Command-Tab Not Working on Mac? How to Fix It

When Command-Tab is not working on your Mac, it usually means the switcher hung and needs a Dock restart, another app intercepted the shortcut, or macOS switched apps while leaving the window minimized in the Dock.

Quick check: which problem do you have?

Use this summary to match what you see on screen with the right fix below.

The Command-Tab switcher doesn’t appear

If the Command-Tab switcher is not showing up when you press the shortcut, try these three fixes in order:

1. Restart the Dock process. macOS renders the application switcher as part of the Dock. If the switcher hangs or crashes, open Terminal (press Cmd + Space, type Terminal, and press Return), then run:

   killall Dock

   The Dock closes and restarts immediately, reloading the switcher without quitting your running applications.

2. Check for keyboard shortcut conflicts. Remote desktop tools, screen-sharing clients, virtual machines, and key-remapping utilities often intercept Cmd + Tab before macOS can process it. Quit these apps or inspect their in-app shortcut preferences to release system keys.

3. Verify keyboard layout and modifier keys. If you use a Windows or third-party mechanical keyboard, the keys are labeled differently: Alt acts as Option, and the Windows key acts as Command. Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Modifier Keys, pick your keyboard, and ensure Command is assigned to the key you expect.

You switch to an app but no window shows up

When you use Command-Tab, macOS switches to the app itself rather than bringing a specific window forward. If the app’s windows are minimized to the Dock, the menu bar updates and the app becomes active, but no window appears on screen. To bring a minimized window up with the keyboard alone, hold Command, press Tab to highlight the app, then press and hold Option before letting go of Command.

The full explanation and every built-in workaround are in Cmd+Tab not working for minimized windows.

Command-Tab jumps to another desktop or full-screen app

When Command-Tab switches desktop spaces unexpectedly, macOS is following a Spaces preference. Every full-screen app lives on its own dedicated Space. By default, switching to an app prompts macOS to jump across your virtual desktops to wherever that app has an open window. If you keep different projects on separate desktops and want to stay on your current screen, you can turn off this automatic jump in System Settings under Desktop & Dock.

The setting is covered step by step in how to change Command-Tab on Mac.

An app is missing from the Command-Tab switcher

If an open app does not appear in the Command-Tab switcher, check how it runs. macOS only displays regular applications that have an icon in the Dock. Menu-bar utilities and background helpers run without a Dock icon, so they never show up in the switcher. If an app has quit completely, it is also removed from the list. However, hidden apps (Cmd + H) remain in the switcher and display normally when you cycle through your active applications.

Still not working?

If none of the targeted fixes resolve the problem, restart your Mac to clear lingering system states. If the shortcut still fails after a reboot, create or log in to a second user account in System Settings to test whether a login item or background utility in your primary account is causing the conflict. For the full list of official modifier behaviors and shortcut defaults, refer to Apple’s guide to Mac keyboard shortcuts.

Have Command-Tab restore minimized windows automatically

Holding the Option key every time you switch is awkward and easy to forget. Command Reopen keeps the standard Command-Tab you already use, but watches for app switches where no window is currently visible. When you switch to an app with its windows minimized in the Dock, it requests a window from the app, bringing a minimized window back. If the app already has a visible window on screen, Command Reopen leaves it alone.

I built Command Reopen to fix Command-Tab for minimized windows without asking for any permission. It’s on the Mac App Store with a 14-day free trial.