Command Reopen vs Command-Tab Plus: Which Should You Use on Mac?

Choose Command-Tab Plus if you want a replacement switcher that handles both apps and individual windows on macOS 14 or later. Choose Command Reopen if you want to keep the Mac's built-in Command-Tab and have it restore a minimized window when you switch, with no permissions required.

How they differ day to day

I make Command Reopen, so keep that in mind. The Command-Tab Plus details here come from the public product page at noteifyapp.com/command-tab-plus/ (checked 2026-10-17 Asia/Shanghai), not a hands-on install. Rows still marked “Not confirmed” were not stated on that page.

Command-Tab Plus is a replacement switcher. It can take over Command-Tab from Apple’s built-in switcher and requires macOS 14 or later. You can use it to switch between open applications and individual windows.

Command Reopen takes the opposite path: it adds nothing visible to your screen. You keep using the Mac’s built-in Command-Tab. When you switch to an application that has no visible window, Command Reopen sends a standard reopen request, the exact same signal sent when you click an app’s icon in the Dock. The application responds by bringing back a minimized window or opening a new one.

The trade-off is scope. With Command Reopen, you still switch applications rather than individual windows, and most applications bring back one window rather than restoring multiple minimized windows at once. Furthermore, if the application already has a visible window on your desktop, Command Reopen leaves it alone. Because it only sends that standard macOS reopen event, it operates fully sandboxed with zero permissions.

The short version

If you want a replacement switcher that handles individual windows, Command-Tab Plus is built for that workflow. If you like the speed and familiarity of macOS’s built-in Command-Tab and only miss your minimized windows, you don’t need a new switcher.

If you’d rather keep the built-in Command-Tab and have it bring back minimized windows, Command Reopen does that with no permissions. You can also restore minimized windows without installing anything.