Show HN: A Raycast-compatible launcher for Linux

Raycast for Linux An open-source, Raycast-inspired launcher for Linux. For more background on this project, I have a post here. Disclaimer: This is a hobby project and is not affiliated with, nor endorsed by, the official Raycast team. ✨ Features This launcher aims to recreate most of Raycast's core features on Linux: Extensible Command Palette : The core of the application. Search for and launch applications, run commands, execute quicklinks, and more. : The core of the application. Search for and launch applications, run commands, execute quicklinks, and more. Extension Support : Run extensions built Raycast's API. Features a built-in store to browse and install extensions from the official Raycast Store. : Run extensions built Raycast's API. Features a built-in store to browse and install extensions from the official Raycast Store. Powerful Calculator : A smart calculator integrated directly into the search bar, powered by SoulverCore . It handles unit conversions, currency, and complex math expressions. : A smart calculator integrated directly into the search bar, powered by . It handles unit conversions, currency, and complex math expressions. Clipboard History : A searchable history of everything you've copied, with support for text, images, links, and colors. : A searchable history of everything you've copied, with support for text, images, links, and colors. Snippets : Create and manage text snippets that can be expanded anywhere on your system. Supports dynamic placeholders for dates, clipboard content, and more. : Create and manage text snippets that can be expanded anywhere on your system. Supports dynamic placeholders for dates, clipboard content, and more. AI Integration : Connects to OpenRouter to bring the power of various AI models directly into the launcher. : Connects to OpenRouter to bring the power of various AI models directly into the launcher. And more to come! 🧩 Extension Compatibility While the goal is to support a wide range of Raycast extensions, there are some inherent limitations due to the differences between macOS and Linux. Common reasons an extension might not work include: macOS-specific APIs: Many extensions rely on native macOS features like AppleScript ( runAppleScript ), hardcoded paths ( /Applications/ ), or specific system libraries that do not exist on Linux. Native Binaries: Extensions that bundle pre-compiled binaries for macOS will not work. Similarly, extensions that use Swift to interact with the operating system won't work either. Assumed Permissions: Extensions may assume they have access to macOS-specific permissioned data (like Contacts or Calendars) which have no direct equivalent. 🚀 Installation You can download the latest release from the GitHub Releases page. Currently, only an .AppImage is provided. After downloading, make it executable: chmod +x < downloaded-file-name > .AppImage ./ < downloaded-file-name > .AppImage This will open a long-running process in the background. To toggle the visibility of the window, simply run it again. Depending on your environment, you may be able to bind the script to a hotkey. For example, on Hyprland: bind = ALT, Space, exec, /path/to/raycast-linux.AppImage System Requirements The application requires glibc version 2.38, which is installed by default on Ubuntu 24.04, Fedora 40, and recent versions of Arch Linux. Wayland users: For the global snippet expansion feature to work, the application needs permission to read keyboard events. The recommended and most secure method is to add a udev rule. Create the udev rule file: sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/99-raycast-linux.rules Add the following line to the file: This rule grants the user at the physical console access to keyboard devices. KERNEL=="event*", ENV{ID_INPUT_KEYBOARD}=="1", TAG+="uaccess" Reload the udev rules to apply the changes: sudo udevadm control --reload-rules && sudo udevadm trigger 🛠️ Building from Source If you prefer to build the project from its source code, you'll need to set up the development environment. Prerequisites Rust : Install via rustup . : Install via . Node.js : Use a recent LTS version. pnpm is the package manager for this project ( npm i -g pnpm ). : Use a recent LTS version. is the package manager for this project ( ). Tauri Prerequisites : Follow the official Tauri guide to install system dependencies. : Follow the official Tauri guide to install system dependencies. Swift Toolchain: The calculator feature uses a Swift wrapper around SoulverCore. Installation & Running Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/ByteAtATime/raycast-linux.git cd raycast-linux Install dependencies: This project uses a pnpm workspace. Install all dependencies from the root directory. pnpm install Build the Node.js sidecar binary: This step compiles the JavaScript plugin host into a binary that Tauri can execute. pnpm --filter sidecar build Run in development mode: This command will launch the Tauri application with hot-reloading for the frontend. pnpm tauri dev 🙏 Acknowledgements This project stands on the shoulders of giants: A huge thank you to the team behind the original Raycast . . The powerful calculator is powered by SoulverCore by Acqualia. Special thanks to Zac for getting me a Linux build -- on his vacation, no less! 📜 License This project is licensed under the MIT License.