CmdTab

CmdTab is a lightweight macOS app switcher that shows a numbered overlay when you hold the right Command key. Select apps with number keys, or assign custom character shortcuts for specific apps.

Landing page: https://cmd-tab.vercel.app/

Features

• Right Command key app switching overlay
• Block and list overlay layouts
• Optional instant Space switching when selecting apps on another desktop
• Ignore list for hiding specific apps from the overlay
• Per-app character shortcuts, such as o for Obsidian
• Menu bar settings app

Build

./build.sh
open /Users/statemachine/code/CmdTab/CmdTab.app

CmdTab requires Accessibility permission so it can monitor the right Command key. The build script prefers a stable local Apple Development signing identity when available, which helps preserve the Accessibility permission across rebuilds.

Production DMG

Public macOS distribution should use a Developer ID signed and notarized DMG. You need a paid Apple Developer account with these certificates installed in Keychain:

• Developer ID Application
• Developer ID Installer optional, used to sign the DMG when available

Create a notarization keychain profile once:

xcrun notarytool store-credentials cmdtab-notary \
  --apple-id "<apple-id>" \
  --team-id "<team-id>" \
  --password "<app-specific-password>"

Build, sign, notarize, staple, and verify the DMG:

NOTARY_PROFILE=cmdtab-notary ./scripts/release_dmg.sh

The release asset is written to:

dist/CmdTab.dmg

For local testing without notarization:

NOTARIZE=0 ./scripts/release_dmg.sh

Manual notarization commands:

# Submit the DMG to Apple and wait for the result.
xcrun notarytool submit dist/CmdTab.dmg \
  --keychain-profile cmdtab-notary \
  --wait

# If accepted, staple the ticket to the DMG.
xcrun stapler staple dist/CmdTab.dmg

# Validate the stapled ticket.
xcrun stapler validate dist/CmdTab.dmg

# Gatekeeper assessment check.
spctl --assess --type open \
  --context context:primary-signature \
  --verbose=4 dist/CmdTab.dmg

Landing Page

The vanilla HTML/CSS/JS landing page lives in LP/ and is deployed on Vercel.

Things to do

• Logo attached in DMG, app
• Release from github,
• Site should allow downloading .dmg
• Recorded Video demo of the app in action
• twitter thread and video
• Start at startup