{"slug": "raycast", "name": "Raycast", "category": "productivity", "category_name": "Productivity", "description": "Extensible keyboard-driven launcher and Spotlight replacement for macOS with built-in productivity tools.", "recommenders": 11, "commenters": 17, "warners": 3, "score": 8.017, "rising": -0.95, "first": "2025-11-23", "latest": "2026-09-24", "why": "Liked as a Spotlight replacement that reliably selects the highlighted result and for built-in window management shortcuts, clipboard history and other tools that save installing separate apps.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 11, "neutral": 2, "compare": 1, "warn": 3}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 2, 1, 2, 0, 3, 1, 0, 2, 0], "listed": true, "loved": ["Window management", "Spotlight replacement"], "caveat": "AI direction", "short_quote": "I love Raycast. I would probably be called a \"power user\"", "icon": true, "domain": "raycast.com", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.raycast.com", "pricing": "freemium", "aliases": ["Raycast"], "verdict": [{"text": "Liked as a Spotlight replacement that reliably selects the highlighted result", "cites": [{"id": 795294752, "item_id": 49705922, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49705922", "by": "josephg", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Check out Raycast / Alfred.", "excerpt": "I got so annoyed at this recently I turned off spotlight entirely and replaced it with 3rd party software. I couldn\u2019t be happier with my choice. Check out Raycast / Alfred.", "context": "", "use_case": "app launcher and search", "switched_from": "Spotlight", "story": "iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27"}, {"id": 795237744, "item_id": 49702359, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49702359", "by": "tensor", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Raycast now and it's 1000x better simply because it actually selects the highlighted thing.", "excerpt": "MacOS 26 forced me to give up spotlight for Raycast. It would do this thing where new delayed results would steal highlight focus so hitting the enter button to select something from the list became a lottery. Would you select the thing you see or would something else replace it in the time you press the button. I use Raycast now and it's 1000x better simply because it actually selects the highlighted thing.", "context": "", "use_case": "app launcher", "switched_from": "Spotlight", "story": "iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27"}]}, {"text": " and for built-in window management shortcuts, clipboard history and other tools that save installing separate apps.", "cites": [{"id": 778569073, "item_id": 48660567, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48660567", "by": "slipwalker", "date": "2026-06-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "raycast ( keyboard shortcuts for clipboard manager, basic window management, pomodoro tracking and app launch )", "excerpt": "homebrew ( indispensable ! all the other apps below are installed/managed via homebrew ): - raycast ( keyboard shortcuts for clipboard manager, basic window management, pomodoro tracking and app launch ) - stats - ice ( menubar manager ) - theBoringNotch ( to have some use for the annoying notch ) - mole ( storage cleaner ) - wezterm - textmate - iina - zen browser ( with uBlock origin and betterfox settings )", "context": "", "use_case": "launcher, clipboard, windows", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 778344736, "item_id": 48646546, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48646546", "by": "swah", "date": "2026-06-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Raycast (also does window management, dictation)", "excerpt": "Raycast (also does window management, dictation), Chrome, Ghostty, Karabiner..", "context": "", "use_case": "window management, dictation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 752013888, "item_id": 47000868, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47000868", "by": "imprisonedmind", "date": "2026-02-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is a perfect example of why I use raycast & their window management shortcuts", "excerpt": "This is a perfect example of why I use raycast & their window management shortcuts: alm - Almost Maximise window tf - Toggle Full-screen lh - Left Half rh - Right Half https://www.raycast.com/core-features/window-management", "context": "", "use_case": "window management on macOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Resizing windows on macOS Tahoe \u2013 the saga continues"}, {"id": 778605952, "item_id": 48662872, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48662872", "by": "slipwalker", "date": "2026-06-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "raycast suffices, and it is one less app to install", "excerpt": "for my needs, raycast suffices, and it is one less app to install.