Nine apps. Nine keys. Press ⌥1 to ⌥9 to switch to a favorite app, or open it if it isn’t running. Hold ⌥ for a moment to see them all.
On the Mac App Store · macOS 14 or later · No permissions needed
Press ⌥1. Safari comes forward. No Dock, no searching.Not running? It opens. ⌥8 launches Music and brings it to the front.Hold ⌥ for a reminder. Your favorites appear. Press 2 and Mail lifts and comes forward.Or click. Your favorites are in the menu bar too, with their shortcuts.
How it works
Set it up once. After that, your favorite apps are always a single shortcut away.
Click a slot and pick an app, or drag apps in from Finder. Each slot’s number is its shortcut.
⌥1 switches to your first favorite, or opens it if it isn’t running. From any app, at any time.
Hold Option for a moment and your favorites appear in a small overlay, right above the Dock.
Features
FavSlots does one thing, and does it the way your Mac would.
The overlay
Hold the modifier for a moment and your favorites appear above the Dock, numbered. Press a number and that card lifts while the app comes forward. A quick ⌥1 never shows it at all.
Read the guideThe Favorites window
Click a slot to choose an app, drag a card onto another slot to swap them, or drop an app from Finder. Empty slots wait quietly with their number.
Read the guideEvery app, every time
If the app is open, it comes forward with its windows. If it isn’t, FavSlots opens it. If it’s already in front, nothing changes.
Read the guideThe menu bar
Click the grid icon in the menu bar to see your favorites with their shortcuts, edit them, or open Settings.
Read the guideRunning apps come forward, Dock-click style. Apps that aren’t running are opened.
Numbers are permanent places. Moving one app never changes the other shortcuts.
Option, Control-Option or Control. FavSlots picks one that keeps every character on your keyboard.
Compact, Default or Large overlay, light or dark, with or without app names.
Your favorites and their shortcuts, one click away. Hide the icon if you prefer.
No polling, no timers: 0.0 % CPU and no wake-ups until you press a shortcut.
Design
Glass that comes into focus while you hold ⌥ and is gone the moment you let go. The chosen app lifts; the others step back. Made for your version of macOS, in light and dark.
Accessibility
Every slot speaks to VoiceOver as “Slot 1, Safari, Option 1”. Everything works from the keyboard, and the chosen app stands out by size and depth, never by color alone.
Keyboard
Number keys work by position, so they’re the same on every keyboard layout.
Privacy
FavSlots never sees what you type and asks for no special permissions. No accounts, no tracking, no network.
No Accessibility, Input Monitoring or Screen Recording access. No prompt, ever.
Only your nine shortcuts reach FavSlots. While you hold ⌥ it knows which modifiers are down, nothing more.
FavSlots has no network access at all: no analytics, no ads, no account.
It never records which apps you open, when or how often.
App Store privacy label: Data Not Collected. Read the privacy policy
Price
Download FavSlots and arrange your favorites for free. One purchase turns on your shortcuts and the overlay, for good.
Download and set up
One-time purchase
Set everything up first, then unlock whenever you’re ready.
Unlock FavSlots is a one-time In-App Purchase on the Mac App Store. Until then, ⌥1–⌥9 keep their usual meaning in other apps.
Guides
FAQ
FavSlots is free to download and set up: choose and arrange your favorites and every setting. A one-time purchase, Unlock FavSlots, turns on the shortcuts and the overlay. There’s no subscription.
No. FavSlots asks for no permissions at all. It never sees what you type: only your nine shortcuts reach it, and while you hold the modifier it only knows which modifier keys are down.
On keyboard layouts where Option + a number types a character you need, such as # on a British keyboard, FavSlots starts with Control-Option so you keep it. You can choose Option, Control-Option or Control in Settings.
FavSlots opens it and brings it to the front. If it’s running, it comes forward; if it’s hidden or minimized, it’s shown.
Virtually none. With no timers or polling, FavSlots uses 0.0 % CPU and no wake-ups while idle, and wakes only when you press a shortcut or hold the modifier.
Yes, in Settings. To get back to FavSlots, just open it again from Applications: the Favorites window appears.
Any Mac with macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon or Intel.
Yes. Every slot is announced with its app and shortcut, and moves and changes are announced as they happen.
Your favorites. One key away.
On the Mac App Store · macOS 14 or later · No permissions needed