# smolcast > smolcast is a small, fully native command palette for Windows 11: one hotkey (Ctrl+Alt+Space by default) for your apps, files, clipboard, emoji, scripts and snippets, in a single executable of about 7 MB. It is written in Rust with egui and the Windows APIs, has no Electron, WebView or Node runtime, no extensions, no AI features and no telemetry, and uses no CPU while hidden. Free and open source under the MIT license. smolcast is a Windows take on the core features of Tinycast (a macOS launcher) and Raycast (macOS and Windows). It is not affiliated with either. It runs on Windows 11 x64 only, as a normal user, with no installer, admin rights or runtime. Every page listed here is also published as markdown at its URL plus `.md` (the home page is https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/index.md, the comparison hub https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/compare/index.md). ## Features - App launcher: fuzzy search across Start Menu shortcuts, Store apps and installed programs that add no shortcut, ranked by frequency and recency, with each program's real icon. Up to 5 pinned favorites (Ctrl+Shift+F). - Calculator and conversions: `2^10`, `40cm to in`, `100f to c`, `3 GiB as MB`; the answer appears inline and Enter pastes it. Length, weight, volume, temperature, time, data, area, speed and angles, offline. - Web search fallback: every search ends with a row for the engine you pick: Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Brave, Ecosia, Startpage, Kagi or a custom URL. - File search: by name through the Windows Search index; Enter opens, Ctrl+Enter shows the item in Explorer. - System commands: Lock Screen, Sleep, Restart, Shut Down, Sign Out, Empty Recycle Bin, Toggle Dark Mode, Toggle Mute, Turn Off Display. Destructive ones ask for a second Enter. - Quicklinks: open a URL, file or folder by name, or type a query after its keyword (`gh rust egui`). - Clipboard history: text and images, searchable, pasted back into the previous app. Uses Windows clipboard history when it is on, or smolcast's own, encrypted on disk. - Emoji picker: every Unicode 17.0 emoji, in color, pasted exactly. - Scripts: named commands from the config, run from the palette or their own hotkey. - Snippets: saved text found by name or keyword and edited in the palette. - Also: keeps a dismissed search for 30 seconds, self-updates from GitHub releases when you agree, offers to recycle broken Start Menu shortcuts, follows light and dark mode and Windows' Animation effects setting. ## Install 1. Download `smolcast--x86_64.exe` from https://github.com/Archetypically/smolcast/releases/latest 2. Put it in a folder you can write to, such as `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\smolcast`, and run it. 3. Press Ctrl+Alt+Space. Turn on "Start smolcast when you sign in" in its settings to keep it around. Releases are not code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn on first download. In-app updates are checked against the release's SHA-256 checksum. ## Configuration Settings are in the palette ("smolcast settings") or in `%APPDATA%\smolcast\config.toml`. Scripts, snippets and quicklinks are TOML tables: `[scripts.]`, `[snippets.]`, `[quicklinks.]`, where a quicklink's id is its keyword and `{query}` in its URL is replaced by the text typed after it. ## Privacy Data stays on the computer. The only request smolcast makes on its own is a daily check of its GitHub releases (turn off with `check_for_updates = false`), which sends nothing beyond smolcast's version in the user agent. There is no account or telemetry, and crash reports are never sent: a crash is only logged locally, and the Report a Bug command opens a GitHub issue the user reviews and submits. The website sets no cookies, runs no analytics and loads nothing from other sites. - [Privacy policy](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/privacy): the files smolcast keeps and where, the update check, clipboard encryption and exclusions, and what the website records. - [Code signing policy](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/code-signing): once signing is on, releases are built from a tagged commit on GitHub and signed through SignPath Foundation after a maintainer approves each one (being set up; releases so far are unsigned); who holds each role, and how to check a download's signature, checksum and build attestation. ## Comparisons Checked against each project's own site on 2026-10-23. - [Windows launchers compared](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/compare/): smolcast, Raycast for Windows, PowerToys Command Palette and Flow Launcher side by side. - [smolcast vs Raycast for Windows](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/compare/raycast): Raycast has extensions, AI, window management and Cloud Sync, with a $10/month Pro plan; smolcast covers the core features with no account, AI or telemetry. - [smolcast vs PowerToys Command Palette and PowerToys Run](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/compare/powertoys-command-palette): Microsoft's extensible launcher, strong on Windows administration (WinGet, services, registry, Settings); smolcast adds emoji, snippets and unit conversions in one small app. - [smolcast vs Flow Launcher](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/compare/flow-launcher): a plugin-driven .NET launcher with Everything file search; smolcast builds in clipboard history, emoji and snippets instead of plugins. - [smolcast vs Tinycast](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/compare/tinycast): Tinycast is a free, open-source launcher for macOS only; smolcast is the closest equivalent on Windows, with a smaller feature set and its own code. - [smolcast vs Fluent Search](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/compare/fluent-search): Fluent Search searches apps, files, tabs, windows and on-screen text with its own indexer and C# plugins; smolcast builds in clipboard history, emoji and snippets. - [smolcast vs Listary](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/compare/listary): Listary is file search first, with Quick Switch for Open and Save dialogs and a $19.95 Pro; smolcast is a launcher with clipboard, emoji and snippets built in. - [smolcast vs Wox](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/compare/wox): Wox is an open-source launcher for Windows, macOS and Linux with built-in plugins, a plugin store and AI chat; smolcast is Windows only, smaller, and has no AI. - [smolcast vs Alfred](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/compare/alfred): Alfred is Mac only, with clipboard history and snippets in its paid Powerpack; smolcast has them free on Windows 11. - [smolcast vs Keypirinha](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/compare/keypirinha): Keypirinha is a portable freeware launcher with Python plugins whose last release was November 2020; smolcast is actively developed. - [smolcast vs Ueli](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/compare/ueli): Ueli is an open-source Electron launcher for every OS with a 177 MB Windows installer; smolcast is native and 7 MB. ## Docs - [README](https://github.com/Archetypically/smolcast/blob/main/README.md): features, install, usage, the full settings table, privacy and building from source. - [Project brief](https://github.com/Archetypically/smolcast/blob/main/docs/projectbrief.md): scope and non-goals. - [Visual design](https://github.com/Archetypically/smolcast/blob/main/docs/DESIGN.md): layout, tokens and components. - [Decisions](https://github.com/Archetypically/smolcast/tree/main/docs/decisions): one file per design decision. - [Source](https://github.com/Archetypically/smolcast): MIT licensed. ## Optional - [Website](https://smolcast.evanlee.engineer/): this page's human version, with a working recreation of the palette. - [Author](https://evanlee.engineer): Evan Lee.