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 762095041, "item_id": 47630940, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47630940", "by": "ValentineC", "date": "2026-04-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Raycast has a built-in uninstaller as well.", "excerpt": "I use AppCleaner: https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/ Raycast has a built-in uninstaller as well.", "context": "", "use_case": "uninstall Mac apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Samsung Magician disk utility takes 18 steps and two reboots to uninstall"}]}, {"text": " The main complaints are the v2 release's turn toward paid AI features", "cites": [{"id": 797346208, "item_id": 49834138, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49834138", "by": "azuanrb", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "warn", "quote": "", "excerpt": "The AI features arrived with the recent v2 release. Raycast originally became popular as a better Spotlight replacement. As you can see, the idea was never entirely original, since Apple and other apps already offered many of the same features. Raycast\u2019s strengths are its extensibility, lightweight design, speed, and excellent UI/UX. It\u2019s a well-polished app. That was Raycast v1, though. I don\u2019t like the direction th", "context": "", "use_case": "launcher", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop"}, {"id": 740354658, "item_id": 46272166, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46272166", "by": "k9294", "date": "2025-12-15", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I realized I was spending around \u20ac35/mo (\u20ac420 a year) on two apps for AI features that cost just pennies to run.", "excerpt": "Working on https://ottex.ai/ - BYOK alternative to Wispr Flow and Raycast AI shortcuts. I love global voice-to-text transcription (especially when working with Claude Code or Cursor) and simple AI shortcuts like \"Fix Grammar\" and \"Translate to {Language}\". I realized I was spending around \u20ac35/mo (\u20ac420 a year) on two apps for AI features that cost just pennies to run. So I built Ottex - a native macOS app with a tiny ", "context": "", "use_case": "AI shortcuts", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (December 2025)"}]}, {"text": " and its proprietary, VC-backed model.", "cites": [{"id": 756446816, "item_id": 47277926, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47277926", "by": "jFriedensreich", "date": "2026-03-06", "stance": "warn", "quote": "There is no reality in which I or anyone in my community would use something like eg. raycast or the saas email clients", "excerpt": "Non-permissive licenses, open core and proprietary software will just not survive. There is no reality in which I or anyone in my community would use something like eg. raycast or the saas email clients that someone locks down and does rent extraction and top down decisions on. The experience of being able to change anything about the software i use with a prompt while using it is impossible to come back from to all ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "AI and the Ship of Theseus"}, {"id": 755984240, "item_id": 47249015, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47249015", "by": "dcchambers", "date": "2026-03-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Raycast. I would probably be called a \"power user\"", "excerpt": "I love Raycast. I would probably be called a \"power user\" - I use it all day long and have a fairly sophisticated and customized configuration and set of workflows. Raycast is actually one of the primary things keeping me on MacOS these days (please release a Linux version!). I am worried this is the start of them trying to diversify their product offering because revenue has stalled in the core Raycast product and V", "context": "power user, all-day user", "use_case": "launcher and workflows", "switched_from": "", "story": "Glaze by Raycast"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Window management", "summary": "Built-in window management with global shortcuts replaces a separate window manager.", "quotes": [{"id": 752013888, "item_id": 47000868, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47000868", "by": "imprisonedmind", "date": "2026-02-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is a perfect example of why I use raycast & their window management shortcuts", "excerpt": "This is a perfect example of why I use raycast & their window management shortcuts: alm - Almost Maximise window tf - Toggle Full-screen lh - Left Half rh - Right Half https://www.raycast.com/core-features/window-management", "context": "", "use_case": "window management on macOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Resizing windows on macOS Tahoe \u2013 the saga continues"}, {"id": 763449664, "item_id": 47715604, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47715604", "by": "modernerd", "date": "2026-04-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Raycast for this (with global shortcuts from Raycast settings)", "excerpt": "Nice, I use Raycast for this (with global shortcuts from Raycast settings): https://www.raycast.com/core-features/window-management", "context": "", "use_case": "window management on macOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Native Instant Space Switching on macOS"}, {"id": 778344736, "item_id": 48646546, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48646546", "by": "swah", "date": "2026-06-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Raycast (also does window management, dictation)", "excerpt": "Raycast (also does window management, dictation), Chrome, Ghostty, Karabiner..", "context": "", "use_case": "window management, dictation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}]}, {"label": "Spotlight replacement", "summary": "Users who left