Ueli: Open Source Time & Task Management

What is Ueli?

What it is

Ueli is a cross-platform keystroke launcher that gives quick access to apps and files from a single search bar triggered by a keyboard shortcut. It is built with Electron, React, TypeScript, and Fluent UI, and it runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. The project is released under the MIT license, lives at ueli.app, and is distributed through the Microsoft Store, winget, and direct release downloads from the GitHub repository.

The concrete problem it solves is the cost of reaching applications, files, bookmarks, and small utility functions through menus, file managers, and separate tools. Instead of navigating the desktop, a user opens Ueli with Alt+Space, types a query, and launches the matching result with Enter. Results can be extended with additional actions through Cmd+K or Ctrl+K, and frequently used items can be pinned to the top of the result list as favorites.

Key capabilities

Alt+Space shows and hides the launcher window from anywhere on the desktop.
Search results are navigated with arrow keys and launched with Enter.
A Cmd+K or Ctrl+K menu exposes additional actions for the selected result, dismissed with Escape.
Favorites pin chosen items to the top of the search result list.
Extensions are enabled and disabled individually from the Extensions section in settings, each with its own settings page.
Built-in extensions cover Application Search, File Search, Simple File Search, Browser Bookmarks, Calculator, Base64 Conversion, Color Converter, Currency Conversion, Password Generator, Quick Formatter, System Commands, System Settings, Appearance Switcher, Custom Web Search, DeepL Translator, JetBrains Toolbox, and the Rowland Text Editor.
A Debug panel under settings surfaces logs when something does not work as expected.

Who uses it and how

Windows users install from the Microsoft Store or run winget install Ueli -s msstore.
macOS and Linux users download and install builds from the GitHub releases page.
Keyboard-driven users bind Alt+Space and drive the whole workflow without leaving the keyboard.
Users who repeat the same lookups pin those items as favorites so they rank first in results.
Users who need extra behavior enable the relevant extension and configure it from its own navigation entry.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Ueli

Ueli is a cross-platform keystroke launcher.

Screenshot Dark Windows

Installation

Please download Ueli only from the Microsoft Store, the Website https://ueli.app, or this repository.

Windows

Get the app from the Microsoft Store or install it with winget: winget install Ueli -s msstore.

Optionally, you can also manually download and install the app from here, but note that, due to cost reasons, these binaries are not signed. Windows will prevent you from installing / opening the app.

macOS

Download and install the app from here. Note that, due to cost reasons, these binaries are neither signed nor notarized.

Because Ueli is neither signed nor notarized, macOS will prevent you from installing or opening the app. When you try to launch the app for the first time macOS will block it from opening. You can open the "System Settings", go to "Privacy & Security" and click on "Open anyway", see screenshot.

Linux

Download and install the app from here.

First steps

When you launch the app for the first time the main window will show up and you can start typing for what you're looking for.
Use the hotkey "Alt+Space" to show/hide Ueli.
Use the arrow keys to navigate up and down in the search result list.
Press "Enter" to launch the selected item.
Press "Cmd+K" (macOS) or "Ctrl+K" (Windows, Linux) to open the additional actions of the selected search result item and use the arrow keys to navigate up and down in the menu. Press "Enter" to invoke the selected action. Press "Escape" to close the additonal action menu.
To add a frequently used item to your favorites open the additional actions menu and click on "Add to Favorites". Now this item will appear always first in the search result list. To remove an item from your favorites open the additional actions and click on "Remove from favorites". Alternatively, you can also open the settings and go to "Favorites" to see all favorites. Click on the "x" icon to remove an item from your favorites.
Press "Cmd+," (macOS) or "Ctrl+," (Windows, Linux) or click on the "Settings" button to open the settings. Here you can configure Ueli to your liking.
To browse the extensions click on "Extensions" in the left navigation. Toggle the switch to enable/disable an extension. As soon as an extension is enabled an additional item will appear in the left navigation where you will find the settings for that specific extension. You'll find more info about the extensions here.

Debugging

If something does not work as expected, go to "Settings" and click on "Debug".

Here you might find some logs that help find the issue.

Settings

⚠️ Under construction...

Extensions

Known issues

Linux

Global hotkeys may not work under Wayland sessions. As a workaround, bind a custom shortcut in your system settings to call ueli to show and focus the main window, or ueli --toggle to toggle the main window.

Development

Please read the contribution guidelines first.

Requirements

Node.js 24: https://nodejs.org/en
Make sure you have commit signing enabled
Optional: if you're using Visual Studio Code we recommend installing the recommended extensions

Setup

Install dependencies
```
$ npm install
```

Running the app

Run app in dev mode
```
$ npm run dev
```

Debugging

If you're using Visual Studio Code, you can start the debugger for the main process, see screenshot: vscode-debugging

Quality checks

Check formatting
```
$ npm run format:check
```
Format the code
```
$ npm run format:write
```
Lint files
```
$ npm run lint
```
Perform typecheck
```
$ npm run typecheck
```
Run tests
```
$ npm run test
```

Build and package the app

Build
```
$ npm run build
```
Package
```
$ npm run package
```

Frequently asked questions

Is Ueli free to use?

Ueli is open source under the MIT licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does Ueli do?

Quick access to apps and files with keyboard shortcuts

What is Ueli written in?

Ueli is primarily written in TypeScript. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/oliverschwendener/ueli, and it has 4,598 GitHub stars.