Option-Tab
for everything.
Hold ⌥, tap a letter, let go.
Your clipboard, windows, recent files, headphones and the right action for what you’ve selected. One gesture, no typing.
Free · macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon
Trip details
Your booking is confirmed.
Check-in from 3 pm.
See you soon.
Weekend in Kyoto
Lands Saturday morning
Ryokan near Gion, two nights
Flight:
Try it here: hold ⌥ and press V, Tab or S.
Tap to try
Hold. Tap. Let go.
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⌥Hold⌥, or any key you choose.
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⌥VTapA letter opens a wheel. Tap again to move.
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Let goIt runs. Esc backs out.
Meticulously designed wheels.
Nothing to set up. Each one fills with what you’re doing right now.
Clipboard
Everything you copied. Paste anywhere.
Windows
Every window, even minimized.
Context
The right actions for your selection.
System Toggles
Dark Mode, Wi-Fi, Night Shift…
Latest
Your latest screenshot, download and copy.
Recent Files
Screenshots, downloads and files you just saved.
Favorite Apps
Eight apps in spots that never move.
App Commands
The front app’s commands in fixed spots.
Browser Tabs
Every tab, in every browser.
Audio
Speakers, headphones, microphones.
Bluetooth
Connect or disconnect paired devices.
Input Sources
English, Pinyin, 日本語 and more.
Meetings
Your next meetings. Let go to join.
An adaptive clipboard.
The same copies, in the order the place you paste into wants.
Drag to an edge.
Start dragging a file and the screen edges become places to drop it. Grab the screenshot and try.
Drag the file to an edge, or focus it and press Enter, then use the arrow keys.
⌥Z Universal Undo.
The window you switched to, the paste, the headphones. Undone.
Select. ⌥ Space. Done.
The right actions for what you’ve selected, and the result lands right where it was.
Free.
- Updates itself
- Signed with Developer ID, notarized by Apple
- Everything stays on your Mac
- Every Apple silicon Mac, macOS 14+
Questions
Which Macs does it run on?
Macs with Apple silicon on macOS 14 Sonoma or later. That’s every Apple silicon Mac, from the 2020 M1 models on.
Why does it need Accessibility permission?
macOS requires it for any app that reacts to a held key, pastes for you or switches windows. Optional never records what you type. Screen Recording, Calendar and Automation are optional and only asked for when a wheel needs them.
How is this different from Raycast or Spotlight?
Those start with a search box: you open them, type a name, pick. Optional starts with your hand already on the key and never takes focus from your app, so it can paste where you are, act on what you’ve selected, keep every app’s commands in fixed spots and undo what it just did. Use both; they don’t overlap much in practice.
What if I already use Left Option?
Pick another trigger in Settings: Right Option, Right Command, Right Control, Left Control or Fn. Letters that aren’t assigned to a wheel still reach your app, and Option with another modifier (⌥⌘…) is left to the app too.
Is there a Mac App Store version?
No. Optional is downloaded from this site, signed with Developer ID and notarized by Apple, and it updates itself.
