| Raycast | |
| Logo Alt: | Raycast App Icon |
| Logo Caption: | Raycast App Icon |
| Screenshot Alt: | Raycast root search with Calendar Event, dark theme |
| Developer: | Raycast Technologies Ltd |
| Released: | 2020 |
| Genre: | Application launcher (utility software) |
| License: | Proprietary |
| Latest Release Version: | v1.81.2 |
| Latest Release Date: | [1] |
| Operating System: | macOS |
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 and the option to install extensions, providing additional ways to display varied content.[3]
Activated with a keyboard shortcut, 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]
Raycast comes with many built-in features that can have a shortcut or an alias assigned, most notably:
While Raycast itself is a closed-source application, it includes a built-in store that offers open-source extensions to extend its functionality.[7] 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,[8] language translation through Google Translate, accessing browser bookmarks, connecting to Jira, and more.[9] [10]