How Raycast Changed My Mac Workflow
Spotlight was fine. Raycast is a revelation. Here's how I use it daily.
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I switched from Alfred to Raycast about a year ago. Haven't looked back.
My most-used commands
- Clipboard History — I paste things from hours ago
- Window Management — no more third-party apps
- Snippets — common code blocks, email templates
- Calculator — better than opening Calculator.app
- Quick Links — jump to GitHub repos, Notion pages
Extensions that changed everything
- GitHub — search issues, create PRs
- Linear — assign tasks without leaving my editor
- Jira (unfortunately) — for work stuff
- Tailwind CSS — color palette always accessible
- My own extension — time tracking, custom commands
Building my own extension
When I couldn't find what I needed, I built it:
- Raycast's React-based API is intuitive
- TypeScript support is excellent
- Publishing is straightforward
- The community is helpful
Pro tips
- Use Quicklinks for frequently visited URLs
- Set up Fallback Commands for searches
- Script Commands for simple automations
- Hotkeys for your top 5 actions
The best tool is the one you forget you're using. Raycast disappears into my workflow.