Raycast

Raycast is a macOS launcher: a keyboard shortcut opens a search field that reaches applications, files, clipboard history, and window management. The launcher is the surface; the extension API is what makes it a platform. An extension is a small program that adds commands to the launcher. A command can render a list, a form, or a detail view, and it can call an API. Because the UI primitives are provided, an extension that talks to a service is a few hundred lines rather than a full application. The store distributes extensions, and installing one adds its commands to the same search field as everything else. That consolidation is the practical argument: instead of remembering which app owns which action, a user reaches all of them through one shortcut. The product is proprietary and macOS-only, which is the main constraint to weigh.