you turn on.
• Getting to the app is enough, even across Spaces. By default, switching to an app takes you to a Space that has its windows open. The setting is When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows for the application, in System Settings › Desktop & Dock, under Mission Control (Work in multiple spaces).
• ⌘` covers the rest. ⌘` activates the front app's next open window and ⇧⌘` the previous one (Mac keyboard shortcuts), which handles two windows of the same app without any list.

When Flick fits better

• You keep several windows of one app. ⌘Tab shows one Safari icon whether you have one Safari window open or six. Flick gives each window its own row with its title, so you pick the window, not the app. How every window gets its own row
• You know the name, not the place. Type a few letters of an app name, a window title or the file a window shows, and the best match is selected: “vsc” finds Visual Studio Code, and “invoices” finds the Preview window showing a file from your invoices folder. Search open windows by name
• Your windows are on several Spaces. With ⌘Tab you reach an app and macOS chooses the Space. In Flick you choose the window, whether it's on another Space, another display or in full screen, and Flick takes you there. A minimized window comes back from the Dock, and a hidden app is shown first.
• You flip between two windows of the same app. A quick ⌘Tab goes back to the previous app. A quick tap of Flick's shortcut goes back to the previous window, whichever app it belongs to, without showing the list.
• You want to act on one window. Close or minimize a particular window from the list without switching to it, or hide or quit its app. With a license, you can also find tabs in Safari, Google Chrome, Brave and Microsoft Edge by title or address.

Flick isn't the only option: see alternatives to ⌘Tab.

Use both

That's how Flick starts. It opens with ⌥Tab, and ⌘Tab, ⇧⌘Tab and ⌘` stay exactly as macOS made them, so nothing you already know changes. Use ⌘Tab when any window of an app will do, and ⌥Tab when you want a particular one.

The motions are the same: hold, tap Tab to move, let go to switch, Esc to cancel. Flick's list runs top to bottom, so ↓ and ↑ move through it where ⌘Tab uses ← and →. While you hold ⌥, every letter types into search. ⇧⌘Space opens Flick straight into search from anywhere.

In this mode ⌘` stays with macOS. Flick's own version, ⌥`, lists the front app's windows on every Space; it's off until you turn on Switch between the front app's windows in Settings › Shortcuts, because on many keyboard layouts ⌥` types accents.

Let Flick take ⌘Tab

If you'd rather have one switcher on the keys you already use, choose Command ⌘ + Tab under Default Mode in Settings › Shortcuts, or on the hotkey step when you first set Flick up. Settings puts it plainly: it “Replaces the macOS app switcher while Flick is running.” Here's what changes. ⌥Tab or ⌘Tab: what each mode keeps

While you hold ⌘, Flick also uses a few more keys: letters type into search, ⌘1 to ⌘9 switch to a row, ⌘W, ⌘M, ⌘H and ⌘Q close, minimize, hide or quit the selected row, and ⇧⌘K opens the actions menu.

macOS gets ⌘Tab, ⇧⌘Tab and ⌘` back when Flick quits, crashes or is force-quit, and when you switch Flick back to ⌥Tab. Until Flick has the Accessibility permission, ⌘Tab stays with macOS, so you always have a working switcher. How to get the macOS app switcher back

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