Show HN: Macscope – I decide to built a better Cmd-Tab replacement for macOS
11–20 of 26 posts
Re: Show HN: Macscope – I decide to built a better Cmd-Tab replacement for macOS
#12Is there a way to disable the advanced window management and scope features? I'm tempted to try out your utility because of the Search & Switch feature. However, I'm already using a window manager (aerospace) that I'm not ready to replace. Given how aerospace works, I suspect the window management/scope features would clash.
If you just want to autocomplete and switch to a certain window, RayCast has a switcher that lets you filter by app name or window title:
Re: Show HN: Macscope – I decide to built a better Cmd-Tab replacement for macOS
#13My main complaint with the regular app switcher is it shows all apps, when I'd happily hide most of them and just access them occasionally from the dock. I use the free Alt-Tab app to hide most apps, works well. It has screen recording though, bc it creates previews. So best to block it from accessing the network with LuLu, just in case.
I'm also an Alt-tab user and it's amazing. As a ex-windows user, I find it similar to the behavior I'm used to.
Re: Show HN: Macscope – I decide to built a better Cmd-Tab replacement for macOS
#14https://github.com/lwouis/alt-tab-macos
Thank you for sharing this! I've been using Witch Daemon for a while, but it does have the occasional glitches (esp. multi-screen setups). At first impression this is super-fast without lag, I'll keep testing it for a while.
Re: Show HN: Macscope – I decide to built a better Cmd-Tab replacement for macOS
#15My main complaint with the regular app switcher is it shows all apps, when I'd happily hide most of them and just access them occasionally from the dock. I use the free Alt-Tab app to hide most apps, works well. It has screen recording though, bc it creates previews. So best to block it from accessing the network with LuLu, just in case.
Macscope has a feature for this. You can right-click any item in the switcher and choose to hide it. There are two options: hide it just from the main list (it will still appear when you search), or hide it completely from both. You can manage all your hidden items later in Settings > Exclusions. Like here https://screen.studio/share/bcC1YlQR
Regarding privacy, I take that very seriously. All screen-capturing for live previews is done locally and is never stored or transmitted. You can also disable live previews entirely in the settings if you prefer a more minimal view. The app's only network calls are for checking for updates (Sparkle) and validating the license (Lemon Squeezy), never for any user data.
I completely agree with the 'zero-trust' approach (I'm a security-conscious person myself), so I'm planning a tutorial on how to use a firewall like LuLu to block all network access if users want it, just in case. The core app is designed to be fully functional offline—only license activation, automatic updates and some url favicons would be affected. If you interested here is our privacy policy here I describe the usage of each data/permission. https://macscope.app/privacy
Re: Show HN: Macscope – I decide to built a better Cmd-Tab replacement for macOS
#16I gave it a shot. It is super nice to see someone trying to rethink a tool we use all the time. And integrating browser tabs was a really neat idea. It doesn't work great for me, personally. Takes 5-10 seconds to respond to CMD+Tab, and shows hundreds of browser tabs instead of just the five I have open (I think it's seeing pinned tabs, which are actually bookmarks). Still, I applaud you for this! It's refreshing to…
Thank you so much for trying it out and for the kind words about the concept! I really appreciate it.
And thank you especially for the bug report. A 5-10 second delay is definitely not the intended behavior – it should be instant. You was the first user to report this. I've pushed several performance fixes in the past, but this sounds like that could be a new issue.
If you (or anyone else reading this) are running into these issues, I would be incredibly grateful for your help in reproducing them. What would be most helpful is your Mac model, macOS version, and which browser is showing the extra tabs. Even a quick screen recording of the issue would be amazing.
You can send any details or a video to the support email (support@macscope.app) or drop it in our Discord.
This is exactly the kind of feedback that makes a huge difference. Thanks again!
