SwiftTab

A light, fast Alt+Tab replacement for Windows 10/11, written in a single AutoHotkey v2 file.

Instant overlay, live window previews, search, same-app switching, and a quick tap that switches with no UI at all. No installer, no background service, no idle CPU.

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Why

The built-in Alt+Tab has a long list of everyday annoyances: blank thumbnails, laggy or black-screen switching on some builds, a switcher that shows every monitor's windows on one screen, Edge tabs mixed in with windows, ghost entries, and no way to search. SwiftTab is a small script that fixes those without replacing your shell or running anything heavy.

Features

• Quick-tap switching. Tap Alt+Tab and release: you switch instantly and the overlay never appears, so there is no flicker.
• Overlay built once at startup. Showing it is just "fill the list and display".
• Live previews. Uses DWM thumbnails of the selected window, not a cached screenshot, so previews aren't stale or blank.
• Search. Press / (or Ctrl+Alt+Space) and type part of a window title or app name.
• Same-app cycling. Alt+`` cycles only the current app's windows.
• Per-monitor. Opens on the active monitor; press m to show only that monitor's windows.
• Close from the list. Press Delete to close the selected window without leaving the switcher.
• Number jump. Press 1-9 to jump to a window.
• Real windows only. Filters out other virtual desktops, suspended UWP ghosts, tool windows and owned popups, following the same rules as the native switcher. Edge tabs never appear as separate entries.
• UWP aware. Resolves the real app behind ApplicationFrameHost.
• Game friendly. Exclusive-fullscreen games get the native Alt+Tab. Add borderless-fullscreen games to BypassExe.
• Zero idle cost. No hooks polling, no timers, no background threads while you aren't switching.

Install

Option A: run the script (recommended)

1. Install AutoHotkey v2.
2. Download SwiftTab.ahk from Releases and double-click it.
3. Press Alt+Tab.

To start with Windows, put a shortcut to the script in shell:startup.

Option B: compiled exe Download SwiftTab.exe from Releases. Compiled AutoHotkey programs are sometimes flagged by antivirus or SmartScreen. If that worries you, use Option A, which is the same code in plain text.

Keys

Key	Action
Alt+Tab / Alt+Shift+Tab	Open, next / previous
Alt+``	Same-app windows only
Ctrl+Alt+Space	Open in search mode
Tab, Down, Up, Right, Left, Home, End	Move (wraps)
Release Alt or Enter	Switch
Esc	Cancel
Delete or click × on a row	Close that window (save prompts are brought to the front)
Shift+Delete or Shift+click ×	Force-kill its whole process (not Store apps or Explorer)
Click the preview	Switch to that window
Close window button above the preview	Close the selected window
1-9	Jump to nth window
/	Search (type, then Enter)
m	Toggle this-monitor-only
Click a row	Switch to it

Configure

All settings are in the Cfg block at the top of SwiftTab.ahk:

ShowDelay: 90,               ; ms before overlay appears (0 = immediately)
Preview: true,               ; live thumbnail of selected window
ShowOn: "active",            ; "active" | "mouse" | "primary" monitor
OnlyCurrentMonitor: false,
BypassExe: [],               ; e.g. ["game.exe"]
HideExe: [],
AdminMode: false,            ; true = work over elevated windows (UAC prompt on launch)

Exclusive fullscreen detection is active by default (BypassD3DFullscreen: true). While a true exclusive-fullscreen game is running, SwiftTab steps aside and Windows’ native Alt+Tab handles the keys. BypassExe ships as [], so nothing is listed. The check only runs once you add at least one name.

If a game uses borderless fullscreen (common for modern games), the exclusive-fullscreen check won’t catch it. Add its process name in the Cfg block:

BypassExe: ["game.exe", "anothergame.exe"],

Then save and reload the script (tray icon, then Reload Script, or just launch it again).

Finding the exe name: open Task Manager, go to the Details tab, and copy the name exactly as shown. Matching ignores upper/lower case. When it applies: it’s checked at the moment you press Alt+Tab, using whichever window is in the foreground. So it bypasses while that program has focus, and SwiftTab works normally in every other window. If you put a browser or other everyday app in the list, SwiftTab will stop working whenever that app is focused.

Known limitations

• Elevated (administrator) windows. Windows blocks normal scripts from intercepting keys inside elevated windows, so you get the native Alt+Tab there. Set AdminMode: true to cover them (you will see a UAC prompt at launch), or run the script from Task Scheduler with highest privileges to avoid the prompt.
• Order is z-order. Z-order closely tracks recency but isn't an exact most-recently-used list.
• Mixed-DPI setups. Sizing uses the primary monitor's DPI.
• Previews of elevated windows may be empty.
• Dark theme only for now. Rounded corners are Windows 11 only.

How it compares

	Native Windows	SwiftTab	Heavier AHK switchers
Search / filter	No	Yes	Varies
Quick-tap, no flicker	Overlay logic is built in	Yes	Varies
Live previews	Yes (sometimes blank)	Yes	Often icons only
Idle resource use	n/a	None	Often timers/processes
Size	n/a	One ~400-line file	Often many files
Visual effects / themes	Basic	Basic	Often extensive

SwiftTab is deliberately small. If you want shaders, workspace integration or hundreds of options, look at projects such as Alt-Tabby.

FAQ

Does it replace the Windows Alt+Tab completely? While the script runs it intercepts Alt+Tab. Exit it from the tray icon and the native one returns immediately.

Why does my game still use the normal Alt+Tab? That's the bypass for exclusive fullscreen. Use BypassExe for borderless-fullscreen games.

Does it use a lot of memory? It's a single AutoHotkey process. Measure it on your machine and report numbers in an issue if you like.

Roadmap

• Light theme and custom colors in a config file
• Per-window DPI handling
• Optional true MRU tracking
• Winget / Scoop packages

Contributing

Bug reports with your Windows build, monitor setup and the window involved are the most useful thing you can send. Pull requests that keep the script small are welcome.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.

Acknowledgments

• AutoHotkey — scripting language for Windows automation