Spotlight say Raycast launches apps and selects the highlighted result reliably.", "quotes": [{"id": 795237744, "item_id": 49702359, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49702359", "by": "tensor", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Raycast now and it's 1000x better simply because it actually selects the highlighted thing.", "excerpt": "MacOS 26 forced me to give up spotlight for Raycast. It would do this thing where new delayed results would steal highlight focus so hitting the enter button to select something from the list became a lottery. Would you select the thing you see or would something else replace it in the time you press the button. I use Raycast now and it's 1000x better simply because it actually selects the highlighted thing.", "context": "", "use_case": "app launcher", "switched_from": "Spotlight", "story": "iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27"}, {"id": 795294752, "item_id": 49705922, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49705922", "by": "josephg", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Check out Raycast / Alfred.", "excerpt": "I got so annoyed at this recently I turned off spotlight entirely and replaced it with 3rd party software. I couldn\u2019t be happier with my choice. Check out Raycast / Alfred.", "context": "", "use_case": "app launcher and search", "switched_from": "Spotlight", "story": "iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27"}, {"id": 778319394, "item_id": 48644962, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48644962", "by": "djfdat", "date": "2026-06-23", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "So I returned to Raycast and set shortcuts to launch apps", "excerpt": "There's a bunch of other apps in this space. Previously I was using LeaderKey: https://github.com/mikker/LeaderKey - Free, open source, no longer being actively developed. The Dev for LeaderKey evolved that into Tuna: https://tunaformac.com/pro - One-time $49 for Pro, Free in Beta - Has a bunch of new features and is activly developed I stopped using LeaderKey because it wasn't going to receive continued support. I s", "context": "", "use_case": "app launching shortcuts", "switched_from": "Tuna", "story": "Show HN: KeyGhost \u2013 Keyboard app launcher for macOS"}]}, {"label": "All-in-one tools", "summary": "Includes a clipboard manager, pomodoro timer, dictation and an uninstaller, so fewer apps are needed.", "quotes": [{"id": 778569073, "item_id": 48660567, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48660567", "by": "slipwalker", "date": "2026-06-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "raycast ( keyboard shortcuts for clipboard manager, basic window management, pomodoro tracking and app launch )", "excerpt": "homebrew ( indispensable ! all the other apps below are installed/managed via homebrew ): - raycast ( keyboard shortcuts for clipboard manager, basic window management, pomodoro tracking and app launch ) - stats - ice ( menubar manager ) - theBoringNotch ( to have some use for the annoying notch ) - mole ( storage cleaner ) - wezterm - textmate - iina - zen browser ( with uBlock origin and betterfox settings )", "context": "", "use_case": "launcher, clipboard, windows", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 762095041, "item_id": 47630940, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47630940", "by": "ValentineC", "date": "2026-04-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Raycast has a built-in uninstaller as well.", "excerpt": "I use AppCleaner: https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/ Raycast has a built-in uninstaller as well.", "context": "", "use_case": "uninstall Mac apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Samsung Magician disk utility takes 18 steps and two reboots to uninstall"}, {"id": 778605952, "item_id": 48662872, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48662872", "by": "slipwalker", "date": "2026-06-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "raycast suffices, and it is one less app to install", "excerpt": "for my needs, raycast suffices, and it is one less app to install.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}]}, {"label": "Fits the workflow", "summary": "Power users say it becomes part of how they use the Mac once configured.", "quotes": [{"id": 781944032, "item_id": 48871502, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48871502", "by": "adamtaylor_13", "date": "2026-07-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Raycast is a great, recent example for me.", "excerpt": "Look, I'm sorry to be that guy. But if you're struggling to bulk edit text in vim, you're definitely holding it wrong. And emacs isn't even in the same category of tools, though I understand why one might think it is. My retraction aside, I agree that the BEST software is the one you never really think about. Raycast is a great, recent example for me. Or perhaps Keyboard Maestro. It takes some fiddling to get set up,", "context": "Mac user", "use_case": "Mac launcher/workflow", "switched_from": "", "story": "Good Tools Are Invisible"}, {"id": 755984240, "item_id": 47249015, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47249015", "by": "dcchambers", "date": "2026-03-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Raycast. I would probably be called a \"power user\"", "excerpt": "I love Raycast. I would probably