How to make use of Raycast and the way it compares to Spotlight and Alfred

Most Mac customers discover Spotlight, Apple’s built-in instrument for looking out by way of apps and information, to swimsuit their wants simply advantageous. But energy customers who need to have close to complete management over their pc (in addition to entry to shortcuts and instruments) have usually appeared for different alternate options. Lately, an app known as Raycast has been gaining consideration as a kind of choices, competing with one of many group’s long-standing favorites, Alfred.

After making an attempt out Raycast for a number of weeks, I’ve discovered it to be extraordinarily helpful. Here are some suggestions if you wish to attempt it out for your self.

Getting began

When you first open Raycast after downloading it from the company’s website, it’ll stroll you thru a quick overview, which prompts you to assign it a keyboard shortcut. The default is Option-Space, although it does provide directions on how you can use Command-Space as an alternative, which is the default shortcut to carry up Spotlight.

After you make it by way of the setup display, you’ll be greeted with Raycast’s essential display: a search bar with a number of options on what you are able to do. Start typing, and people options are changed by no matter purposes and instructions Raycast finds in your system.

Out of the field, Raycast can do quite a bit simply by itself. It does, in fact, do the fundamentals: launches apps through keyboard shortcuts, provides you solutions to simple arithmetic questions, searches information (although, not like Spotlight, Raycast doesn’t routinely lump the information it finds in together with your purposes — it’s important to inform it particularly that you simply need to seek for a file).

Here’s how you are able to do a number of the fundamentals in Raycast:

• To seek for an app: kind the app’s identify and press enter to launch it.
• To do primary math calculations: kind them in as you’d usually, e.g., “365/50” or “square root of 25.” Pressing enter copies the outcome.
• To search the net: kind in your question, and spotlight the Search Google choice. Pressing enter will open it in your browser.
• To seek for a file: kind in File Search and press enter. Then kind within the identify of the file you’re searching for.

While that’ll get you up and operating with Raycast, let’s check out a number of the cool options that make it price stepping into.

Searching, changing, and extra

If you kind one thing like “12PM EST to PST,” “1LB to KG,” or “20 BTC to USD” into Spotlight or a default set up of Alfred, it’ll immediate you to look Google for the reply. Raycast does the conversion for you with out having to ship you to a browser.

Speeding up search

In my expertise, Raycast is about as quick as Spotlight and in addition provides you extra management. If Apple’s search instrument lists the factor you’re searching for because the second outcome, it’s important to use the arrow keys or mouse to pick out it, shifting your fingers away from the house row. With Raycast, whenever you’re taking a look at your search outcomes, you possibly can maintain down the command key, and it’ll listing numbers alongside the facet of every outcome. Then simply press the quantity that corresponds with the outcome you need, and it’ll open. (Alfred has a really related system.)

Taking motion

Pressing Command+Okay in Raycast unlocks an entire host of different actions you possibly can take with a search outcome, every with a corresponding keyboard shortcut. For instance, if I discover the file I’m searching for, I can use Raycast’s motion menu to do issues like present it in Finder, copy it, and even present a listing of the opposite information in the identical folder. While the variety of actions within the menu will be overwhelming, there’s a “search for action” bar within the decrease right-hand nook of the Raycast window that will help you discover the one you need. (You can completely ignore that bar if you need — I used Raycast for a couple of week earlier than I remembered it even existed.)

Managing Results

The complexity of the app’s normal search bar is tough to flee. Using Raycast for the primary time will be overwhelming due to simply what number of issues it affords to do for you. Apple’s Mail app stands out as the first outcome it exhibits you whenever you search “Mail,” however beneath it are options: “Do you want to search for this using Google? DuckDuckGo? Your contacts book?” You may get unfamiliar outcomes in case you’re coming from Spotlight — along with your purposes, Raycast additionally surfaces system settings like a darkish mode toggle, System Preferences panes, and different controls.

You can handle which instructions pop up beneath each search and even which of them can be found in any respect. However, I’d counsel making an attempt them out for some time earlier than you do as a result of it’s these instructions and Raycast’s retailer (from which you’ll be able to set up new ones) that basically make Raycast shine. However, in case you do need to flip issues off, right here’s how:

• Open Raycast and sort in Extensions. The first choice ought to learn Extensions Raycast Preferences. Select that.
• To make it so an choice by no means exhibits up in search, uncheck the Enabled field subsequent to it.
• The choices with a > to the left imply it’s a class. Click on that to see all the person instructions within the class. You can uncheck complete classes — like System, which comprises instructions like Show Desktop or Empty Trash — or particular person instructions.
• You may also make it so particular apps don’t present up by increasing the Applications group and unchecking particular apps.

To handle which choices present up beneath each search, kind Manage Fallback Commands within the search field and hit enter. Selecting objects within the Enabled part and urgent enter will make it in order that they don’t present up, and choosing objects within the Available part and urgent enter will make them seem.

