Raycast is free for individual users and is my favorite Spotlight alternative. You can use simple keyboard shortcuts to launch this application to view simple text boxes. Enter a few characters to perform any action. There are tons of built-in features, for example, you can just start typing the app name and hit "Enter" to launch any app, or you can type a URL and hit "Enter" to open it in your default browser. You can also search for files or toggle various system settings.
This feature alone makes Raycast worth installing. However, the really great thing about Raycast is the plug-ins. Now, Raycast is far from the first launcher app to offer plugins, but what makes this app unique is that it offers a built-in store that lets you add these plugins with just a few keystrokes. Just type "Store" and press "Enter" and you can browse the collection. If that fails, you can browse the Raycast store online.
There are a lot of very useful tools out there, and which one is best depends on your workflow. Here are the types of plugins I’ve found to be the most useful.
Search your notes
I brew beer and store most of my recipes in OneNote. I'm also a big Obsidian user - both my personal diary and work life are there. Raycast makes searching these and other note-taking applications easy. There are extensions for Apple Notes, OneNote, Obsidian and even Bear. All of these allow you to search for notes directly in Raycast and preview them there. If you want to open a note, no problem: just press Enter. It's great to be able to find and extract this information quickly.
Get password quickly
Modern password managers integrate well into browsers, but extracting passwords when you're not browsing can be annoying. Bitwarden, 1Password, Dashlane, and KeePassXC's Raycast extensions all let you easily copy any password with a few keystrokes. Just open the plug-in, enter the password you're looking for, and press Enter.
You can go a step further and get a two-factor authentication code quickly. Authy has an extension that will still work even if the desktop app is no longer available. There's also an extension to get 2FA codes from iMessage, which means you don't have to open a message to copy and paste the code. Both work very well.
control music
I usually know which album I want to listen to next. Spotify's Raycast extension allows me to quickly enter an album title and play it. It also works with playlists, artists and songs. I love being able to quickly start playing any music without having to fuss with the Spotify user interface. If Apple Music is your go-to player, it has a similar extension.
Read Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a great starting point for researching anything. Raycast's Wikipedia extension allows you to search a page and even read it without taking your hands off the keyboard. You can also press Enter to open the article in your default browser.
eject drive
Ejecting a drive on a Mac means opening Finder and clicking the Eject button in the left sidebar. Annoyingly slow. The Expand Single Disk popup displays all of your currently connected external drives and allows you to disconnect by pressing Enter. it's great.
Keep your Mac awake
There are an endless number of Mac apps that do nothing but keep your Mac awake. The Coffee extension enables this functionality without installing an application. You can trigger it from Raycast, or enable the menu bar icon if you prefer.
so much
I could go on for a long time. Here are some more highlights:
System Monitor lets you quickly view CPU, memory, and disk usage.
MyIP displays your current IP address.
Speedtest allows you to quickly test the speed of your internet connection.
Shell allows you to run any terminal command without actually opening a terminal.
This is just the beginning: there are many more tools. I recommend checking out the store to get a better idea of what you can do.
