Raycast is a productivity tool that acts as a fast, keyboard-driven command center for your Windows or Mac OS. It lets you launch apps, run scripts, control system settings, manage tasks, search files, and interact with third-party services-all without using your mouse.

Raycast's command line inspired user interface goes beyond searching data. List and detail views provide quick access to important information. Forms make it easy to create new content such as Jira issues, and the Action Panel is used to perform actions such as merging a GitHub pull request. We concentrate on providing a fluid UX throughout the app.

Is Raycast available for Windows?

Yes, Raycast is now in public beta for Windows and it includes all the features that make Raycast indispensable. Launch apps instantly, manage windows with keyboard shortcuts, access your Clipboard History, navigate with Quicklinks, expand Snippets as you type, search files across your entire system, and explore lots of extensions.

How does Raycast compare to macOS Spotlight or Alfred?

Compared to Spotlight, it's more customizable and extensible. Versus Alfred, it offers a more modern UI and a built-in store for extensions, though some power users still prefer Alfred for advanced workflows.

How customizable is Raycast?

Raycast is highly customizable. Users can install extensions, create custom scripts, adjust appearance settings, and define hotkeys. Developers can also build their own extensions using JavaScript/React, which has led to a growing ecosystem of community-built tools.

Does Raycast support automation or scripting?

Yes, scripting is one of Raycast's strong points. You can create custom scripts using languages like Bash, Python, or AppleScript, and run them directly from the command palette. It's especially popular among developers and power users looking to automate routine tasks.

Is Raycast free or do I need to pay for it?

Raycast has a free version with most features available to individual users. There's also a Pro subscription that includes things like AI features, cloud sync, and team collaboration tools. For most solo users, the free version is more than enough.

Features

  • Command Palette: Like Spotlight, but faster and more powerful.
  • Extensions: Integrations with apps like GitHub, Jira, Notion, and more.
  • Custom Scripts: Run your own shell, Python, or JavaScript scripts.
  • Clipboard Manager: Access your clipboard history quickly.
  • Window Management: Snap and resize windows with commands.
  • AI Assistant: Includes built-in GPT-powered AI features (Raycast Pro).
  • Team Features: Share scripts and extensions across teams.
  • Free for personal use

Raycast can be extended to tailor the experience even further with Script Commands and custom extensions which can be built with our flexible API. You can share all that within teams or communities.

What's New

Introducing Hyperkey: it turns a single key into a powerful shortcut modifier, so you can trigger unique shortcuts easily. Hyperkey lets you remap a key like Caps Lock to act as Ctrl+Alt+Win pressed all at once. You can also include Shift in the combo for even more options.

Choose your trigger key from Caps Lock, any modifier key, or F1-F12 in Settings → "Keyboard & Shortcuts" → "Hyper Key" and then record a hotkey with it. Hyperkey shortcuts appear in the UI with the ✦ symbol, making them easy to spot and remember.

New

  • AI: We switched to GPT-5.4 Mini as the free model during the Raycast Beta
  • Hyperkey: Hyperkey support is now available on Windows
  • Applications: Added a recursive search option for portable apps

Improvements

  • General: "Send Feedback" tray command now opens the feedback window directly
  • General: Less aggressive game mode detection heuristics to reduce false positives
  • General: Improved "paste and keep window open" reliability

Fixes

  • General: Fixed pasting to non-root windows in apps like Global Mapper
  • General: Fixed a potential crash on startup related to WebView2 initialization
  • General: Fixed a crash during backend initialization when system info is unavailable
  • File Search: Network and removable drive entries should no longer be lost on startup
  • File Search: Exclusion patterns in Settings and ignore files should now handle case-sensitivity correctly
  • Snippets: Fixed an issue causing incorrect snippet matches after changing focus to another application.
  • Snippets: Fixed long snippets being pasted with garbled or missing characters due to incorrect UTF-8 byte truncation.
  • v0.53