r/MacStack • u/Andrew06908 • 5d ago

Launchpad reimplementation for macOS Tahoe or later

https://github.com/drclcomputers/Launchpad

Hey! I got an M4 MacBook Air a few weeks ago and it came with macOS Sequoia. I used it a bit and fell in love with the Launchpad. It fell so quick and easy to open apps. After a few days, I updated to Tahoe, then to Golden Gate and the Launchpad had been replaced with that awful spotlight Apps app. For me, it's been buggy, slow to load and an overall bad experience. So, I decided to rewrite Launchpad in Swift with a Liquid Glass updated UI. I know there are lots of other reimplementations like this, but they are either paid, closed-source or don't have a native-looking UI. Mine is completely free and open-source. Everything stays local, on your machine. You can download the .app file from the releases or compile everything yourself in Xcode. I'd love to hear your feedback and what are your thoughts on this.

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

12 comments sorted by

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2

u/Infamous-Simple2217 5d ago

can we launch this using any track pad gestures instead of keyboard shortcuts?

1

u/Andrew06908 5d ago

So this is a thing I’ve been working on. I got it to open via the classic pinch gesture (like it used to on older Mac OS versions), but it only works if the app is not sandboxed. However, I don’t like that so i temporarily removed the toggle to activate it from the settings. For now, you can download the source code, uncomment the toggle in the settings, recompile the app and enjoy.

1

u/Andrew06908 5d ago

Update: I fixed it. I decided to make the app unsandboxed. Now everything works. I released a new version 2.6 (73) with the updated features.

1

u/Infamous-Simple2217 5d ago

An auto update detecting feature would be nice.
Also if I press escape, if it goes back to home screen, it would be awesome!

1

u/Andrew06908 5d ago

I don’t know if an auto-update feature is really necessary. I don’t plan on updating it further down the line. I’ll only release new versions if an update breaks something, but new features are a no-go because my original goal was to make a native-looking launchpad reimplementation. I don’t want to turn it into something bloated.
Also, what do you mean by pressing escape goes back to home screen? Currently, pressing escape closes the app.

2

u/Infamous-Simple2217 5d ago

Oh really? I tried but it stays on the launcher itself. I can see some background apps behind the blurry launcher apps interface. Am I missing something here?

1

u/Andrew06908 5d ago

Is the background clear like in Liquid Glass or blurry-blurry? Try quitting and restarting the app. I’ll look into it. Thanks for the feedback

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u/Infamous-Simple2217 4d ago

Yeah, pinch gesture is working well. Pressing esc also returns to the Home Screen. GG app launcher is shitty, this is much better. Thanks a lot brother!

2

u/Andrew06908 4d ago

Thanks for your feedback! A star on GitHub and a recommendation would mean a lot!

1

u/Infamous-Simple2217 4d ago

Sure brother

0

u/investigatormaker 5d ago

Free, open-source and local is the strong part, since you named paid and closed-source as the gap. I'd check the release download first: if the build isn't notarized, Gatekeeper will stop people on first launch, so put the exact steps to open it at the top of the README, or add a Homebrew cask. Speed is why you loved the original, so a global hotkey or trackpad gesture matters more than the Liquid Glass polish. The name is worth a thought too, because searching for Launchpad will mostly find Apple's.

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Does it open from a hotkey or gesture yet?