e.g.
- Launch an app, open a website, or run a script.
- Spacebar S -> launch Safari
- Spacebar N -> launch Notes
- Spacebar W -> open a website
- Simulate a keystroke (with/without modifiers)
- Spacebar Q -> simulate F11
- Spacebar X -> simulate Control-Option-Shift-Command-A
- More keys, more actions
- Spacebar F then D -> open Downloads folder
- Spacebar F then R -> open Library folder
- Spacebar F then I -> open iCloud Drive
- Spacebar A W E S O M E -> launch your AppleScript to say "you are awesome"
- Run a menu command in the app you're in
- Spacebar E -> File ▸ Export as PDF...
Why Space?
Because your thumb is already there.
Tap Space to type normally. Hold it to open your shortcut layer. SpaceLauncher tells the difference . The catch: when you type fast, the next key often goes down before Space comes back up. General tools like Karabiner, Hammerspoon, and Keyboard Maestro can approximate pieces of that timing. SpaceLauncher is built around it.
What if I forget?
Hold Space and look. SpaceLauncher shows what you can press next.
Actions you use often become less prominent, so the ones you still need help with stand out. Follow the visible command tree from Spacebar F, then D, and Downloads opens.
Where SpaceLauncher Fits
Spotlight, Raycast, Alfred, and LaunchBar are built for finding things. SpaceLauncher is built for the actions you already repeat every day. It grew out of years of using those tools. Read the story behind the app.
Bring your own leader
Space is the default, but it does not have to be the only leader. If you've already trained a leader -- Caps Lock, a Hyper key, F12, even a key picked by its raw key code -- hold or tap that instead. SpaceLauncher works the same behind any of them. See the guide.
Actions
- Open App — launch with arguments, or hide / switch back when it’s already running
- Open URL — in your default browser or a specific one
- Open File · Open Folder — optionally with a chosen app
- Run Menu Command
- Run AppleScript
- Run Shell Command
- Execute File — with arguments
- Simulate Keystroke — any modifier combination
- Notification — click to open a URL or your bindings
- Sleep
- Open Finder
- Switch Input Method
Trust
Privacy
SpaceLauncher needs Accessibility access to see your keystrokes — there’s no way around that; it’s how anything built on the Space key works. What you type stays on your Mac — and you’re free to verify SpaceLauncher’s network traffic anytime with Proxyman, Charles, or Wireshark.
Built to last
Your setup is not locked away. You can export your config as documented, human-readable JSON, then parse it, migrate it, diff it, or script against it.
SpaceLauncher also keeps local rolling, timestamped backups so a damaged configuration can be recovered. When you save shortcuts, conflict detection warns about exact sequence and prefix conflicts before they become surprises.
Try SpaceLauncher
Free to try. $14.99 one-time purchase.
Requires macOS 12+. Apple notarized.
Already tried it? Buy a license.
Questions and Answers
SpaceLauncher is a paid application with an unlimited trial.
You can try SpaceLauncher without limitation forever. If it becomes part of your workflow, we hope you’ll buy a license to keep using it.
$14.99. One-time purchase, no subscription.
SpaceLauncher requires macOS 12.0 or later.
Yes. Hold Space until the hint window appears, then drag its title bar to move it.
It's uncommon,
but if you really need it, hold shift and spacebar.