I switched from Alfred to Raycast two years ago. Tried to switch back once. Lasted about three hours before the muscle memory drove me crazy.
Here’s what I actually use, not the full feature list.
Clipboard History
The feature I use most. Every piece of text I’ve copied in the last month, searchable and organized.
Why it matters: I copy the same things constantly. Client names. Project IDs. Snippets of code. URLs. Instead of hunting for them again, I open clipboard history, type a few characters, and paste.
The image clipboard is underrated too. Screenshots, diagrams, anything visual gets stored. Way better than hunting through the Screenshots folder.
Quicklinks
Bookmarks on steroids. I have quicklinks for:
- Common client dashboards (type “dash clientname”)
- GitHub repos (type “gh reponame”)
- Figma files (type “fig projectname”)
- Internal tools (type “crm” or “tickets”)
The key is making them muscle memory. I don’t think about URLs anymore. I type a few characters and I’m there.
Snippets
Text expansion built in. I have snippets for:
- Email responses I send frequently
- Code blocks I paste often
- Emoji shortcuts (yes, really: “ty” expands to a thank you message I use constantly)
- Meeting links
The difference from dedicated text expanders: it’s all in one place. Search snippets the same way you search everything else.
Window Management
Raycast handles all my window tiling. Half screen, thirds, quarters, custom sizes. Keyboard-driven, no mouse needed.
My common ones:
- Left half: editor
- Right half: browser
- Full screen: focus mode
- Center two-thirds: reading/writing
I have these memorized by keyboard shortcut. Moving windows is instant.
Script Commands
This is where Raycast gets powerful. Custom scripts that run from the launcher.
Scripts I use daily:
- New Obsidian Note: Opens Obsidian with a new note in my inbox folder, titled with today’s date
- Quick Capture: Prompts for text, appends it to a running capture file in Obsidian
- Start Timer: Kicks off a Pomodoro timer with a notification at the end
- Open Project: Lists recent projects, opens the relevant folder in VS Code and the GitHub repo in browser
These are simple bash scripts or Node scripts. Raycast makes them feel like native features.
Floating Notes
Scratchpad that stays on top. I keep it in the corner for things I need to reference while working: ticket numbers, hex codes, names I keep forgetting.
Not a replacement for real notes. Just a temporary holding area for stuff I need right now.
AI Chat
Raycast has Claude built in. I use it for:
- Quick questions I don’t want to context-switch for
- Reformatting text (make this a bullet list, clean up this code)
- Explaining error messages
- Writing commit messages from diffs
It’s not as powerful as a full Claude conversation, but the speed of access makes it useful for small things.
Extensions I Actually Use
From the Raycast Store:
GitHub: Search repos, PRs, issues without leaving the launcher
Linear: Create issues, search existing ones, update status
Vercel: Check deployment status, trigger redeploys
Spotify: Control playback, search, save to liked
Tailwind CSS: Search the docs. Surprisingly useful.
Color Picker: Grab colors from anywhere on screen
I’ve installed and removed dozens of others. These are the ones that stuck.
What I Don’t Use
Raycast has tons of features I ignore:
- Calendar integration (I just use the calendar app)
- Reminders (same)
- Notes (Obsidian handles this)
- File search (I use the terminal or VS Code)
The power of Raycast isn’t using every feature. It’s using the features that match how you work.
The Setup That Matters
A few configuration things that make Raycast better:
Hotkey: I use Cmd+Space, replacing Spotlight entirely. The faster the access, the more you’ll use it.
Aliases: Short aliases for everything. “gh” not “github”, “cal” not “calendar”. Fewer keystrokes matter.
Disable unused features: Turn off things you don’t use so they don’t clutter search results.
Sort by frequency: Let Raycast learn what you use most and surface it first.
Raycast is the kind of tool that feels unnecessary until you use it, then feels impossible to work without. The time savings are small individually but they compound across hundreds of daily interactions.
Currently on Raycast Pro mostly for the AI features. The free tier is genuinely good if you don’t need those.