Use Case · Window & Tab Switching
Jump directly to open windows and tabs on Mac.
Never squint through 40 open browser tabs or search through desktop spaces again. Search the title of what you were reading and jump straight to it.
Natural Language Query Example
“the terminal where flutter failed”
Application:Terminal.appWindow Title Hint:flutter runContext:Exit code 1 (failed)
The Traditional Friction
Tab bankruptcy and multi-space window sprawl
Modern power users have dozens of browser tabs open across Arc, Safari, and Chrome, plus multiple Terminal windows running build scripts, servers, and logs across macOS spaces.
macOS has no native tool to search the title of an open tab or window and immediately bring it to front focus without clicking Mission Control and manually scanning thumbnails.
The SearchOnMac Advantage
Zero-latency Accessibility window indexing
- Title & Tab Awareness: Queries open window titles and browser tabs via Apple's standard Accessibility API with zero screen scraping.
- Cross-Space Window Focusing: Hitting ↵ automatically changes macOS virtual desktops (Spaces) and raises the target window to the top.
- 100% Optional Permission: If you decline Accessibility permission, SearchOnMac functions normally for files and apps; only window jumping is disabled.
Search Like A Human
Sample queries that just work
“the terminal where flutter failed”
Context: User ran a flutter test in a background terminal that threw an exception.
Focuses the exact Terminal tab showing the red exit trace.
“the browser window with Firebase docs”
Context: User has a documentation tab open somewhere across 3 browser windows.
Switches directly to Arc/Chrome and displays the Firebase authentication guide.
“pull request review in chrome”
Context: User was inspecting a GitHub PR before answering a Slack message.
Raises the GitHub PR tab to front and center.
Spotlight vs. SearchOnMac
Why memory-based search changes how you work on your Mac.
| Capability | macOS Spotlight | SearchOnMac for Mac |
|---|---|---|
| Search open browser tab titles | Cannot search open browser tabs or window titles | Indexes open tabs in Arc, Safari, Chrome, and Brave |
| Search background terminal sessions | Cannot search inside terminal window titles | Matches running commands, paths, and exit statuses |
| Multi-space navigation | Does not jump between macOS Spaces for specific tabs | Smoothly switches Spaces and raises the active window |
| Privacy footprint | Monitors screen and Siri data continuously | Reads window titles only; never captures screen pixels or audio |
Experience the difference on your Mac
Searches run on your Mac. For macOS 14 or later, on Apple Silicon and Intel.