A cross-platform launcher written in Rust, as an alternative to macOS’s Spotlight and Raycast, focusing on local operation without internet connection. https://github.com/kunkka19xx/look Works on three platforms: macOS, Windows, and Linux. Fast search for local files and apps – less than 1 millisecond for 2000 records. No internet, no data collection, no account registration needed. Features include quick app and file opening, inline calculation, clipboard history search, translation and dictionary, support for regex and path search.

kunkka19xx/look Source: https://github.com/kunkka19xx/look

look

A keyboard-first, local-first launcher for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Open apps, files, folders, clipboard history, and quick commands without leaving the keyboard.

macOS · Windows · Linux

📘 Docs (https://noah-code.com/docs/look) · 📖 User guide · 🎬 Demo video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Twb4We3PIs)

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/176a929d-edbe-46a0-a0c5-229eb9b31c1c

Install

macOS

brew tap kunkka19xx/tap
brew install --cask look

Then bind Cmd+Space to Look (disable Spotlight’s shortcut in System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Spotlight).

Release builds are signed and notarized — no Gatekeeper bypass needed.

Linux

Released artifacts are x86_64 only. ARM builds aren’t published; if you need one, please open an issue.

Arch Linux (AUR):

yay -S look-bin
# or
paru -S look-bin

Or without an AUR helper:

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/look-bin.git
cd look-bin
makepkg -si

Ubuntu/Debian:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kunkka19xx/look/main/scripts/linux/install-look.sh | bash

Or download the .deb manually from Releases (https://github.com/kunkka19xx/look/releases) and run sudo dpkg -i Look_*.deb.

Any distro (AppImage):

chmod +x Look_*.AppImage
./Look_*.AppImage

After installing, launch with lookapp from a terminal, or search “Look” in your app launcher. Press Alt+Space to toggle the window at any time.

Look autostarts on login by default (on full DEs like GNOME/KDE).

Uninstall:

# Arch
yay -R look-bin
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo dpkg -r lookapp
# AppImage — just delete the file
rm Look_*.AppImage

NixOS (flake):

# Run directly
nix run github:kunkka19xx/look?dir=apps/linows
# Install to profile
nix profile install github:kunkka19xx/look?dir=apps/linows

Declarative (NixOS):

# flake.nix — add input and cachix config
{
  nixConfig = {
    extra-substituters = [ "https://look.cachix.org" ];
    extra-trusted-public-keys = [ "look.cachix.org-1:8elPCeSVBzlDZXqIRKBK9GyLIK/Hoe1xiWZF0ir7uX4=" ];
  };
  inputs.look.url = "github:kunkka19xx/look?dir=apps/linows";
  # ... your other inputs
}
# configuration.nix — add package
{ pkgs, inputs, ... }: {
  environment.systemPackages = [ inputs.look.packages.${pkgs.system}.default ];
}

Pre-built binaries are served via Cachix (https://look.cachix.org). On first rebuild, nix will ask to trust the cache — say yes. No source compilation needed.

Update to latest release:

nix flake update look --flake /path/to/your/flake
sudo nixos-rebuild switch --flake /path/to/your/flake#hostname

Note: On GNOME desktops, log out and log back in after the first install so the GNOME Shell extension (used for window focusing and hotkey on Wayland) can load.

Window manager users (i3, sway, Hyprland, etc.): Autostart via .desktop files only works on full DEs (GNOME, KDE). On standalone WMs, add Look to your config manually. The Alt+Space hotkey and window rules (float, no border) are registered automatically at runtime — you only need the autostart line:

# i3: ~/.config/i3/config
exec --no-startup-id lookapp
# (Alt+Space works via X11 global shortcut plugin)

# sway: ~/.config/sway/config
exec lookapp
# (Alt+Space, float, and border rules are injected automatically via swaymsg)

# Hyprland: ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf
exec-once = lookapp
# (Alt+Space, float, and border rules are injected automatically via hyprctl)

Hyprland 0.55+ only. Focus-existing-window uses the wlr-foreign-toplevel-management protocol. Older Hyprland versions relied on the legacy hyprctl dispatch focuswindow syntax which was deprecated in 0.55; selecting an already-running app on <0.55 may launch a second instance instead of focusing. Upgrade to 0.55+ for correct behavior.

To build from source, see apps/linows/BUILDING.md.

Windows

Released artifacts are x86_64 only. Windows on ARM (Surface Pro X / Snapdragon X) can run the x64 build under emulation; native ARM builds aren’t published — open an issue if you need one.

One PowerShell line, no admin required:

iex "& { $(irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kunkka19xx/look/main/scripts/windows/install-look.ps1) }"

The script resolves the latest release, downloads the NSIS installer, verifies its SHA256 against the published checksums, and runs it silently into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Look.

SmartScreen will warn on the first download while reputation builds — click “More info → Run anyway” if Windows blocks the script itself.