Re: Show HN: Macscope – I decide to built a better Cmd-Tab replacement for macOS
#17Hey. I'm trying to arrange views in multi-monitor setups, but when I tried to arrange some windows on a DisplayLink screen, it literally makes them disappear, unable to open/restore them until I force-close them. It's also not showing apps in other spaces, which I would like to be shown. Mac's default Cmd+Tab does that.
Hey, thanks for the detailed feedback.
You've definitely found a critical bug with DisplayLink screens. Multi-monitor support is still a bit experimental, and setups using third-party drivers like DisplayLink can be particularly tricky, so I really appreciate you reporting this.
To help me fix this, it would be amazing if you (or anyone else with a similar setup) could provide more detail. A screen recording of the issue happening would be invaluable, as I don't have a DisplayLink setup for testing myself. You can send it to the support email on the site or share it in our Discord.
Regarding apps in other spaces, you are absolutely right to expect them to be shown. The intention is for Macscope to list apps from other spaces (much like the default Cmd+Tab does), likely treating them as minimized items. It's clear this isn't working correctly in the current version. Thanks for flagging it—I'll revisit this feature and prioritize a fix :)
Re: Show HN: Macscope – I decide to built a better Cmd-Tab replacement for macOS
#18https://github.com/lwouis/alt-tab-macos
That's a great link, Alt-Tab is a fantastic utility! I've tried all the popular tools in this space, including Raycast's switcher, and they are all excellent at what they do.
My goal with Macscope was to address a slightly different problem. Most switchers answer the question "what app/window do I want to open?". I found my workflow often involved a second step: "...and now I need to use another tool to position it."
Macscope tries to be a combination of a switcher and an arranger, answering the question "open and where?" in a single action.
A feature I'm really happy with that illustrates this is the new "Placement Mode". You can use a dedicated hotkey (e.g., Ctrl+Opt+L) that tells Macscope "I'm about to switch to a window, and I want it to snap to the right half of the screen." When you select the window, it both switches and arranges in one fluid motion.
Here’s a quick video showing how it works in practice: https://screen.studio/share/pg4H5i4c
It's a different approach, but hopefully a useful one for certain workflows. Thanks for sharing the link for others' reference!
Re: Show HN: Macscope – I decide to built a better Cmd-Tab replacement for macOS
#19Is there a way to disable the advanced window management and scope features? I'm tempted to try out your utility because of the Search & Switch feature. However, I'm already using a window manager (aerospace) that I'm not ready to replace. Given how aerospace works, I suspect the window management/scope features would clash.
That's a really great question, and you're right, not everyone will need the Scopes or arrangement features, especially if they already have a window manager like aerospace that they love.
Right now, there isn't a single toggle to disable them, but they are designed to be completely opt-in. The arrangement features only activate if you explicitly multi-select windows and choose a layout, so they shouldn't interfere with your setup if you're just using Macscope for searching and switching.
That said, I completely agree that a dedicated 'switcher-only' mode is a fantastic idea. I'll add an option to disable the advanced management features in an upcoming version. Thanks for the great suggestion!
In the meantime, the free trial should be safe to use alongside aerospace if you stick to the search/switch functionality.
Re: Show HN: Macscope – I decide to built a better Cmd-Tab replacement for macOS
#20Can it help with the annoying macos bug that about half the time disconnecting and reconnecting external screen to my MacBook does not move windows back to external screen?
That's a super annoying macOS bug; I've definitely felt that pain.
While Macscope can't fix the underlying issue in macOS, this is a perfect use case for its "Scopes" feature. It's designed to solve exactly this kind of layout restoration problem.
Here’s how you can solve it with Macscope:
When you have all your windows arranged perfectly on your external monitor, open Macscope.
Multi-select all of those windows and save them as a new "Scope". You could name it something like "Work Setup".
The next time you reconnect your monitor and macOS scatters your windows, just open Macscope and activate your "Work Setup" Scope. It will move and arrange all of those windows back to their saved positions on your external monitor in one go.
So, it essentially gives you a one-click way to restore your entire workspace after that bug hits. Hope that helps!