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Mission Control Turbo: macOS multitasking turbocharged
1# Mission Control Turbo
2Turbocharge your macOS experience!
3
4Mission Control Turbo is a lightweight macOS application that replaces the built-in Mission Control experience.
5
6## Features
7
8- **Global hotkey** — trigger the overlay from anywhere (default: `⌃↑`)
9- **Live window thumbnails** — captured via ScreenCaptureKit
10- **Keyboard navigation** — arrow keys to move between windows, Return to select, Escape to dismiss
11- **Multi-display support** — overlay appears on every connected screen
12- **Grouped by app** — windows are organized under their app name and icon
13- **Menu bar extra** — access the overlay, settings, and quit from the menu bar
14- **Configurable** — change the hotkey in Settings
15
16## Requirements
17
18- macOS 26 Tahoe
19- Apple Silicon (arm64)
20
21## Permissions
22
23Mission Control Turbo requires two system permissions:
24
25| Permission | Reason |
26| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- |
27| **Accessibility** | Register the global hotkey and activate windows |
28| **Screen Recording** | Capture window thumbnails for the overlay |
29
30You'll be prompted to grant these on first launch. They can also be managed in **System Settings → Privacy & Security**.
31
32> **Tip:** To use the default `⌃↑` hotkey, disable the native Mission Control shortcut in **System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Mission Control**.
33
34## Building
35
36```bash
37./build.sh
38```
39
40The built app bundle will be at `build/MCT.app`.
41
42### Code signing
43
44The build script ad-hoc signs the app by default (using `codesign -s -`). This is sufficient to run locally, but macOS will reset permissions (Accessibility, Screen Recording) every time you rebuild.
45
46To preserve permissions across builds, sign with a self-signed certificate:
47
481. Open **Keychain Access**
492. Go to **Keychain Access > Certificate Assistant > Create a Certificate...**
503. Enter a name (e.g. `Your Name`), set **Certificate Type** to **Code Signing**, click **Create**
514. Create a `.env` file in the project root (git-ignored):
52
53```bash
54echo 'CERT_NAME="Your Name"' > .env
55```
56
57The build script reads `CERT_NAME` from `.env` automatically. When set, the app is signed with your certificate and macOS will remember granted permissions between rebuilds.
58
59## AI disclaimer
60This project was largely developed using Claude Code Opus 4.6 as an experiment in AI-assisted software development.