[PLEASE READ BEFORE PURCHASING]: Based on the Developer Beta version of macOS Tahoe 26, Launchpad seems to be replaced by new Spotlight Apps. If you have come here looking for an app exactly like the original Launchpad, you should know that there are workarounds to bring it back (Update: as of Developer Beta 5, the workaround said to be not working anymore), and there are clones of it people are working on, so I suggest checking them out first. But if you are looking for an app with similar functionality, in some ways better than Launchpad & Spotlight Apps, in some ways not, but surely a more customizable one, then this might be the app for you.
Quick App Launcher (QAL) is a fast, minimalistic, customizable app launcher.
There are 2 versions available:
QAL Lite, the free version, has the core functionality and then some.
QAL Pro, the paid version, has all the features.
KEY FEATURES
- Multiple ways to launch apps quickly:
- (Scroll & Click): Scroll through all the installed apps, and select.
- (Type & Click): Start typing, and select from the matching apps.
- (Type & Enter): Start typing, and press Enter to launch the first matching app.
- (Type & Auto): Start typing, and let it automatically launch if there is only one match.
- (Type & Number): Start typing, and press a number from 1 to 9 to launch the corresponding app.
- Categorize/organize your apps using Tags:
- Create custom tags, and organize your apps (you can tag an app to multiple categories)
- Rename, disable, delete, order tags
- Easily switch between tags with 1-click
- Built-in tags for auto categorizing (All, Apple, Utilities, Safari Web Apps)
- Auto-tag/categorize your apps into 30+ categories using AI
- App counts for each tag
- Hide/show tags view
- Choose the tag behavior on toggle (continue from the last tag or switch to a specific tag)
- Scrollable grid list of all the installed apps with icons
- Adjustable window size (4 options including a full screen mode)
- Toggleable window using a customizable keyboard shortcut or from the menubar or by clicking the dock icon
- Multiple search methods (start of name, start of any word in name, anywhere in name, fuzzy matching)
- Settings icon for easy access to settings with an option to hide the icon
- Enable/disable auto-launch (which launches an app automatically if it is the only match)
- Hide/show specific apps
- Hide/show dock icon
- Customizable background
- Safari web apps support
- Multiple desktop compatibility
- Dark mode compatibility
Feel free to reach out for any feedback, suggestions, bugs, questions, thoughts.
Contact: baserkandehir@gmail.com
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Nice Launchpad Replacement
JMANTN
Setting up via tags in settings is a must and hoping there’s an option to backup and restore configuration soon, especially for us on Betas.
Organized Launcher
im_johnlakeman
I use Raycast as my primary launcher of choice when I know the app I’m looking for, but sometimes you just need to browse everything when you can’t quite remember the names. The addition of tags to organize apps into groups means no more dragging around icons to organize in Launchpad and opening folders to browse my apps, it is much quicker and more visually intuitive in Quick App Launcher.
Not-Quick App Launcher
Iritscen
I wanted to like this launcher as it looked well-designed in the screenshots, but performance was absolutely abysmal. Over 10 seconds to bring up the launcher every time I hit the key shortcut or menu bar icon! Several more seconds to respond when clicking on an app to launch it. This is on an M3 Pro Mac to be clear. The title is highly ironic as things stand now, but the app might grow on me if the performance issues were resolved.
Developer Response
Sorry for the issue. I have been aware some users experiencing this kind of slowness issue. I actually made improvements, and tried to push the update. Currently can't push it, because App Review Team found QAL Pro to be too similar to their Spotlight despite its design predating the new Spotlight. I made a design change, but that also didn't help, so currently updates are stuck.
You Better Love it or else….
KefkaZ
I installed this replacement, hoping it would do what launchpad did. It didn’t. It came up as basically the same thing as the search. So, I decided to not use it and uninstalled it. The problem is now I can’t open spotlight search as this app did something to prevent it from opening. Command space? Nothing. Clicking on the spotlight icon? Nothing. I ended up having to a Time Machine restore to fix it.
Developer Response
I clearly indicated at the top of the description section that this app is not a Launchpad clone, it is an alternative app launcher/organizer, and the same section also lists the features it has. “basically the same thing as the search”? I wonder if you even clicked on settings icon to explore the app a bit. Are you sure QAL Pro was the reason for the Spotlight issue? I find it unlikely that it would break Spotlight, haven’t encountered this issue myself, and received no reports of it until now. But I will further test it, and if it is causing the problem, I will work on fixing it.
Improved the design of the fullscreen mode: bigger icons, more paddings, more centering, easier to view and navigate.
Version 1.7.2
The developer, Baser Kandehir, indicated that the app’s privacy practices may include handling of data as described below. For more information, see the developer’s privacy policy .
Data Not Collected
The developer does not collect any data from this app.
Privacy practices may vary, for example, based on the features you use or your age. Learn More
Accessibility
The developer has not yet indicated which accessibility features this app supports. Learn More
