Switch apps
Hold ⌘ and press Tab to open the app row. Press Tab again to select another app. Release ⌘ to switch to the selected app. Its windows appear below the row after the preview delay.
Crossway feature guide
This guide covers every command and setting in Crossway. Use the sections list or search box to find a feature.
This page describes Crossway 2.0.
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Opening Crossway, moving through items, and completing a selection.
Switch windows
Hold ⌘ and press ` to open the front app's window strip. Press ` again to select another window. Release ⌘ to activate the selected window. From the app row, ` opens the selected app's window strip.
All windows
Hold ⌥ and press Tab to open a grid of all windows, ordered by recent use. Press Tab to select the next tile; selection wraps at the end. The arrow keys move in four directions. Release ⌥ to activate the selected window.
Focused app's windows
Hold ⌥ and press ` to open a grid containing only the front app's windows. Navigation and selection work as they do in All windows.
Quick tap
Press and release a shortcut before the show delay to switch without displaying the interface. A quick ⌘ Tab returns to the previous app. A quick ⌘ ` activates the front app's previous window.
Holding the shortcut
Hold a shortcut past the show delay to display Crossway. The default show delay is 0.10 s. The app row's window strip appears after a further 0.40 s; the window shortcut displays its strip immediately. The grid has its own show delay, also 0.10 s by default, measured from the keypress.
Releasing the keys
Release any modifier in the shortcut that opened Crossway to activate the selected app, window, or grid tile. Moving the selection does not activate it.
Shift reversal
Add ⇧ to a shortcut to move in reverse. For example, ⌘ ⇧ Tab moves backward through the app row. If ⇧ is part of the recorded shortcut, it does not reverse direction.
Custom shortcuts
Each command has a separate enable switch and shortcut recorder. Disabling a command returns its shortcut to macOS. When shortcuts overlap, the one with more modifiers takes precedence and Settings displays a ⚠ warning. Restore defaults enables all four commands and restores their original shortcuts.
Keyboard and pointer controls available during a switching session.
Session modifiers
The letter commands below use the modifiers from the shortcut that opened Crossway. Their tables show ⌘, the default modifier. If Switch apps is set to ⌃ Tab, ⌃ W uses the same modifier during that session. Esc and the arrow keys require no modifier.
Esc
Press Esc to dismiss Crossway without activating the selected item. Esc also resets a sequence of quick ⌘ ` presses.
Arrow keys
The arrow keys move the selection while the switcher is open. The keys are not passed to the active app.
- App row: ← and → move through apps and wrap at the ends. In a multi-row layout, ↑ and ↓ move between rows. From the bottom row, ↓ opens the selected app's window strip.
- Window strip: ← and → select the previous or next window. ↑ returns to the app row. ↓ has no effect.
- Grid: all four arrows move between tiles and stop at the grid's edges. Press the grid shortcut again to select the next tile and wrap.
Close window
In the window strip, this closes the selected window. In the app row, it closes the selected app's front window. A window remains listed while its app displays a save confirmation.
Quit app
Quits the selected app, or the app that owns the selected window. The app is removed from the row and Crossway remains open.
New window
Sends the New Window command to the selected app. Crossway selects the new window when it appears. Repeating the command selects each new window in turn.
Minimize window
Minimizes the selected window, or the selected app's front window, to the Dock. The window moves to the back of the strip and the next window is selected.
Hide app
Hides the selected app, or the app that owns the selected window. The app remains in the row. Selecting it later unhides and activates it.
Pointer selection
Moving the pointer over an app, window, or grid tile selects it. A stationary pointer does not change a keyboard selection. Keyboard input immediately returns control to the keyboard.
Clicking a tile
Click an app, window, or grid tile to activate it immediately and close Crossway. Clicking a window always activates that exact window.
Clicking outside
Click outside Crossway to dismiss it without activating the selected item. This is the same as pressing Esc.
Live app and window list
Apps and windows are added or removed while the switcher is open. Existing items keep their order, and the current selection is retained when possible.
Apps with no windows
A running app with no windows shows one Open App tile. Select or click the tile to open the app as if you had clicked its Dock icon.
Window tiles, preview timing, and window availability.
Window strip
During app switching, the selected app's windows appear below the app row after the preview delay. Each tile includes the window title. The Switch windows command opens the front app's strip immediately.
Still image, then live feed
A tile first displays the most recent still captured for its window. If live previews are enabled, a live feed replaces the still after the preview settles.
