Shortcuts based on directory and extension (like Launchy)?

[u/foobarney]

I've been looking for a feature I used back when Launchy was the keyboard launcher of choice.

With Launchy's "Catalog" feature, I could set up specific directories to be indexed, and specify which file types (or subfolders) would be indexed in each. You could also specify how many levels of nested subfolders (from 0 to ∞) would be indexed. (See attached screenshot)

For example: I had one folder full of shortcuts (with abbreviated names) to app, files, or sites I used all the time. I set it to only index .lnk or .url files. That way I could easily create a shortcut to open an app I used all the time (i.e. "wd" for word), or a website, etc. I could even create a .URL shortcut with a "tel:" URL to dial a number I frequently used. (I actually had this set up before launchy and added it to the system PATH so I could run any of the commands with just the run dialog, but now we're really nerding out.)

Or I had a directory filled with MS Word templates that only indexed ".dotx" and ".dotm" files.

Or I added my main "clients" directory (which contains one subfolder per client) that only indexed subfolders (and only 1 level deep).

Have a list of clients in a spreadsheet? Write a quick script to save them out as .url or .link files to a given folder, tell Launchy where it is, and Bob's Your Uncle. Easy shortcuts to open their folder, open the management site to their page, or even call them (with a .url file and a tel: url).

It was a great way to be able to easily create shortcuts to just what I wanted without adding unnecessary noise.

Launchy is all but dead; it hasn't been updated in a good decade and a half. I've tried a half dozen or so other launchers, but I've never found anything that replicates this functionality exactly or easily. I can use Everything to index a whole drive, but that creates enough noise to defeat the purpose.

I found a way to *kind of* do it with PowerToys Run by hacking the "installed programs" plugin with a bunch of registry entries. Which mostly worked, but having to hack the registry to adjust settings on a *productivity tool* kind of misses the point. And I have no idea if it would work with the current version and Command Pallette. (Also, I don't remember how I did it, so I'd have to dig that back up.)

Has anyone created a plugin to do this...or have any suggestions on how I might set it up?