DockDoor - Free Alt+Tab and Dock Preview Window Switcher for Mac

My notes

Summary

DockDoor is a free, open-source macOS menu bar app that brings Windows-style dock hover previews and enhanced Alt+Tab window switching to Mac. It fills a long-standing macOS gap - hovering a dock icon now shows live previews of all windows for that app, with keyboard control, gestures, and per-window close/minimize buttons. Runs locally with zero telemetry.

Key Insight

• Fills a real macOS gap: native Command+Tab switches apps but not windows; Mission Control is visual but slow. DockDoor gives dock-hover live previews like Windows 11 taskbar.
• Alt+Tab (Option+Tab) as dedicated window switcher: separate from Cmd+Tab, with thumbnail previews and keyboard navigation (Tab/Shift/arrows).
• Power-user gestures nobody advertises:
  • Cmd + Right Click on dock icon = instant quit; Cmd + Opt + Right Click = force quit (no Activity Monitor needed).
  • Middle-click any preview = close that window without switching focus.
  • Scroll up on dock icon = bring to front; scroll down = hide all windows.
  • Two-finger swipe on preview = minimize/maximize.
  • Shake a preview = minimize/close all other windows (expose one-window focus mode).
• Drag-and-drop between apps from dock previews - drop a file onto a preview to open in that specific window.
• Widgets on hover: Spotify/Apple Music with synced lyrics; Calendar icon hover shows day’s events.
• Privacy stance is aggressive: no analytics, no crash reports, no network calls at all. Debug logs stay local.
• Funded by donations only: one solo developer, no subscription, no ads. ~$3 tier exists.
• Requires macOS 13 Ventura+, runs native on Apple Silicon and Intel.
• Warning: sketchy re-uploads exist on third-party sites with potential malware. Only use dockdoor.net or the official GitHub.