ShrtcutCmd-Tab is not showing all windows because it was never a window switcher. macOS lists one icon per running application, not one per window. Minimised windows, hidden apps and windows sitting on other Spaces are all collapsed behind a single icon, so a document you left open simply has nowhere to appear.
This trips up almost everyone who moves to macOS from Windows, where Alt-Tab shows a thumbnail for every window. On a Mac you can have eight Finder windows open and Cmd-Tab will show you exactly one Finder icon. Selecting it brings the app forward — but not necessarily the window you were picturing.
Below is what the App Switcher actually does, the three categories of window it will never surface, and the built-in shortcuts that reach each one.
What Cmd-Tab actually switches
Holding ⌘ and pressing Tab opens the App Switcher, which cycles through applications in most-recently-used order. Releasing ⌘ activates the highlighted app and brings its frontmost unminimised window forward.
The important word is frontmost. macOS restores whichever window of that app you touched last. If the window you want is the third one back, behind two others, Cmd-Tab will not take you there — it takes you to the app and stops.
The three windows Cmd-Tab will never show you
1. Minimised windows
A window you sent to the Dock with ⌘M is still open, but Cmd-Tab will not restore it. Switching to the app leaves the minimised window exactly where it was. If every window of that app is minimised, the app comes forward showing nothing at all, which is the single most common version of this complaint.
There is a built-in fix that almost nobody knows: hold ⌘, press Tab until the app is highlighted, then — before releasing ⌘ — hold ⌥ and release both keys together. The minimised window is restored instead of ignored.
2. Hidden applications
⌘H hides an app rather than minimising its windows. Hidden apps still appear in the App Switcher, and selecting one unhides it normally. This one usually resolves itself — but it is worth knowing that “hidden” and “minimised” are two different states that behave differently.
3. Windows on other Spaces
Every full-screen app gets its own Space. So does every desktop you create in Mission Control. Cmd-Tab happily switches to an app living on another Space, but doing so pulls you through the Space-switching animation, which takes a noticeable beat and moves your entire screen away from what you were looking at.
We covered that specific problem separately in switching between full-screen apps on a Mac.
Reaching a specific window with built-in shortcuts
| Shortcut | What it does | What it misses |
|---|---|---|
| ⌘Tab | Switch application | Minimised windows; picks the app, not the window |
| ⌘` | Cycle windows of the front app | Minimised windows and windows on other Spaces |
| ⌘Tab then ⌥ | Switch app and restore a minimised window | Only restores one window, not a chosen one |
| Window menu | Lists every window of the app, minimised included | Requires the mouse and two clicks |
| Mission Control (⌃↑) | Shows windows on the current Space | Minimised windows; full-screen apps shown only as tiles |
The Window menu is the honest answer to “show me everything.” Every Mac app lists all of its open windows there, minimised ones included, with the current window ticked. It is complete and reliable — and it costs you a trip to the menu bar every single time.
Common mistakes when troubleshooting this
- Assuming the window closed. A minimised window is open. Check the Window menu before reopening a document and ending up with two copies of it.
- Restarting the Dock and expecting a change.
killall Dockis worth trying if the switcher is genuinely glitching, but it will not make Cmd-Tab list windows. That is the designed behaviour, not a fault. - Expecting ⌘` to reach everything. It cycles the front app’s windows on the current Space only. It skips minimised windows entirely.
- Turning off “Displays have separate Spaces” blindly. It changes how windows are grouped across monitors and can make windows harder to find, not easier.
- Minimising out of habit. Because minimised windows fall out of every keyboard path, hiding the app (⌘H) is usually the better habit — hidden windows come back on switch.
Frequently asked questions
Why does Cmd-Tab skip my minimised window?
Because the App Switcher activates applications, not windows, and activating an app does not un-minimise anything. Hold ⌘, Tab to the app, then hold ⌥ before releasing to restore the minimised window instead.
How do I see every window of one app?
Open that app's Window menu in the menu bar. It lists every open window including minimised ones. ⌘` cycles them from the keyboard, but only the unminimised ones on your current Space.
Is there a way to make Cmd-Tab work like Alt-Tab on Windows?
Not with the built-in switcher — macOS has no setting that makes it window-based. Reaching individual windows from the keyboard needs a third-party switcher.
Does killall Dock fix Cmd-Tab?
It restarts the Dock process that draws the App Switcher, so it can clear a genuine glitch such as a stale or unresponsive switcher. It will not change which items appear, because that is by design.
Why does Cmd-Tab move me to another desktop?
The app you selected has its window on a different Space, and full-screen apps each get their own. macOS has to move you to that Space to show the window, which is what triggers the animation.
The short version
Cmd-Tab is doing its job correctly; its job is just narrower than most people assume. It moves between applications. The moment you need a specific window — one of six Chrome windows, a minimised document, a full-screen editor on another Space — you need the Window menu, a different shortcut, or a switcher built around windows instead of apps.