Window Switcher

Window-Switcher offers hotkeys for quickly switching windows on Windows OS:

1. Alt+`(Backtick): switch between windows of the same app.

2. Alt+Tab: switch between apps. (disabled by default)

💡 Hold down the Alt key and tap the `(Backtick)/Tab key to cycle through windows/apps, Press Alt + `(Backtick)/Tab and release both keys to switch to the last active window/app.

Installation

1. Download: Visit the Github Release and download the windows-switcher.zip file.
2. Extract: Unzip the downloaded file and extract the window-switcher.exe to your preferred location.
3. Launch: window-switcher.exe is a standalone executable, no installation is required, just double-click the file to run it.

For the tech-savvy, here's a one-liner to automate the installation:

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sigoden/window-switcher/main/install.ps1 | iex

Configuration

Window-Switcher offers various customization options to tailor its behavior to your preferences. You can define custom keyboard shortcuts, enable or disable specific features, and fine-tune settings through a configuration file.

To personalize Window-Switcher, you'll need a configuration file named window-switcher.ini. This file should be placed in the same directory as the window-switcher.exe file. Once you've made changes to the configuration, make sure to restart Window-Switcher so your new settings can take effect.

Here is the default configuration:

# Whether to show trayicon, yes/no
trayicon = yes 

[switch-windows]

# Hotkey to switch windows
hotkey = alt+`

# List of hotkey conflict apps
# e.g. game1.exe,game2.exe
blacklist =

# Ignore minimal windows
ignore_minimal = no

# Only switch within the current virtual desktops: yes/no/auto
only_current_desktop = auto

[switch-apps]

# Whether to enable switching apps
enable = no 

# Hotkey to switch apps
hotkey = alt+tab

# Ignore minimal windows
ignore_minimal = no

# Only switch apps within the current virtual desktops: yes/no/auto
only_current_desktop = auto

Running as Administrator (Optional)

The window-switcher works in standard user mode. But only the window-switcher running in administrator mode can manage applications running in administrator mode.

Important: If you enable the startup option while running in standard user mode, it will launch in standard mode upon system reboot. To ensure startup with admin privileges, launch the window-switcher as administrator first before enabling startup.

License

Copyright (c) 2023-2025 window-switcher developers.

window-switcher is made available under the terms of the MIT License, at your option.

See the LICENSE files for license details.