Use Raycast’s built-in instruments to handle your apps

Typing Window into Raycast provides you an entire host of instructions that allow you to handle the form and measurement of the app you’re at the moment utilizing. You can maximize it, set it to cowl the left half of the display, make it smaller, and extra. There’s additionally a built-in notes app for jotting down fast ideas right into a floating window. There’s even a command constructed into Raycast that makes a bathe of confetti seem in your display.

If you delve into Raycast’s retailer (which you’ll be able to entry just by typing Store into the search subject), you could find community-built extensions that allow you to handle music playback, translate textual content with Google Translate, or begin a Zoom assembly. While most of the extensions are geared in direction of programmers — understandably, since these are the sort of people that write extensions — there are many instruments that almost all of pc customers may discover useful. One of my colleagues makes use of it to repeat two-factor authentication codes from Authy.

Adding your individual instructions

You may also add customized performance to Raycast your self with out having to develop a whole extension for it through the use of Quicklinks and Script Commands. Quicklinks are comparatively simple: they allow you to take what you’ve typed into Raycast and seek for it on the internet. For instance, I’ve a fast search arrange that lets me kind in “verge [insert search query here]” to get outcomes from our catalog of articles. I even have one which lets me search YouTube. Script Commands are extra highly effective, letting you write out your individual mini packages and units of actions in a wide range of languages (comparable to Bash, Apple Script, Python, and Node.js).

The means of including a Quicklink will rely upon what website you’re making an attempt to look, and there are some fascinating further issues you are able to do with parameters. I like to recommend digging into Raycast’s Quicklinks documentation for more information on how you can add one. Script Commands are much more complicated to arrange, as they require some familiarity with scripting (because the identify would counsel). If you’re snug with that type of factor, although, you possibly can read Raycast’s documentation on making Script Commands to get began.

Managing keyboard shortcuts

If you actually like exhibiting off or shaving milliseconds off every search, you possibly can assign keyboard shortcuts to just about any command in Raycast. I’ve an extension that lets me search Apple Maps, and whereas I may kind “Maps,” press enter, then kind my question, I’ve set it so I can simply press Command+M to immediately be delivered to the Map search subject.

One massive factor to notice with the keyboard shortcuts, that are utterly customizable, is that they’re common — they’re energetic even whenever you haven’t particularly activated Raycast. For some functions, that’s helpful; you might assign keyboard shortcuts to Raycast’s window administration instruments and never even must open it to modify an app to full display. However, it may be annoying if you wish to keep away from having complicated keyboard shortcuts. I attempted setting my Verge search to Command+V and shortly found that I used to be not capable of paste in any app. So watch out what mixture you choose.

To assign a keyboard shortcut to a command:

• Search Raycast for Extensions to open the Raycast preferences window.
• Find the command or app you need to have a shortcut to (there’s a search subject within the prime left if you wish to minimize down on the scrolling).
• Click the Record Hotkey button subsequent to it, and press the keyboard shortcut you need to use.

You can delete a keyboard shortcut by hovering over the hotkey subject and clicking the X that comes up.

More enjoyable with Raycast

While I’ve hit on quite a lot of Raycast’s main options, it does really feel like I discover a new factor I can do with it each different day. I not too long ago found that it’ll warn me of upcoming calendar occasions that will have slipped my thoughts (utilizing the Command-Okay shortcut, I can dismiss this notification). I additionally came upon that it lets me flip my cursor right into a lightsaber that performs the swooshing sounds as I transfer my mouse round till I toggle the function once more by typing lightsaber.

How does Raycast examine to Alfred and Spotlight?

While Raycast is brimming with enjoyable options, at its core, it does the identical job as Alfred. Raycast seems to be and feels extra fashionable and comes out of the field completely loaded with options, all without cost (there are plans for a paid Teams model that may allow you to share snippets and scripts). Alfred has quite a lot of the identical options, however provided that you purchase the Powerpack, which prices 34 British kilos (round $41 at time of writing). In addition, whereas Alfred wins in terms of the benefit with which you’ll be able to create customizable actions, which it calls Workflows, once more, these are one in every of Alfred’s paid options.

It’s additionally price noting that within the subsequent model of macOS, Spotlight may even be capable to run Shortcuts and is getting an entire host of enhancements as effectively. If you’re searching for the best choice, that may virtually definitely be it.

If you’re an Alfred energy person who’s utilizing a paid-for model and you’ve got your workflows and settings completely dialed in, I genuinely don’t suppose it is advisable rush to modify to Raycast until there’s some completely must-have function that you simply’ve seen. But in case you’re utilizing the free model of Alfred or wish to improve from Spotlight for the primary time, Raycast actually seems like the most suitable choice as of late.

To be completely sincere, I had tried Raycast a couple of yr in the past however bounced off it largely because of its complexity. But after committing to studying it (a course of that took simply an hour or two of actually digging into it), I can’t think about going again to Alfred.