⌥1–9
How to open apps with a keyboard shortcut on Mac
The Dock and Spotlight are fine, until you open the same apps fifty times a day. With FavSlots, each of your nine favorites has its own shortcut: press ⌥ and its number, and it’s in front of you.
On the Mac App Store · macOS 14 or later · No permissions needed
Weekend plans
Give an app a shortcut
Get FavSlots.
Download it from the Mac App Store and open it. The short welcome shows you the gesture.
Fill a slot.
Click slot 1 and pick an app, or drag an app onto it from Finder. Slot 1 is ⌥1, slot 2 is ⌥2, and so on.
Unlock FavSlots.
A one-time purchase turns on your shortcuts. You can set everything up before buying.
Press the shortcut.
From any app, press ⌥ and the slot’s number. The app comes forward, or opens.
Why it’s quicker
- One key combination, always the same app: it becomes muscle memory.
- Apps that aren’t running are opened; running ones come forward.
- It works from any app, even in full screen.
- No searching, no clicking, nothing to aim at.
Keyboard shortcuts
- ⌥1–9
- Switch to a favorite, or open it
- ⌥
- Hold to see your favorites
- ⌘Space
- Spotlight, for everything else
Free or unlocked?
The shortcuts and the overlay are turned on by Unlock FavSlots, a one-time purchase with no subscription. You can set everything up first.
Questions and answers
Can I open any app, not just Apple’s?
Yes. Any Mac app can go in a slot, including apps outside the Applications folder: choose Other… in the app picker, or drag the app in from Finder.
What happens if the app is already in front?
Nothing. FavSlots switches between apps, not windows, so pressing the shortcut of the app you’re in leaves everything as it is.
Does it need Accessibility permission?
No. FavSlots uses the system’s own shortcut registration and asks for no permissions at all.
More guides
Switch apps on your Mac with Option + number
Switch between your apps with ⌥1 to ⌥9, and what happens in every case. Read the guide ⌥See your favorite apps: hold ⌥
Hold ⌥ for a moment to see your favorites, numbered, right above the Dock. Read the guide ⌘←→Choose and arrange your nine favorite apps
Choose your nine apps, drag them into place and drop new ones in from Finder. Read the guide ⌥⌃Change the shortcut: Option, Control-Option or Control
Option, Control-Option or Control: which to use, and how to change it. Read the guide ⌃⌥1FavSlots on British, German, French and other keyboards
On British, German, French and many other layouts, Option + number types characters. Here’s what FavSlots does. Read the guide
Nine apps. Nine keys. Zero friction.
Your favorites. One key away.