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Core Features

Applications

Every app on your computer is only a few keystrokes away. Start typing a name in Root Search and Raycast finds the app before you've finished typing. Opening apps is just the start, though. From the Action Panel you can quit, restart, or hide an app, reveal it on disk, copy its path, or uninstall it, all without leaving the keyboard or digging through folders.

Actions

Select an app in Root Search and open the Action Panel to see everything you can do with it. Some actions are only available on macOS or Windows, and these are marked below.

Open

  • Open Application: Launch the app, or bring it to the front if it's already running.
  • New Application Window Ctrl↵: Open a new window of the app, even if it's already running.
  • Open Recent Files… CtrlO: Pick from the files you recently opened in the app.
  • Run as Administrator CtrlShift↵: Launch the app with elevated permissions.
  • Run as Different User AltShift↵: Launch the app under another Windows account. Windows asks for that account's credentials first.

Show and Copy

  • Show in Finder / Show in File Explorer ⌘↵ / CtrlAlt↵: Reveal the app on disk.
  • Show Info in Finder ⇧⌘I: Open the app's Get Info window.
  • Show Package Contents ⌥⌘I: Open the app bundle's Contents folder.
  • Show Advanced Options CtrlShiftI: Open Installed apps in Windows Settings.
  • Copy Path ⌥⌘C / CtrlAltC and Copy Name ⌃⌘C / AltShiftC.
  • Copy Bundle Identifier ⇧⌘C: Copy the app's bundle ID, for example com.apple.Safari.

Manage

  • Hide Application ⇧⌘H / CtrlShiftH: Hide the app's windows.
  • Quit Application ⌃⇧Q / CtrlQ and Force Quit Application ⌃⌥⇧Q / CtrlShiftQ.
  • Restart Application ⌘R / CtrlR: Quit the app and open it again.
  • Enable Auto Quit / Disable Auto Quit: Let Auto Quit close the app automatically after you stop using it.
  • Treat as Game: List the app with your games.
  • Uninstall Application: Remove the app from your computer. Microsoft Store apps are removed straight away. For other apps, Raycast opens Installed apps in Windows Settings so you can uninstall from there.

Commands

  • Uninstall Applications: Browse all your apps and uninstall the ones you no longer need.
  • Manage Auto Quits: Jump to the Auto Quit settings.

Settings

Open Settings → Applications to change how Raycast finds and launches your apps. Toggle the switch in the top right to turn Applications on or off.

Auto Quit

Open Auto Quit to choose which apps Raycast closes shortly after you stop using them, and how long it waits. The Auto Quit page covers this in more detail.

Hotkey Action

Choose what happens when you press an app's hotkey:

  • Toggle Visibility: Bring the app to the front, or hide it if it's already in front. On Windows, the app is minimised instead. This is the default.
  • Always Show: Always bring the app to the front.

Search Scopes

The folders Raycast searches for apps. Use the + button to add folders, so apps stored outside the standard locations show up too, and the − button to remove a folder you added. Some of the standard folders can also be turned off with − and turned back on with +.

Deep Search

Turn on Deep Search to look up to three levels deep inside the folders you add, for apps kept in nested subfolders.

Per-App Configuration

Below the settings, every installed app is listed so you can configure it inline:

  • Add Alias: Give the app a custom name to type, for example "music" for Spotify.
  • Record Hotkey: Assign a global keyboard shortcut to launch or toggle the app.
  • Checkbox: Untick an app to disable it, so it no longer appears in Root Search.
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