Spotlight is described as 'The system-wide desktop search feature built into Apple's OS X operating system since version 10.4 (Tiger). Backed by an index of all items and files on the system, it's designed to allow the user to quickly locate a wide variety of items on the computer' and is a application launcher in the file management category. There are more than 100 alternatives to Spotlight for a variety of platforms, including Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone and iPad apps. The best Spotlight alternative is Everything, which is free. Other great apps like Spotlight are Flow Launcher, Vicinae, Raycast and Alfred.
QuickKeyLauncher is a lightweight and fast Windows launcher that lets you open files, folders, and applications instantly using customizable keyboard shortcuts. It provides a simple grid-based interface where you can assign up to 40 items and launch them without navigating...
Semantic desktop search finds files, emails, and photos by meaning, running AI models locally on Windows. Supports 70+ file types, OCR image search, 50+ languages, instant document previews, AI chat, duplicate detection, and encrypted, private indexing.
Rofi started as clone of simpleswitcher, written by Sean Pringle a popup window switcher roughly based on superswitcher. Simpleswitcher laid the foundations and therefor Sean Pringle deserves most of the credit for this tool.
Seek, peek, and preview to find your work instantly — even if it's buried in folders, or you've lost track of it over the months.
If you ever liked tools like Raycast and Alfred, but wanted to own them and tweak them yourself, then SOL is the tool for you. All the affordances of complex tools now made open source.
Enables rapid file search by name or content, intuitive keyboard navigation, integrated file actions, direct Finder window and tab management, instant results, saved recent searches, data privacy with no tracking, and Apple Notarized safety for secure macOS use.
Indexes and quickly searches over 170 file types and emails, including attachments and multimedia files, on desktops, external and network drives, as well as cloud environments, offering sub-second results and a 75,000 file index size limit in the free version.
Lightweight native macOS launcher offering fuzzy search, app pinning, visible running apps, inline calculation and conversion, searchable clipboard history for text and images, per-app custom hotkeys, no telemetry, minimal resource use, and open-source simplicity.
Designed for beginners and professionals alike, Monarch is a command center that makes it easier than ever to switch apps, run calculations, search clipboard history, take notes and more with only a single hotkey. No complicated setup or configuration required.
Mage, originally a Raycast clone, is a lightweight and fast app launcher for Windows, built with Electron, Vite, and Vue 3. It features custom applications, live activities, a modern UI and a batteries-included SDK for developers.
Floating macOS keyboard enables app and shortcut binding to any key, features customizable trigger key, theme and animation options, live previews for show and hide effects, quick access to automation workflows, single-tap AI tool launching, and Dock-free app launch.
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Quite comfortable to use if you install KDE's Plasma.