Uninstall:

iex "& { $(irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kunkka19xx/look/main/scripts/windows/install-look.ps1) } -Uninstall"

The launcher’s global hotkey is Alt+Space (not user-configurable yet — if it conflicts with another app you use, remap that one).

For a manual install: download Look__x64-setup.exe from Releases (https://github.com/kunkka19xx/look/releases/latest), verify the SHA256 against the published Look--windows-checksums.txt, then run. Uninstall via Settings → Apps or %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Look\uninstall.exe. To wipe user data: Remove-Item -Recurse "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\look".

Other install options (curl, pin version, update/uninstall)

macOS — Homebrew update / uninstall:

# update
brew upgrade --cask kunkka19xx/tap/look
# uninstall
brew uninstall --cask look

macOS — curl installer:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kunkka19xx/look/main/scripts/install-look.sh | bash

Pin a specific version or repo fork:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kunkka19xx/look/main/scripts/install-look.sh | bash -s -- --version --repo kunkka19xx/look

Direct URL:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/kunkka19xx/look/main/scripts/install-look.sh | bash -s -- --url "https://github.com/kunkka19xx/look/releases/download/v/Look--macOS.zip"

CLI naming note: macOS ships /usr/bin/look, so terminal command examples use lookapp. If Look is fully quit and Spotlight is still unbound, relaunch from Launchpad, or via:

open "/Applications/Look.app"

What you can do

• Find and open anything — apps, files, folders indexed locally. Type, Enter, done.
• Calc inline — type 2^10, 4!, 200*15%, sqrt(2), 2*pi. No command mode needed.
• Kill a process by port — Cmd+/ then kill :3000. Confirms before killing.
• Search clipboard history — c"meeting finds the snippet you copied an hour ago.
• Translate or look up a word — t"hello for quick translation, tw"word for a definition panel.
• Regex, path, and kind-scoped search — r"^Visual.*, git/project/readme, a"safari, f"note, d"documents. All local. No account. No telemetry. No plugin marketplace to manage.

Why look

• Fast — typical search under 1 ms on a 2000-item index; empty-query browse under 30 μs.
• Small — single native macOS app, no Electron, no background daemons.
• Local-first — candidates indexed in a local SQLite file; the only network calls are explicit (t", tw", Cmd+Enter web search).
• Zero-config by default — presets cover common apps (alias_note, alias_code, alias_term, alias_chat, alias_music, alias_brow). Configure more via ~/.look.config when you want to.
• Keyboard-first — every action has a key; mouse never required.

If you want a launcher that stays out of your way and does exactly what you asked, that’s the pitch.

Essential shortcuts

(Throughout the rest of the docs, Cmd+X on macOS maps to Ctrl+X on Windows and Linux; the launcher-toggle hotkey uses Alt+Space on Windows/Linux instead of Cmd+Space because Win+Space / Super+Space are typically reserved by the OS or desktop environment.)

Full reference: docs/user-guide.md.

Themes

Built-in: Catppuccin, Tokyo Night, Rose Pine, Gruvbox, Dracula, Kanagawa, plus Custom. Switch in Settings > Appearance.

Documentation

• 📘 Docs site (https://noah-code.com/docs/look) — hosted, searchable user guide and reference
• User guide (in-repo) — full feature reference, shortcuts, configuration, permissions, troubleshooting
• Architecture — how the Swift app + Rust core fit together
• Features — what’s shipped, what’s planned
• Contributing — how to contribute
• Development — building locally, repo layout, release process

Scope

In scope:

• apps, files, folders, clipboard, command mode, translation, regex/path search
• local-first behavior, zero telemetry
• near-term plugin/extension exploration

Out of scope for v1:

• online-first behavior
• semantic/vector search
• full content indexing (names and metadata only)

Platform direction

• macOS — shipped and stable (SwiftUI, native). This is the design source of truth.
• Windows + Linux — a new shared Tauri v2 app (apps/linows/) is under active development. It targets both platforms with a single codebase (Rust backend, vanilla HTML/CSS/JS frontend).

Current status:

• Core search, preview, multi-pick, clipboard history, translation — done

• Command mode (calc, pomo, kill, shell, sys) — done

• Settings screen (appearance, themes, blur, font autocomplete) — done

• Platform-aware blur (Mica/Acrylic on Windows, CSS backdrop-filter on Linux)

• Dynamic window scaling based on monitor resolution

• 6 built-in themes + Custom

• Windows (WinUI3) — the current apps/windows/ WinUI3/C# app is in maintenance mode (bug fixes only). It will be archived once the Tauri app reaches feature parity.

License

GPLv3 — see LICENSE.

Contributors

Thanks to everyone who has contributed — see the contributor graph (https://github.com/kunkka19xx/look/graphs/contributors).

Contribution flow: branch from dev, open PRs into dev. See CONTRIBUTING.md and DEVELOPMENT.md.