be called a \"power user\" - I use it all day long and have a fairly sophisticated and customized configuration and set of workflows. Raycast is actually one of the primary things keeping me on MacOS these days (please release a Linux version!). I am worried this is the start of them trying to diversify their product offering because revenue has stalled in the core Raycast product and V", "context": "power user, all-day user", "use_case": "launcher and workflows", "switched_from": "", "story": "Glaze by Raycast"}]}, {"label": "Polish and speed", "summary": "Praised for extensibility, a lightweight design, speed and a polished UI.", "quotes": [{"id": 797346208, "item_id": 49834138, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49834138", "by": "azuanrb", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "warn", "quote": "", "excerpt": "The AI features arrived with the recent v2 release. Raycast originally became popular as a better Spotlight replacement. As you can see, the idea was never entirely original, since Apple and other apps already offered many of the same features. Raycast\u2019s strengths are its extensibility, lightweight design, speed, and excellent UI/UX. It\u2019s a well-polished app. That was Raycast v1, though. I don\u2019t like the direction th", "context": "", "use_case": "launcher", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "AI direction", "summary": "One user uninstalled it over the v2 AI direction, and another found paying for its AI features costly.", "quotes": [{"id": 797346208, "item_id": 49834138, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49834138", "by": "azuanrb", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "warn", "quote": "", "excerpt": "The AI features arrived with the recent v2 release. Raycast originally became popular as a better Spotlight replacement. As you can see, the idea was never entirely original, since Apple and other apps already offered many of the same features. Raycast\u2019s strengths are its extensibility, lightweight design, speed, and excellent UI/UX. It\u2019s a well-polished app. That was Raycast v1, though. I don\u2019t like the direction th", "context": "", "use_case": "launcher", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop"}, {"id": 740354658, "item_id": 46272166, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46272166", "by": "k9294", "date": "2025-12-15", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I realized I was spending around \u20ac35/mo (\u20ac420 a year) on two apps for AI features that cost just pennies to run.", "excerpt": "Working on https://ottex.ai/ - BYOK alternative to Wispr Flow and Raycast AI shortcuts. I love global voice-to-text transcription (especially when working with Claude Code or Cursor) and simple AI shortcuts like \"Fix Grammar\" and \"Translate to {Language}\". I realized I was spending around \u20ac35/mo (\u20ac420 a year) on two apps for AI features that cost just pennies to run. So I built Ottex - a native macOS app with a tiny ", "context": "", "use_case": "AI shortcuts", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (December 2025)"}]}, {"label": "Proprietary software", "summary": "Some object to closed, VC-backed software and worry about its business direction.", "quotes": [{"id": 756446816, "item_id": 47277926, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47277926", "by": "jFriedensreich", "date": "2026-03-06", "stance": "warn", "quote": "There is no reality in which I or anyone in my community would use something like eg. raycast or the saas email clients", "excerpt": "Non-permissive licenses, open core and proprietary software will just not survive. There is no reality in which I or anyone in my community would use something like eg. raycast or the saas email clients that someone locks down and does rent extraction and top down decisions on. The experience of being able to change anything about the software i use with a prompt while using it is impossible to come back from to all ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "AI and the Ship of Theseus"}, {"id": 755984240, "item_id": 47249015, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47249015", "by": "dcchambers", "date": "2026-03-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Raycast. I would probably be called a \"power user\"", "excerpt": "I love Raycast. I would probably be called a \"power user\" - I use it all day long and have a fairly sophisticated and customized configuration and set of workflows. Raycast is actually one of the primary things keeping me on MacOS these days (please release a Linux version!). I am worried this is the start of them trying to diversify their product offering because revenue has stalled in the core Raycast product and V", "context": "power user, all-day user", "use_case": "launcher and workflows", "switched_from": "", "story": "Glaze by Raycast"}]}, {"label": "No Linux version", "summary": "It is macOS-only, and one user wants a Linux release.", "quotes": [{"id": 755984240, "item_id": 47249015, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47249015", "by": "dcchambers", "date": "2026-03-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Raycast. I would probably be called a \"power user\"", "excerpt": "I love Raycast. I would probably be called a \"power user\" - I use it all day long and have a fairly sophisticated and customized configuration and set of