Download
Download Panehop
One universal build, signed with a Developer ID and notarised by Apple. The trial starts when you first launch it — no account, no card.
- Version
- v1.0
- Requirements
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later
- Architecture
- Universal
First launch
Three steps, about a minute.
- 01
Open the disk image and drag Panehop to Applications
Gatekeeper verifies the notarisation ticket on first launch. Panehop lives in the menu bar; it has no Dock icon.
- 02
Grant the Accessibility permission
The onboarding opens the right pane in System Settings for you. Panehop notices the moment you flip the switch. Fast Search asks separately for Input Monitoring the first time you use it — everything else works without it.
- 03
Hold Fn and type two letters
The onboarding ends with a live try. ⌃Space opens the search panel; ⌘Tab is yours to hand over whenever you like.
Requirements
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later
- Apple silicon and Intel (universal binary)
- Accessibility permission only — never Screen Recording
Updates
Panehop checks for updates itself and installs them in place. Every release note lives in the app's update window.
Good to know
Permissions and recovery.
Why does Panehop need the Accessibility permission?
It is how a Mac app reads the list of other apps' windows and their titles, and how it gives one of them keyboard focus. There is no other supported way to do that. It never requests Screen Recording, because it shows icons and titles rather than screenshots. One feature asks for one more thing: Fast Search reads the characters you type while holding its trigger through an event tap, which macOS gates behind the Input Monitoring permission — Panehop asks for it only when you use Fast Search, and everything else works without it.
Panehop quit or crashed and ⌘Tab does nothing. What now?
Launch Panehop again — on every launch it re-asserts the correct state, and its exit paths restore the system shortcut. If you removed the app: System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Keyboard, and enable “Move focus to next window” and the app switcher entries. You are never left without a switcher for longer than a relaunch.
Why isn't Panehop on the Mac App Store?
App Store apps run in a sandbox that cannot read other apps' windows. A window switcher is impossible there, which is why none of them are. Panehop is signed with a Developer ID and notarised by Apple, so Gatekeeper checks it the same way.