The best Contexts alternative for Mac: window switchers that still get updates
Contexts was the window switcher for people who think in window names. You pressed a shortcut, typed two letters of a title, and the window was there. No strip of icons to tab through. So if you're searching for a Contexts alternative now, it's probably not because you've gone off the idea. It's because the app has stopped moving while macOS hasn't. Here's where Contexts stands, which parts of it you actually rely on, and which switcher replaces each part.
Why people are looking for a Contexts alternative
No update since 2022. The Contexts website still offers version 3.9.0 for $9.99, and AlternativeTo dates that release to August 2022 and now marks the app as discontinued. The developer hasn't announced anything either way. There's just been no new build.
Its listed support stops at Sequoia. The site says Contexts works on macOS Ventura, Sonoma and Sequoia. There's no mention of macOS 26 Tahoe or this year's macOS 27. It may well keep launching, because switchers lean on the Accessibility APIs and those change slowly. But nothing promises it will, and nobody is going to fix it if one release breaks it.
If it still works for you today, you don't need to rip it out. Just choose its replacement before an upgrade chooses for you.
What you're actually replacing
Contexts did four things, and most people lean on one or two of them. Work out which ones are yours before you pick a replacement:
- Search. Press ⌃Space, type part of an app name or window title, and the list narrows.
- Fast Search. Hold Fn and type one or two characters. Let go and the match comes forward, with no box to confirm.
- A Command-Tab replacement. A list of windows instead of apps, cycled with Tab.
- The sidebar. An auto-hiding panel at the screen edge listing your windows, grouped by Space, that you click with the mouse.
No single app today does all four the Contexts way. The good news is that each one has a solid, maintained answer.
The best Contexts alternatives at a glance
| Contexts | Let's Switch | Witch | AltTab | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $9.99 | Free; Pro $9.99 one-time | $14 one-time | Free, open source (optional paid Pro) |
| Last update | 3.9.0, August 2022 | Actively developed | Actively developed (4.7) | Actively developed |
| Switches windows, not just apps | Yes | Yes, most recent first | Yes, plus tabs | Yes |
| Type to find a window | Yes | Yes (Pro, ⌥Space) | Yes | Yes (Pro) |
| Windows on other Spaces | Yes (sidebar) | No, current Space only | Not stated by Many Tricks | Yes, with a badge |
| Minimum macOS | Ventura, per its site | 14 (Sonoma) | 10.13 (High Sierra) | 12 (Monterey) |
Let's Switch: the Command-Tab list and the search box, both kept current
Let's Switch is the closest match if you used Contexts for the two things most people did: replacing ⌘Tab with a list of windows, and typing to find one.
The switcher itself is free, permanently. Hold ⌥ and tap ⇥, and you get every open window across your apps and monitors, with a live preview of each one. The window you just left is first, so ⌥⇥ on its own flips you straight back. Keep tapping ⇥ to go further back, ⇧⇥ to step backwards, and release ⌥ to jump. ⌥` cycles the windows of just the app you're in. If Contexts trained you to expect windows rather than apps after a Tab press, this is the habit you keep.
Pro is $9.99, paid once, and it's the part that replaces Contexts' Search. Press ⌥Space and you get a search box over every open window. Type a few letters of the title or the app, the list narrows as you type, and ↵ takes you there. Press ⌥Space again and the same box launches any installed app, so one palette covers both jobs. There's no account and no subscription, one key covers up to 20 devices, and it sends no telemetry. It's a menu-bar app with no Dock icon.
To be fair about what you give up: Let's Switch is much newer than Contexts, it needs macOS 14 Sonoma or later, and it's not open source. There's no sidebar. And it only switches between windows on your current Space. If you used Contexts' sidebar to reach windows on other desktops, Let's Switch won't do that, and AltTab, below, will.
The other options, honestly
Witch is the one to pick if Contexts' depth was the point. Many Tricks has kept it going for years. Version 4.7 costs $14, or $8 to upgrade. It runs on macOS 10.13 or later, so it'll cover an older Mac that Let's Switch can't. It has a search field that thins the list as you type, it can switch browser tabs as well as windows, and you can run several differently configured switchers at once. The trade is a long preferences window to work through.
AltTab is the free, open-source answer, and the only one here that matches the sidebar's reach. Its switcher shows minimized and hidden windows, and windows on other Spaces with a badge saying where they are. Type-to-search is part of its optional paid Pro. It has live thumbnails and a lot of settings. We weigh it up properly in our AltTab alternative post, and against the Dock-hover approach in DockDoor vs AltTab.
rcmd and Manico are worth a look if Fast Search was your favourite part. Both give each app a letter: you hold a key and press the letter, and there's no list or box at all. That's even quicker than typing two characters, but it jumps to apps, not to a particular window inside one.
For the full field, including the ones we've left out here, see our roundup of Cmd-Tab alternatives.
Moving off Contexts without losing a day
- Notice what you actually press. Spend a day watching yourself. If it's mostly ⌘Tab-then-Tab, you need a window switcher. If it's mostly ⌃Space and typing, you need a search palette. Most people find they barely touched the sidebar.
- Free the shortcuts. Contexts claims ⌘Tab and ⌃Space. Quit it and remove it from your login items before testing a replacement, or two apps will fight over the same keys. More on that in Mac shortcut conflicts.
- Grant Accessibility to the new app. Every window switcher needs it to see and raise windows. Let's Switch also asks for Screen Recording, but only to draw thumbnails. Skip it and you get names and icons instead.
- Give it three days. Muscle memory for a switcher takes a little while to rebuild. Judge it on day three, not in the first ten minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Is Contexts discontinued? The developer hasn't said so publicly. But the latest version is still 3.9.0 from August 2022, its site lists support only up to Sequoia, and AlternativeTo now marks it as discontinued.
Does Contexts work on macOS Tahoe or macOS 27? Its site doesn't list either. It may still run, but with no updates there's no fix coming if a macOS release breaks it.
Is there a free Contexts alternative? Yes. AltTab is free and open source, and the Let's Switch switcher (⌥⇥ with live previews, plus ⌥` for the windows of one app) is free permanently. Type-to-search is a paid extra in both.
Which alternative can reach windows on other Spaces? AltTab. Let's Switch and the built-in ⌘Tab stay on your current Space. Our Spaces guide covers how to work with that.