Tiles without a still
Before a still is available, the tile displays the app icon in the window's aspect ratio. The tile keeps the same dimensions when the still arrives.
Live previews
When live previews are enabled, each tile changes from a still to a live feed after the preview settles. A master switch controls the feature, with separate switches for the app switcher and grid. Disabled surfaces continue to display stills. macOS shows its purple recording indicator while live feeds are active.
Background capture
Background capture refreshes stills between sessions: when you switch apps, switch to another window of the same app, change Spaces, wake or unlock the Mac, change your display setup, change the system appearance, or open a window in the front app. Moving between windows of one app captures the window you just left. Crossway does not capture while the screen is locked, and window pixels are not written to disk. When this setting is off, capture occurs only while the switcher is open.
Minimized windows
Minimized windows remain available in the window strip and grid. Their tiles display the last still, or the app icon, with a Minimized label. Crossway can capture a still of a minimized window but cannot provide a live feed. Activating the tile restores the window from the Dock. Turn off Include minimized windows to omit them.
Windows on other Spaces
Windows on other Spaces are listed with windows on the current Space. Activating one moves to its Space. Tabs within a window do not appear as separate tiles.
Window titles
Each window tile displays its title. If a window has no title, the app name appears in a lighter color.
Window list updates
New windows are added while the switcher is open, and closed windows are removed. Existing tiles keep their order.
Grid master switch
The Enable Exposé setting controls the grid. When it is off, All windows and Focused app's windows are disabled and their shortcuts return to macOS.
Position, size, ordering, displays, and system appearance.
Preview alignment
Left aligns tiles with the left edge of the window strip. Center keeps the selected window in the middle. Under app keeps the selected window below the selected app icon. Center and Under app animate every selection change, including wraparound.
Single-row app switcher
In single-row mode, app icons shrink as needed to fit one row. When the setting is off, icons remain full size and wrap to additional rows. Use ↑ and ↓ to move between rows.
Interface scale
Sets the size of the app row and app icons, from half size to double size. The Settings preview updates while you drag. Crossway uses the new scale the next time it opens.
Window preview size
Sets the size of tiles in the window strip, independently of the app row.
Exposé tile sizes
Each grid has its own tile size, app icon size, and title text size, so All windows and Focused app's windows can be sized independently. These six controls depend on the grid master switch; see Exposé settings.
Background blur
Background blur has separate switches for the app switcher and grid, plus a shared amount. It uses a frosted blur on macOS 26 and 27 and a translucent dim on macOS 14 and 15.
Order of apps
Most recently used places the previous app first. Alphabetical orders apps by name.
Order of windows
Most recently focused places recent windows first. Alphabetical sorts by window title. macOS window order uses the system's front-to-back order. Minimized windows follow unminimized windows in every order.
Native window cycling
When Native window cycling is off, quick ⌘ ` presses alternate between the app's two most recent windows. When it is on, quick presses move through every window in the selected window order; add ⇧ to move in reverse. Most recently focused order is updated when previews appear. Alphabetical and macOS window order remain fixed. The same rules apply to quick presses of Focused app's windows.
Multiple displays
Crossway appears on the display containing the focused window, or on the display under the pointer when no window is focused. By default, the app switcher and grid list windows from all displays. Each can instead be limited to the active display.
Reduce Motion
When Reduce Motion is enabled in macOS, Crossway removes reveal, slide, and scrolling animations. Brief opacity fades remain for selection and badge changes.
macOS 26 and 27, and macOS 14 and 15
On macOS 26 and 27, Crossway uses the system glass appearance. On macOS 14 and 15, it uses a translucent compatibility panel and replaces frosted background blur with a translucent dim. Layout and behavior are unchanged.
Screen-sharing exclusion
Crossway asks macOS to leave its panels out of screenshots, recordings, and screen sharing by other apps. It works in our tests, but macOS doesn't guarantee it for every app.
Dock badges in the app row and grid.
App-row badges
Crossway mirrors each app's Dock badge on its app-row icon. The badge may be a count or a dot. Crossway does not read notifications, and macOS supplies one badge per app rather than per window.
Grid badges
Each grid tile includes the app icon and its Dock badge. All windows from the same app display the same app-level badge.
Badge refresh
A badge change is reflected within 2 seconds while the switcher is open and within 5 seconds between sessions. Badge information comes from the Dock, not from notifications.
Minimized label
A minimized window tile displays a Minimized label over its still or app icon. Activating the tile restores the window from the Dock.
