Software:Raycast

From HandWiki
Short description: Application launcher and productivity application for macOS
Raycast
Raycast App Icon
Raycast App Icon
Developer(s)Raycast Technologies Ltd
Initial release2020
Stable release
v1.66.0 / 24 January 2024; 5 months ago (2024-01-24)[1]
Operating systemmacOS
TypeApplication launcher (utility software)
LicenseProprietary
Websiteraycast.com

Raycast is an application launcher and productivity software developed for macOS by Raycast Technologies Ltd. It offers fast access to applications, dictionaries, files, text snippets, clipboard, and more.[2] Raycast is an alternative to the macOS's built-in Spotlight function, with a richer interface providing additional ways to display varied content.[3]

Features

Interface

Activated with a keyboard shortcut, Alt + Space by default but can be changed, Raycast displays a window at the center of the screen, awaiting the user's input and displaying a list of suggested apps.[4]

Using an incremental search as the user types, Raycast predicts the action the user intends to perform and displays the corresponding result.[5] The application outputs the data in different formats such as lists and grids with a single or two-pane layout, supporting various data types like text with Markdown, media, and additional input fields. Each result might have more than one action available.[6]

Built-in Functions

Raycast comes with many built-in features that can have a shortcut or an alias assigned, most notably:


Extensibility

While Raycast itself is a closed-source application, it includes a built-in store that offers open-source extensions to extend its functionality.[10] The API is open for developers and simple scripts could be written without extensive programming knowledge.

Some noteworthy extensions include managing GitHub repositories, controlling Spotify,[11] language translation through Google Translate, accessing browser bookmarks, connecting to Jira, and more.[citation needed]

See also

  • Comparison of application launchers

References

  1. "Raycast Changelog". Raycast Technologies. https://www.raycast.com/changelog. Retrieved 9 January 2024. 
  2. Collins, Barry. "Raycast: The Free App That Every Mac Owner Should Install Now" (in en). https://www.forbes.com/sites/barrycollins/2022/12/03/raycast-the-free-app-that-every-mac-owner-should-install-now/. 
  3. Pot, Justin. "Raycast Is the Launcher App Apple Wishes It Made" (in en-US). Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/story/raycast-app-launcher-productivity-tool/. 
  4. Clark, Mitchell (2022-06-24). "How to use Raycast and how it compares to Spotlight and Alfred" (in en). https://www.theverge.com/23170431/raycast-how-to-macos-search-extensions-alfred-spotlight. 
  5. Birchler, Matt (2022-11-10). "Raycast for Mac. The Next-generation Alfred?" (in en). https://thesweetsetup.com/raycast-for-mac-the-next-generation-alfred/. 
  6. Ashwin (2022-07-20). "Raycast for macOS gets a new UI, Action Bar and Compact Mode - gHacks Tech News" (in en-US). https://www.ghacks.net/2022/07/20/raycast-for-macos-gets-a-new-ui-action-bar-and-compact-mode/. 
  7. Pathak, Khamosh (2021-07-06). "How to Disable Spotlight Search on Mac (and Replace It With Something Better)" (in en). https://lifehacker.com/how-to-disable-spotlight-search-on-mac-and-replace-it-1847227585. 
  8. Lawrence, Lizzy. "Replace Apple’s Spotlight: Productivity tool Raycast uses hotkeys - Protocol" (in en). https://www.protocol.com/workplace/raycast-productivity-hotkey-startup. 
  9. Roth, Emma (2023-05-11). "Raycast’s new Pro subscription adds AI and syncing features" (in en). https://www.theverge.com/2023/5/11/23719737/raycast-pro-subscription-ai-syncing-clipboard-features-mac. 
  10. Malik, Aisha (2021-11-30). "Developer productivity tools startup Raycast raises $15M from Accel and Coatue" (in en-US). https://techcrunch.com/2021/11/30/developer-productivity-tools-startup-raycast-raises-15m-from-accel-and-coatue/. 
  11. Newman, Jared (2022-03-14). "This new breed of unified search apps does what Google doesn’t". Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/90730932/best-unified-search-apps.