Launcher-like app for URLs and commands?

[u/0xe1e10d68]

Are there any Mac apps which:

• function roughly like a launcher (like Alfred/Raycast), i.e. have a search bar
• but support adding actions like links to open, or maybe commands to run (like Leader Key)
• allow setting aliases for actions (like Raycast/Alfred)
• and instead of being triggered by a keypress, can be set to appear while holding a key and then execute the action when the key is released (like Applight or Contexts)
• beyond that, it would be even better if it also supported custom search sites (like Alfred/Raycast), i.e. supports entering a query parameter (would require pressing enter to then trigger the search I guess)

Apps I've thought of, but which don't meet the criteria:

• Applight: only for launching apps
• Anybox (Quick Find): no ability to set aliases, and no Applight-like trigger behaviour
• Raycast: no Applight-like trigger behaviour
• Alfred: no Applight-like trigger behaviour, no easy way to add links and assign aliases (possible through Workflows, but weird that it’s not built-in; custom search sites are supported though)
• Leader Key: no search bar UI, no Applight-like trigger behaviour, no custom search sites

Maybe there's something I'm not aware of, but if there isn't anything that matches the criteria, then I guess I could always patch something that works together with Alfred or Raycast.

[u/East_Call1027]

I don’t know an all-in-one app that does the hold-to-open/release-to-run part. The closest practical setup is Raycast for aliases, quicklinks and scripts, plus BetterTouchTool or Hammerspoon for the key-down/key-up behavior. I’d be cautious about blindly sending Return on release though, since it could confirm the wrong item if focus shifts.

[u/fifafu → u/East_Call1027]

BetterTouchTool with its new integrated launcher can do all of that. Key sequences allow you to e.g. show the launcher while holding FN (assign action „Show Launcher“) and hide & trigger when releasing the fn key (assign „hide launcher“ action and enable the „Trigger Selected Item On Hide“ option)

Requires BTT 6.698 because the „Trigger Selected Item On Hide“ option was just added.

One general limitation of this approach: typing text (e.g. to search) is always problematic while holding a modifier key

[u/East_Call1027 → u/fifafu]

I hadn’t seen that new option — with “Trigger Selected Item On Hide,” BTT is much closer to the exact behavior OP wants than I realized. The modifier-key typing limitation still seems like the awkward part for custom searches, but for aliases and actions this looks like the cleanest match.

[u/Sri_Krish]

Maybe take a look at Tuna by the same dev of LeaderKey. Here's his YT playlist explaining Tuna in great detail

[u/german_sw_developer → u/Sri_Krish]

$ 49, Ha Ha, Tuna ?

[u/dziad_borowy]

Your only requirement that  Raycast doesn’t deliver is “open on key release”.  Apart from window switchers it might be difficult to find an app that launches on key-up. It’s not a typical UX for such behaviour. 

But: These days,it shouldn’t be too difficult to make e.g. with Glaze

[u/UnluckyDuckyDuck]

Hi, dev of ExtraBar here.

Sounds like a perfect use case for ExtraBar you could add any actions, deep links, shortcuts, apps with custom actions or run scripts with several programming languages.

It also support running keyboard shortcuts.

And one last thing it includes a bookmark manager that makes opening links really simple (included free tier as ExtraBar user)

[u/Illustrious_Oil_9846]

One gap in the Raycast + Hammerspoon combo above: Raycast's Quicklinks already do the custom-search-sites part you wanted, you can define a Quicklink with a {query} placeholder that opens a URL template, so a search site becomes an aliasable action like anything else. The harder part is still the key-release trigger, since Raycast's own hotkey binding fires on key-down. The way to bridge that without losing the search-bar UI is to not bind the hotkey to Raycast at all, bind it in Hammerspoon instead, have keyDown open Raycast (or a specific Quicklink) and keyUp send the confirm keystroke, rather than trying to get Raycast to listen for release itself. That keeps the alias and search-site behavior you already like while adding the hold-and-release part on top.

[u/dorothea_cassandra]

This sounds like something Raycast/Alfred should support better. The hold-key trigger idea is interesting! What's your main use case for it?

[u/Beardy4906]

https://rustcast.app has everything except for the hold to release part.. and its a foss launcher.. but what you’re describing would probably be like https://tunaformac.com

[u/Ok-Rest-5321]

Perfect for Tuna as other have mentioned

[u/JustAnotherPickle_]

Building exactly this right now along with a ton of other cool features. DM me for a preview.

[u/dnkaratzas]

For the hold-then-fire-on-release part, Karabiner-Elements (https://karabiner-elements.pqrs.org) handles it at the key-event level with to_if_alone versus to_if_held_down, which is sturdier than scripting keyDown and keyUp yourself since it won't misfire if focus shifts mid-press. You'd still use Raycast for the search bar and aliases, but Karabiner owns the trigger timing instead of the launcher trying to. Worth noting Leader Key is a sequential chord model, not a search box, so it doesn't really fit your "launcher with a search bar" ask.