workflows. Raycast is actually one of the primary things keeping me on MacOS these days (please release a Linux version!). I am worried this is the start of them trying to diversify their product offering because revenue has stalled in the core Raycast product and V", "context": "power user, all-day user", "use_case": "launcher and workflows", "switched_from": "", "story": "Glaze by Raycast"}]}, {"label": "No nested shortcuts", "summary": "App-launch shortcuts lack the nesting found in LeaderKey or Tuna.", "quotes": [{"id": 778319394, "item_id": 48644962, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48644962", "by": "djfdat", "date": "2026-06-23", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "So I returned to Raycast and set shortcuts to launch apps", "excerpt": "There's a bunch of other apps in this space. Previously I was using LeaderKey: https://github.com/mikker/LeaderKey - Free, open source, no longer being actively developed. The Dev for LeaderKey evolved that into Tuna: https://tunaformac.com/pro - One-time $49 for Pro, Free in Beta - Has a bunch of new features and is activly developed I stopped using LeaderKey because it wasn't going to receive continued support. I s", "context": "", "use_case": "app launching shortcuts", "switched_from": "Tuna", "story": "Show HN: KeyGhost \u2013 Keyboard app launcher for macOS"}]}, {"label": "Alfred overlap", "summary": "Long-time Alfred users see little reason to switch.", "quotes": [{"id": 736405713, "item_id": 46025357, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46025357", "by": "treetalker", "date": "2025-11-23", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I've found it difficult to even give Raycast a try, let alone switch over to it.", "excerpt": "Alfred (https://www.alfredapp.com/) has been an indispensable part of my computing since it debuted. It's excellent. Because of that, I've found it difficult to even give Raycast a try, let alone switch over to it. Perhaps you could offer your best argument to persuade me why it would be worthwhile.", "context": "", "use_case": "macOS launcher", "switched_from": "", "story": "Raycast for Windows"}]}], "who": [{"by": "adamtaylor_13", "context": "Mac user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48871502", "date": "2026-07-11"}, {"by": "beratbozkurt0", "context": "macOS user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48570590", "date": "2026-06-17"}, {"by": "dcchambers", "context": "power user, all-day user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47249015", "date": "2026-03-04"}], "tags": ["for Mac users", "Spotlight replacement", "for keyboard-driven users", "for power users"], "use_cases": ["launcher", "window management on macos", "app launcher and search", "app launcher", "window management", "mac launcher/workflow"], "compared": [{"slug": "spotlight", "name": "Spotlight", "co": 4, "switched_from": 2, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "gpt-sol", "name": "GPT Sol", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 2}, {"slug": "vicinae", "name": "Vicinae", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "tuna", "name": "Tuna", "co": 1, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "alfred", "name": "Alfred", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48643848", "title": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?", "mentions": 3}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49701004", "title": "iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49825642", "title": "Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49374830", "title": "item 49374830", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48858121", "title": "Good Tools Are Invisible", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48628270", "title": "Show HN: KeyGhost \u2013 Keyboard app launcher for macOS", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"compare": 1}, "2025-12": {"warn": 1}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-03": {"recommend": 1, "warn": 1}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 2}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 3, "neutral": 1}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-08": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 2, "warn": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 797346208, "item_id": 49834138, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49834138", "by": "azuanrb", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "warn", "quote": "", "excerpt": "The AI features arrived with the recent v2 release. Raycast originally became popular as a better Spotlight replacement. As you can see, the idea was never entirely original, since Apple and other apps already offered many of the same features. Raycast\u2019s strengths are its extensibility, lightweight design, speed, and excellent UI/UX. It\u2019s a well-polished app. That was Raycast v1, though. I don\u2019t like the direction th", "context": "", "use_case": "launcher", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop"}, {"id": 795294752, "item_id": 49705922, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49705922", "by": "josephg", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Check out Raycast / Alfred.", "excerpt": "I got so annoyed at this recently I turned off spotlight entirely and replaced it with 3rd party software. I couldn\u2019t be happier with my choice. Check out