All Settings controls, in window order, with choices and defaults.
Settings
Open Settings from the Crossway menu, or press ⌘ , while Crossway is frontmost. The window has General, Scaling, Keybindings, and Optional tabs. Most changes apply the next time Crossway opens. Scaling changes also appear in the Settings preview while you drag.
General
Monitors, preview timing and placement, ordering, and startup.
Monitors
Settings → General → Monitors
Controls which displays supply windows. The app switcher and the grid each have their own scope.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Application switcher | All monitors, Active monitor only | All monitors |
| Exposé | All monitors, Active monitor only | All monitors |
Previews
Settings → General → Previews
Sets window-strip alignment and timing. Fluid and Fast set all three delays and the animation speed; Custom uses the slider values.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Window alignment | Left, Center, Under app | Left |
| UX presets | Fluid, Fast, Custom | Fluid |
| Switcher show delay | 0 to 1.00 s, in steps of 0.01 | 0.10 s |
| Window preview show delay | 0 to 2.00 s, in steps of 0.1 | 0.40 s |
| Window preview animation speed | 0 to 0.50 s, in steps of 0.01 | 0.28 s |
| Exposé show delay | 0 to 1.00 s, in steps of 0.01 | 0.10 s |
Fast sets every delay and the animation to 0 s. Animation speed sets the duration of the window-strip reveal. The switcher show delay covers ⌘ Tab and ⌘ `; the exposé show delay covers the two grid shortcuts and is measured from the keypress, not added to the switcher's. The grid is built during that wait, so a longer delay gives its previews more time to arrive before you see them. Exposé show delay depends on the grid master switch; see Exposé settings.
Ordering
Settings → General → Ordering
Sets app and window order, and controls native window cycling.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Order apps by | Most recently used, Alphabetical | Most recently used |
| Order windows by | Most recently focused, Alphabetical, macOS window order | Most recently focused |
| Native window cycling | On or off | Off |
The help button beside Native window cycling describes its behavior with the selected window order.
Startup
Settings → General → Startup and updates
Controls launch at login and update checks.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Launch at login | On or off | On |
| Auto-update | On or off | Off |
| Frequency | 1 to 999 hours, days, weeks, or months | 1 week |
| Check now | Button |
Auto-update performs a metadata check only. A month is treated as 30 days. Check now performs an immediate check.
Scaling
Independent sizes for the app row, window strip, and grid.
Scaling
Settings → Scaling
The tab has three sections. Scaling holds Interface scale and Window preview size. Exposé: All windows and Exposé: Focused app's windows each hold a preview size, an app icon size, and a title text size. Every slider is independent, so the app row, the window strip, and each grid can be sized on its own. The preview panel updates while you drag. Crossway uses the new values the next time it opens.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Interface scale | 0.5 to 2.0, in steps of 0.05 | 1.0 |
| Window preview size | 0.5 to 2.0, in steps of 0.05 | 1.0 |
| Preview size (Exposé: All windows) | 0.5 to 2.0, in steps of 0.05 | 1.0 |
| App icon size (Exposé: All windows) | 0.5 to 2.0, in steps of 0.05 | 1.0 |
| Title text size (Exposé: All windows) | 0.5 to 2.0, in steps of 0.05 | 1.0 |
| Preview size (Exposé: Focused app's windows) | 0.5 to 2.0, in steps of 0.05 | 1.0 |
| App icon size (Exposé: Focused app's windows) | 0.5 to 2.0, in steps of 0.05 | 1.0 |
| Title text size (Exposé: Focused app's windows) | 0.5 to 2.0, in steps of 0.05 | 1.0 |
The six Exposé sliders depend on the grid master switch; see Exposé settings.
Keybindings
Enable switches and shortcut recorders for the four entry commands.
Hotkeys
Settings → Keybindings → Hotkeys
Configures the commands that open the app row and window strip. Each command has an enable switch and shortcut recorder.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Switch apps | On or off, plus any shortcut you record | On, ⌘ Tab |
| Switch windows | On or off, plus any shortcut you record | On, ⌘ ` |
Click a recorder and press a shortcut; press Esc to cancel. Recording a shortcut already in use moves it to the new command and leaves the other command unbound. A partial conflict displays a ⚠ warning without changing either shortcut. A disabled command retains its shortcut.
