Raycast is my productivity secret weapon on MacOS – and it’s free

MacOS might not be as efficient as most Linux desktops, but it’s still a very productive OS. However, there’s always room for improvement. One place that could use a productivity boost is Spotlight. Sure, it works well, but it’s not nearly as productive a tool as some of its competitors. Take, for instance, Raycast.

Raycast is a one-stop-shop app that can help make your Mac a highly productive machine. Raycast is a single app that includes just about everything you need for app launching, clipboard history, scheduling, emoji picker, calculations, searching screenshots, window management, and more. Raycast even has plugins for Google Translate, Spotify, color picking, process killing, coding, image compression/modification, generating placeholder content, Notion/Todist integration, and even navigation with Arc Browser. Raycast even includes its own AI.

Also: I ditched Spotlight on my Mac for this more powerful search tool – and it’s free

Raycast is simple to install, and during the installation you have the opportunity to add plugins, enable AI, and grant access to your calendar, contacts, files, folders, and accessibility (the accessibility feature is necessary if you want Raycast to manage windows for you).

Raycast has some really handy features that help elevate it to new heights of efficiency.

How Raycast works

Once you’ve installed Raycast, open the window with the default Option+Space hotkey (you can change this in Settings if needed). When the Raycast window is open, type something to run an action. For instance, you could launch an application by typing its name, using the arrow keys to select it, and pressing Enter.

You could also view your schedule by typing schedule, selecting My Schedule, and pressing Enter. Your schedule will appear in the Raycast window.

There’s also a Shell extension that allows you to use the command line interface on MacOS. One word of warning: when using the Shell extension for SSH connections, it will not work if SSH key authentication is enabled for a remote machine.

Also: How to make any MacOS app start at login – to save you time and clicks

The deeper you dive into Raycast, the more you realize what it can do.

Aliases

Aliases are one of the first customizations you might want to take care of. With aliases, you create shortcuts to actions. For example, if you want to search for a file, you could type search files, or you could create an alias such that you’d only have to type f. Here’s how.

Also: 6 MacOS terminal apps that are much better than Apple’s default – and they’re free

Open the Raycast Settings app (click the Raycast icon in the top bar, then click Settings). In the resulting window, scroll down until you find Search Files. Under the Alias column, it should read simply alias. Click on alias and type f. Press Enter, and the alias is set. Close Settings and open Raycast (Option+Space), type f, and press Enter. You can then search for any file you want. When you find the file, select it and press Enter.

You can create aliases for any action. Just remember to use a unique alias for each.

Raycast AI

If you want to access the Raycast AI, you can do it in two different ways. If you press Tab, the AI opens and you can query it as you would any AI service.

One of my favorite features is using the Raycast AI with Spotify (you’ll be prompted to enable it). Let’s say you want to see a listing of Mozart’s piano concertos available on Spotify. Open Raycast with Option+Space and then type @spotify-player, which opens the Raycast AI for Spotify. You could then issue the query find a piano concerto by Mozart. The Spotify extension will present you with a list of Mozart’s piano concertos. You could then go back to the main Raycast window and type @spotify-player play Mozart piano concerto 23. Spotify will open and play that incredible piece of music.

Also: How I changed my default apps in MacOS – and you can too, in seconds

The thing about Raycast is that there’s so much it can do. In fact, I would highly recommend reading through the Raycast manual, so you can find out just how much it can do (and how to do it).

Raycast can be used for free on MacOS (there is a Windows version coming). If you want Raycast Pro (which adds more AI features, cloud sync, translator, unlimited Raycast notes, and more), you’ll have to pay $8 per month. There’s also an Advanced AI option ($16 per month) that gives you access to more large language models.

Also: How to create and use MacOS Smart Folders – and make file management a breeze

Raycast is an incredible addition to MacOS, and I highly recommend you give it a try, as it will level up the productivity and efficiency of your Mac.

Get the morning’s top stories in your inbox each day with our Tech Today newsletter.