Raycast / Alfred.", "context": "", "use_case": "app launcher and search", "switched_from": "Spotlight", "story": "iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27"}, {"id": 795237744, "item_id": 49702359, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49702359", "by": "tensor", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Raycast now and it's 1000x better simply because it actually selects the highlighted thing.", "excerpt": "MacOS 26 forced me to give up spotlight for Raycast. It would do this thing where new delayed results would steal highlight focus so hitting the enter button to select something from the list became a lottery. Would you select the thing you see or would something else replace it in the time you press the button. I use Raycast now and it's 1000x better simply because it actually selects the highlighted thing.", "context": "", "use_case": "app launcher", "switched_from": "Spotlight", "story": "iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and macOS 27"}, {"id": 790166368, "item_id": 49385398, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49385398", "by": "marcogarces", "date": "2026-08-21", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I'm currently just using Raycast WM capacity together with InstantSpaceSwitcher.", "excerpt": "looks very interesting, might give it a try. I'm currently just using Raycast WM capacity together with InstantSpaceSwitcher. For me it's always how hard it is to memorise yet another keyboard shortcut (i have a lot of them); but i'll take a look", "context": "", "use_case": "window management", "switched_from": "", "story": null}, {"id": 781944032, "item_id": 48871502, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48871502", "by": "adamtaylor_13", "date": "2026-07-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Raycast is a great, recent example for me.", "excerpt": "Look, I'm sorry to be that guy. But if you're struggling to bulk edit text in vim, you're definitely holding it wrong. And emacs isn't even in the same category of tools, though I understand why one might think it is. My retraction aside, I agree that the BEST software is the one you never really think about. Raycast is a great, recent example for me. Or perhaps Keyboard Maestro. It takes some fiddling to get set up,", "context": "Mac user", "use_case": "Mac launcher/workflow", "switched_from": "", "story": "Good Tools Are Invisible"}, {"id": 778605952, "item_id": 48662872, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48662872", "by": "slipwalker", "date": "2026-06-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "raycast suffices, and it is one less app to install", "excerpt": "for my needs, raycast suffices, and it is one less app to install.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 778569073, "item_id": 48660567, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48660567", "by": "slipwalker", "date": "2026-06-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "raycast ( keyboard shortcuts for clipboard manager, basic window management, pomodoro tracking and app launch )", "excerpt": "homebrew ( indispensable ! all the other apps below are installed/managed via homebrew ): - raycast ( keyboard shortcuts for clipboard manager, basic window management, pomodoro tracking and app launch ) - stats - ice ( menubar manager ) - theBoringNotch ( to have some use for the annoying notch ) - mole ( storage cleaner ) - wezterm - textmate - iina - zen browser ( with uBlock origin and betterfox settings )", "context": "", "use_case": "launcher, clipboard, windows", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 778344736, "item_id": 48646546, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48646546", "by": "swah", "date": "2026-06-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Raycast (also does window management, dictation)", "excerpt": "Raycast (also does window management, dictation), Chrome, Ghostty, Karabiner..", "context": "", "use_case": "window management, dictation", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser?"}, {"id": 778319394, "item_id": 48644962, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48644962", "by": "djfdat", "date": "2026-06-23", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "So I returned to Raycast and set shortcuts to launch apps", "excerpt": "There's a bunch of other apps in this space. Previously I was using LeaderKey: https://github.com/mikker/LeaderKey - Free, open source, no longer being actively developed. The Dev for LeaderKey evolved that into Tuna: https://tunaformac.com/pro - One-time $49 for Pro, Free in Beta - Has a bunch of new features and is activly developed I stopped using LeaderKey because it wasn't going to receive continued support. I s", "context": "", "use_case": "app launching shortcuts", "switched_from": "Tuna", "story": "Show HN: KeyGhost \u2013 Keyboard app launcher for macOS"}, {"id": 777129440, "item_id": 48570590, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48570590", "by": "beratbozkurt0", "date": "2026-06-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Raycast on macOS for easier use", "excerpt": "Actually, I use Raycast on macOS for easier use; it would be great if you could add this as a plugin there.", "context": "macOS user", "use_case": "launcher / tool access", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: I built 184 free browser tools \u2013 PDF, image, dev, AI