The Best Raycast Extensions for Almost Everything
Raycast , free for individual users, is my favorite Spotlight replacement . This is an application that can be launched with a simple keyboard shortcut to see a simple text field. Enter a few characters to do anything. It has a lot of features built into it – you can launch any app by simply starting typing its name and pressing Enter, for example, or you can enter a URL and press Enter to open it in your default browser. You can also search for files or toggle various system settings.
This functionality alone makes installing Raycast worthwhile. However, the great thing about Raycast is the plugins. Raycast is far from the first launcher to offer plugins, but the app is unique in that it offers a built-in store that allows you to add these plugins with just a few keystrokes. Just type “Store”, press “Enter” and you’ll be able to browse the collection. Otherwise, you can browse the Raycast store online .
There are a lot of really useful tools here, and which ones are best will depend on your workflow. Here are the most useful types of plugins I’ve found.
Search in notes
I brew beer and mostly keep my recipes in OneNote. I also actively use Obsidian – my personal diary and work live there. Raycast makes it easy to search across these and other note-taking apps. There are extensions for Apple Notes , OneNote , Obsidian , and even Bear . All this allows you to search your notes directly in Raycast and view them right there. If you want to open a note, no problem: just press Enter. It’s great to be able to quickly find and get information like this.
Capture passwords quickly
Modern password managers integrate well into the browser, but receiving passwords when you’re not browsing can be annoying. Raycast extensions for Bitwarden , 1Password , Dashlane and KeePassXC make it easy to copy any password in a couple of keystrokes. Simply open the plugin, enter the password you are looking for and press Enter.
You can go even further and get two-factor authentication codes quickly. There is an extension for Authy , which notably still works, although the app no longer offers a desktop app. There’s also an extension that can pull 2FA codes from iMessage , meaning you won’t have to open your messages to simply copy and paste the code. Both work very well.
Music control
I usually know which album I want to listen to next. The Raycast extension for Spotify allows me to quickly enter an album name and play it. This also works for playlists, artists, and songs. I love the ability to quickly launch any music without having to fiddle with Spotify’s user interface. There is a similar extension for Apple Music if you like that player.
Read Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a great starting point for researching just about anything. The Wikipedia extension for Raycast allows you to search a page and even read it without taking your hands off the keyboard. You can also open the article in your default browser by pressing Enter.
Remove discs
To eject a drive on a Mac, you need to open Finder and click the eject button in the left sidebar. It’s annoyingly slow. The Single Disk Eject extension shows all currently connected external drives and allows you to disconnect by pressing Enter. This is cool.
Don’t let your Mac sleep
There’s no end to the number of Mac apps that do nothing but keep your Mac awake. The Coffee extension offers this without the need to install an app. You can launch it from Raycast or enable the menu bar icon if you prefer.
And much more
I could go on for a long time. Here are some more quick points:
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System Monitor lets you quickly view CPU, memory, and disk usage.
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MyIP shows your current IP address.
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Speedtest allows you to quickly check the speed of your Internet connection.
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Shell allows you to run any Terminal command without actually opening the Terminal.
This is just the beginning: there are many more tools. I recommend checking out the store to get a better idea of what you can do.