I built an Alt+Space launcher that behaves the same on macOS, Windows and Linux
I have been building YeeroAI for a while, an AI app with a web client and a desktop client. The launcher is a new part of the desktop client and the piece I use most often, so here is what it does.
The reason it exists is that I use a Mac and a Windows machine every day and switch between them constantly. Alfred is Mac only, PowerToys Run is Windows only, and uTools is on both but it is Electron, which felt heavier than I wanted for something resident all day. So this one is Tauri, and the keys and the matching behave the same on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Alt+Space brings up the panel, same as PowerToys and Wox.
It searches applications, files, and bookmarks, switches windows, does arithmetic, takes screenshots, records the screen, flips through clipboard history, runs system commands like locking the screen or muting, ends processes, shows system stats, and can ask an AI model directly.
Application search handles full pinyin and initials, plus homophones and typos. gc brings up Google Chrome, and so does chorme.
The panel works without a mouse. Arrow keys to move, Enter to run, Tab for details, Alt+M or right click for more actions, Esc to close. If you already know which result you want, Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+9 runs the one at that position.
## When nothing matches, the AI writes an app for it
Everything in the panel came from things I personally needed, so there will be gaps. When you type something it cannot do, it first tries to match an application you already created and runs it if it hits. If it misses, you get two result rows. One is create and run quickly, where the AI writes it right there and runs it. The other is create in apps, which opens a window with your text already filled in so you can talk the requirement through with the AI first. That avoids the loop where it misunderstands you and you keep editing.
There are two kinds of application. Web apps have a GUI, so they are easy to operate, but they cannot touch the local operating system. Python apps run on your machine with no GUI and take text commands, but they can interact with the local system.
Web apps render inside the panel, can be opened in a separate window, and can be edited from the apps page.
## Screenshots and screen recording
After a screenshot you drag to select an area. A magnifier next to the selection shows the RGB value of the pixel under it and the selection size, which helps when you are picking out fine detail. Scrolling screenshots work too.
From there you can go into the image editor. The annotation tools are rectangle, ellipse, arrow, line, pen, highlight, mosaic, and text. Each one takes a color, a line width, and an opacity; the arrow also takes a head size, the mosaic a block size, and text a font and a size. Ten preset colors and a picker, plus undo and redo. When you are done you can copy the result to the clipboard in one click or save it to a file.
The image editor also works on its own. Open an image file, drag one in, or paste one in.
Screen recording lets you set frame rate and quality, and when you stop it goes into a video editor.
## Window switching and clipboard history
Window switching finds windows in three states: visible, minimized, and hidden into the tray. ⌘Tab and Alt+Tab do not cover the tray ones, so here you just search by title.
Clipboard history holds text, images, and files, with a filter syntax. @image can also be written @i or @img, and @today can also be @td. On time you can filter today, last 7 days, last 30 days, and last year.
Clipboard also syncs across devices with end to end encryption. You set the key in settings first, and the key never goes to the server, so you have to enter it on each machine yourself or it cannot decrypt. I copy something on the Mac and it is searchable on the Windows machine a moment later.
## System commands and stats
System commands cover locking the screen, sleep, shutdown, restart, display off, mute, volume up and down, media play pause and track skip, the emoji panel, task manager, system settings, the recycle bin and emptying it, showing the desktop, opening downloads, documents, home, and recent files.
System stats show CPU, memory, swap, disk, network, temperature, system load, and process count, along with OS version, kernel, architecture, hostname, and uptime.
## File search and indexing
File search needs an index the first time you use it. You set the roots to scan and the ignore rules, and turn on incremental watching so files added later show up too. The default ignore list keeps out caches, temp files, and program files, and you can add your own ignored directories with glob patterns like *.tmp or node_modules.
## Pricing
The launcher itself is completely free, including the image editor and video editor. The only thing that costs credits is when you use AI-related features, like asking a model from the input bar or having it write you an app. Credits are shared with the rest of YeeroAI.
yeero.ai if you want to try it. Happy to answer questions about any of it.