tasks, no upload"}, {"id": 763449664, "item_id": 47715604, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47715604", "by": "modernerd", "date": "2026-04-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use Raycast for this (with global shortcuts from Raycast settings)", "excerpt": "Nice, I use Raycast for this (with global shortcuts from Raycast settings): https://www.raycast.com/core-features/window-management", "context": "", "use_case": "window management on macOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Native Instant Space Switching on macOS"}, {"id": 762095041, "item_id": 47630940, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47630940", "by": "ValentineC", "date": "2026-04-03", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Raycast has a built-in uninstaller as well.", "excerpt": "I use AppCleaner: https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/ Raycast has a built-in uninstaller as well.", "context": "", "use_case": "uninstall Mac apps", "switched_from": "", "story": "Samsung Magician disk utility takes 18 steps and two reboots to uninstall"}, {"id": 756446816, "item_id": 47277926, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47277926", "by": "jFriedensreich", "date": "2026-03-06", "stance": "warn", "quote": "There is no reality in which I or anyone in my community would use something like eg. raycast or the saas email clients", "excerpt": "Non-permissive licenses, open core and proprietary software will just not survive. There is no reality in which I or anyone in my community would use something like eg. raycast or the saas email clients that someone locks down and does rent extraction and top down decisions on. The experience of being able to change anything about the software i use with a prompt while using it is impossible to come back from to all ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "AI and the Ship of Theseus"}, {"id": 755984240, "item_id": 47249015, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47249015", "by": "dcchambers", "date": "2026-03-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love Raycast. I would probably be called a \"power user\"", "excerpt": "I love Raycast. I would probably be called a \"power user\" - I use it all day long and have a fairly sophisticated and customized configuration and set of workflows. Raycast is actually one of the primary things keeping me on MacOS these days (please release a Linux version!). I am worried this is the start of them trying to diversify their product offering because revenue has stalled in the core Raycast product and V", "context": "power user, all-day user", "use_case": "launcher and workflows", "switched_from": "", "story": "Glaze by Raycast"}, {"id": 753224882, "item_id": 47076555, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47076555", "by": "surrTurr", "date": "2026-02-19", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "raycast", "excerpt": "Obsidian + cupertino skin, photomator (macOS), raycast, zettel (iOS) also check out https://www.spottedinprod.com if you're looking for some nice iOS apps", "context": "", "use_case": "launcher", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are the nicest apps you use day to day?"}, {"id": 752013888, "item_id": 47000868, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47000868", "by": "imprisonedmind", "date": "2026-02-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is a perfect example of why I use raycast & their window management shortcuts", "excerpt": "This is a perfect example of why I use raycast & their window management shortcuts: alm - Almost Maximise window tf - Toggle Full-screen lh - Left Half rh - Right Half https://www.raycast.com/core-features/window-management", "context": "", "use_case": "window management on macOS", "switched_from": "", "story": "Resizing windows on macOS Tahoe \u2013 the saga continues"}, {"id": 740354658, "item_id": 46272166, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46272166", "by": "k9294", "date": "2025-12-15", "stance": "warn", "quote": "I realized I was spending around \u20ac35/mo (\u20ac420 a year) on two apps for AI features that cost just pennies to run.", "excerpt": "Working on https://ottex.ai/ - BYOK alternative to Wispr Flow and Raycast AI shortcuts. I love global voice-to-text transcription (especially when working with Claude Code or Cursor) and simple AI shortcuts like \"Fix Grammar\" and \"Translate to {Language}\". I realized I was spending around \u20ac35/mo (\u20ac420 a year) on two apps for AI features that cost just pennies to run. So I built Ottex - a native macOS app with a tiny ", "context": "", "use_case": "AI shortcuts", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (December 2025)"}, {"id": 736405713, "item_id": 46025357, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46025357", "by": "treetalker", "date": "2025-11-23", "stance": "compare", "quote": "I've found it difficult to even give Raycast a try, let alone switch over to it.", "excerpt": "Alfred (https://www.alfredapp.com/) has been an indispensable part of my computing since it debuted. It's excellent. Because of that, I've found it difficult to even give Raycast a try, let alone switch over to it. Perhaps you could offer your best argument to persuade me why it would be worthwhile.", "context": "", "use_case": "macOS launcher", "switched_from": "", "story": "Raycast for Windows"}]}