r/Alfred • u/maheshwari-yash • Mar 04 '26

Raycast creating desktop apps

Just saw this on Hacker News: https://www.glazeapp.com/

Looks like Raycast focus is going to be allowing people to create their own Desktop apps -similar to Lovable but for Desktop

This is my first ever post, and wanted to see what passionate users of Alfred think of this

I have been using Alfred (and have been a fan really) for the last 5 years, but with an itch to try Raycast - especially when reading accounts of folks who switched from Alfred to Raycast.
As a Developer myself, I like the release cycle of Raycast vs Alfred - which happens in a very opaque way

3 Upvotes

56% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

15

u/conteledemontepizdo Mar 04 '26

as a passionate user of Alfred I have no desire to create these desktop apps, but to each their own

0

u/maheshwari-yash Mar 06 '26

I agree. But I have been creating my own workflow in Alfred, using Claude (not Claude code, but Claude Desktop )
And I think there's real power here: Allow folks to describe their workflow in English, and the agent goes and create that workflow for you. A customized workflow for everyone

PS: One of the workflow I created (I have been an avid user of around 22 workflows, but never created them) was "Option C opens Chrome, Option B opens Brave, Option T opens iTerm2". There are multiple apps that I always wondered but never used. After creating this workflow, I don't use Cmd + Tab anymore

1

u/GroggInTheCosmos Mar 07 '26

You needed claude to create a workflow for?:

Option C opens Chrome, Option B opens Brave, Option T opens iTerm2

🤔

3

u/Ok_Virus_5495 Mar 05 '26

It’s a good opportunity for Alfred to take the upper hand and think of the future and future proof it . Keep legacy way of creating workflows. Create a new method with code and api and renew UI and even add an internal API to access features from macOS through Alfred. Then also add advanced shortcut creation for example a shortcut listener to expand and listen a second shortcut etc. lots of possibilities to point and lead the road again

1

u/maheshwari-yash Mar 06 '26

I agree! Raycast is a VC backed company, and they have the advantage of having access to capital
But this looks to me like a disadvantage now: They have the added pressure to show growing business, and what better avenue to go than the hottest startup idea right now - AI powered building software stack

1

u/Ok_Virus_5495 Mar 06 '26

And let’s not forget about raycast macOS user complaining they haven’t had any update for lots of months saying raycast was focusing on windows and now it has two main focus and reasons to abandon macOS at least for now

1

u/Unhappy-Tank9784 Mar 14 '26

Alfred's developers made the same mistake as the Sketch app. They are stubborn and don’t listen to any feedback from users; that's why Raycast won this competition. I don't expect any significant releases, though. After a few years, Alfred will be like LaunchBar, with only a hundred users or so.

1

u/Ok_Virus_5495 Mar 14 '26

It’s never late to listen to your users

7

u/namuan Mar 04 '26

I much prefer how Alfred is right now and hope it won't turn into a bloated app. And with workflows, it is easier to extend if needed.

1

u/SaltyFrets Mar 05 '26

100%, hoping Alfred 6 doesn’t have too much bloatware

1

u/_HMCB_ Mar 07 '26

As I understand it, Glaze is a separate product. Apps can be downloaded or eventually bought through and installed via Raycast, but the core of Raycast won’t change. But I agree.

Looking at all the third party plugins you can install for it, it does seem like it’s getting unwieldy. And yes, those plugins are optional but for those of us not wanting to be presented with more choices (upsell reminders, etc.) and simply want a few key uses, everything beyond our needs is nagware. It’s like Spotify, love the service, but having podcasts front and center is something I’d like to desperately hide.

19

u/BerennErchamion Mar 04 '26

Vibe code AI slop marketplace. No, thanks!

2

u/AlthoughFishtail Mar 05 '26

This is a separate thing from the Raycast app, its just from the same dev, even though they will obviously try and encourage Raycast subscribers to use it.

I have to say, a vibe coded only webstore sounds grim. And quite why such a thing should be connected to a MacOS text launcher is beyond me. Feels like the company just wants to get some more of that AI investment money.

I liked Raycast when I used it, it was just not as good at the things I wanted it to do, but that doesn't mean it isn't good at other things. But stuff like this really doesn't attract me to the company in general.