The answer, worked out
Desktop · macOS · 2026-06-15
A conversation about treating TDPv4 pages as first-class Mac apps — each flippable with ⌘-Tab, each with its own icon. Every row pairs the verbatim exchange with the worked-out answer it produced.
TDPv4 is Ted's own productivity system — a tool he's building for himself to capture and organize his work. The v4 means it's the fourth iteration of the idea. Its “pages” are the boards and views inside that system, and this conversation is about making those pages feel like native Mac apps you can ⌘-Tab between.
I'd love to be able to Command-Tab through the pages of TDPv4 as if they were apps running on my Mac. Is there any way that this could literally be possible? What I mean is, I'd specify pages from TDPv4 and each of those pages would be represented by an icon when I Command-Tab. I could definitely do this by creating an SSB for each of these pages. But I'm wondering if there's a clever way.
Hold ⌘ · tap ⇥ to walk the row — five pages, five icons
Yes — literally possible, and you don't need to hand-build an SSB per page.
The thing that decides Command-Tab is a hard rule: one app = one icon. The switcher is keyed on running applications, not windows. So to get N distinct icons you do need N "apps" in the OS's eyes — but an "app" can be incredibly lightweight. The cleverness is in how you mint those N apps.
Three real routes, lightest-effort first:
The governing rule
One app = one icon
macOS's ⌘-Tab switcher is keyed on running applications, not windows or tabs. To get N distinct icons you need N "apps" — but an "app" can be feather-light. The cleverness is in how you mint them, not in whether it's possible.
a) Chrome/Edge "Install as app" (zero code, ~30 sec each)
In Chrome on a TDPv4 page: ⋮ → Cast/Save/Share → "Install page as app" (or "Create Shortcut → Open as window"). Each becomes a standalone .app in ~/Applications/Chrome Apps/ with the page's own icon and its own Command-Tab entry — but they all share the running Chrome engine, so it's far lighter than N Pake/Electron SSBs. This is basically the SSB idea, native to the browser, with shared guts.
On a TDPv4 page: ⋮ → Cast, Save & Share → Install page as app. Each becomes a standalone app with the page's own icon and its own ⌘-Tab entry — all sharing the running Chrome engine, so far lighter than five Pake/Electron wrappers.
Wins
Distinct icons, no build, shared engine.
Catch
Lives under Chrome Apps; tied to Chrome.
b) One tiny WKWebView wrapper, stamped N times (scripted, most control)
I write a single ~150-line Swift wrapper using the system WebKit, then a generator: mkapp "INF Boards" https://tdpv4... icon.png. Each output is its own bundle (unique bundle-id + icon, distinct Command-Tab entry) but they share one binary and macOS's built-in WebKit — much leaner than Chromium-based SSBs. Fully yours, no browser dependency. This is the "clever minimal" version of what you were already considering.
One ~150-line Swift app over the system WebKit, plus a generator: mkapp "My Page" https://… icon.png. Each output is its own bundle (unique id + icon, own ⌘-Tab entry) sharing one binary and macOS's built-in WebKit — leaner than anything Chromium-based, fully yours.
Wins
Own it, scriptable, leanest, real custom icons.
Catch
It's code you maintain (tiny, but yours).
c) Don't make apps at all — switch by window (AltTab)
If you don't truly need a distinct icon per page, install AltTab (free), bind it to ⌘-Tab, and open each page as its own window (or even tab). It switches by window with titles + live thumbnails. One app, N entries, zero bundles to build. Downside: all entries share the same app icon — they're distinguished by title/thumbnail, not icon.
Install AltTab (free), bind it to ⌘-Tab, open each page as its own window. It switches by window — titles + live thumbnails — so one app yields N entries. Sidesteps the rule entirely.
Wins
Nothing to build; thumbnails + titles.
Catch
Same app icon on every entry.
So the real fork is: do you need a unique icon per page (→ a or b), or just fast page-to-page switching (→ c)?
The fork
Need a unique icon per page?
Go a (two minutes) or b (own it, leanest).
Just want fast switching?
Go c — AltTab over windows. No bundles.
My pick for you: (a) to try the feel in two minutes, and if you want it owned/lightweight/scriptable, I'll build (b). Which way do you want to go?
My pick for you
Try (a) for the feel in two minutes. Want it owned, lightweight, and scriptable? Say the word and I'll build (b) — the mkapp generator that stamps out one tiny page-app per TDPv4 view.