Exposé
Settings → Keybindings → Exposé
Configures the two grid commands. These rows use the same enable switches and shortcut recorders as Hotkeys. They depend on the grid master switch under Optional.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| All windows | On or off, plus any shortcut you record | On, ⌥ Tab |
| Focused app's windows | On or off, plus any shortcut you record | On, ⌥ ` |
Restore defaults
Settings → Keybindings → Restore defaults
Restores the four default shortcuts and enables all four commands. It does not change the grid master switch or any other setting.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Restore defaults | Button |
Optional
Live capture, background capture, blur, grid, window inclusion, and app-row options.
Previews
Settings → Optional → Previews
Controls live feeds by surface and still capture between sessions. The per-surface switches depend on Enable live previews. Exposé also depends on the grid master switch.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable live previews | On or off | On |
| Application switcher | On or off | On |
| Exposé | On or off | On |
| Capture window previews in the background | On or off | On |
Background capture is independent of live previews. When enabled, it refreshes stills at launch and during normal app activity. When disabled, stills are captured only while the switcher is open. The help button beside Enable live previews describes the macOS recording indicator.
Background blur
Settings → Optional → Background blur
Controls the background effect separately for the app switcher and grid. Blur amount is available when either surface is enabled.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Application switcher | On or off | Off |
| Exposé | On or off | Off |
| Blur amount | 0.2 to 1.0, in steps of 0.05 | 1.0 |
Exposé (windows-only previews)
Settings → Optional → Exposé (windows-only previews)
Controls the grid. When it is off, the two Exposé keybindings and their enable switches, Exposé live previews, Exposé blur, the Exposé display scope under General → Monitors, the Exposé show delay under General → Previews, and all six Exposé sliders under Scaling are disabled. Their values are retained.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Enable Exposé | On or off | On |
Window inclusion
Settings → Optional → Window inclusion
Controls whether minimized windows appear in Crossway.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Include minimized windows | On or off | On |
Number of app rows
Settings → Optional → Number of app rows
Controls whether app icons fit on one row or wrap at full size.
| Control | Choices or range | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Single-row app switcher (macOS native) | On or off | On |
Permissions, window capture, local storage, and network access. See the shorter Privacy summary on the homepage.
Accessibility permission
Accessibility permission lets Crossway intercept its shortcuts and activate the selected app or window. Grant it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility. Crossway detects the grant without restarting.
Screen Recording permission
Screen Recording permission lets Crossway capture window stills and live feeds. Without it, tiles display app icons only. Grant it in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording. Crossway relaunches once after the permission is granted, as required by macOS.
Guided setup
On first launch, setup requests Accessibility and then Screen Recording permission. It detects each grant automatically, then presents Launch at login and Auto-update options. Setup opens again if a required permission is later removed.
Memory-only window captures
Window stills remain in memory and are never written to disk. They are kept between switching sessions and associated with the specific window that produced them. Settings are stored separately in the standard macOS preferences file; see Stored settings.
Permission revocation
Removing Accessibility or Screen Recording permission clears all captured stills the next time Crossway checks its permissions, such as when you open Crossway. Crossway remains unavailable until the required permission is restored.
Screen lock
Crossway does not capture windows while the Mac is locked. It refreshes its stills after the Mac is unlocked.
Recording indicator
macOS shows its purple recording indicator while live previews are running. On macOS 26 it also appears briefly each time Crossway captures a still, so with live previews off that is the only time it appears. On macOS 27, stills do not show it.
No telemetry
Crossway contains no analytics, crash reporter, or third-party SDKs. It sends no usage, device, app, window, or shortcut data.
Logging
Release builds write nothing to the macOS system log. Window titles and switching activity are not recorded there.
Stored settings
Crossway stores preferences in its standard macOS preferences file: shortcuts, timing, scales, ordering, display choices, optional settings, update schedule, and setup status. It also stores a process identifier used to keep one copy running. The file contains no window stills, titles, or switching history.
Update-check request
A manual or scheduled update check makes one HTTPS request for public release metadata. Crossway adds no user or device identifier. It compares the response with the running version and does not retain the response. Homepage and Donate open URLs in the default browser; Crossway does not fetch those pages.
Supported systems, processor architectures, and installation.
Supported macOS versions
Crossway supports macOS 14 to 27. macOS 26 and 27 use the system glass appearance. macOS 14 and 15 use the compatibility appearance with the same features.
Apple silicon and Intel
The universal application runs natively on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
Download and installation
Download the signed and notarized zip from the public releases page. Expand it, then move Crossway to Applications. Crossway is not distributed through the App Store because its shortcut interception and window-capture permissions are not available to App Store applications.