Your Mac, one keystroke away. A fast, native launcher for opening apps, finding files, and quitting processes.

Download for Mac View on GitHub

Requires macOS 27 or later · Apple silicon

One box. Three things you do a hundred times a day.

saf Safari

Open apps

Type a few letters or the initials of an app and press Return. Frequently used apps rank higher.

f cv.pdf cv.pdf

Find files

Pick File Search under any query, or go straight to files with f or a leading slash.

kill slack Quit Slack

Quit processes

Type kill and a name. Return quits the process, ⌥Return force-quits it.

Quick to learn. Nothing to configure before it’s useful.

  • Fuzzy by design

    Match apps by name, the start of a word, or initials. “sysset” finds System Settings, “vsc” finds Visual Studio Code.

  • Learns what you use

    Apps you open often rise to the top, so the first result is usually the right one.

  • File search that keeps up

    Switch to file mode for a fast index of your disk, with query syntax like ext:pdf powered by fsearch.

  • Your shortcut

    ⌘Space by default. Record any other shortcut in Settings, and have Launch start when you log in.

  • Keyboard first

    ↩ to open, ⌘↩ to reveal in Finder, ⌥↩ for the alternate action shown in the footer.

  • Stays on your Mac

    Apps, files and processes are indexed and searched locally, inside the app.

Set up in a minute. Two settings, then it’s yours.

  1. 1

    Free up ⌘Space

    Turn off Spotlight’s shortcut in System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Spotlight, or record another shortcut in Launch.

  2. 2

    Allow file search

    Grant Full Disk Access so Launch can index protected folders like Desktop and Documents, then reopen it.

  3. 3

    Press, type, return

    Open Launch from anywhere with your shortcut. Start typing.

Questions, answers.

Do I have to turn off Spotlight?
Only its ⌘Space shortcut, if you want Launch to use it. Otherwise record a different shortcut in Launch’s settings and keep both.
Why does Launch ask for Full Disk Access?
Without it, protected folders such as Desktop and Documents are skipped by file search. Grant it in Privacy & Security, then quit and reopen Launch.
Why aren’t Pictures, Movies, Music and Library searched?
macOS asks for permission every time an app opens those folders (Photos, Media & Apple Music), and Full Disk Access doesn’t cover that. Launch leaves them out of the index.
Why isn’t Launch sandboxed?
It indexes the whole disk and signals other processes so it can quit them. Neither is possible from inside the App Sandbox. The source is public if you want to check what it does.
Which Macs does it run on?
Apple silicon Macs running macOS 27 or later.
Where do I get the code?
On GitHub. File search is built on fsearch.

Press ⌘Space. Type. Return.

Download for Mac View on GitHub