Open a group for the limits. The feature explorer has the platform notes and the manual link for each feature.
Search & Navigation
Open apps, files, links, and system actions from one search field.
Root Search is the habit the quickstart teaches first: open the launcher, type, and act. File matches are names by default. Content inside a file is a separate switch and it borrows Spotlight or Windows Search, so a broken system index means empty content results.
More on Search & Navigation
Quicklinks, the calculator, emoji search, system commands, the Windows Run replacement, and PC game search sit in this group because they start from the same field. Game search and Run are documented as Windows features. Do not import them onto a Mac diagram.
Open these features
AI & Assistance
Ask questions, run saved prompts, and dictate text when a paid AI plan allows it.
Quick AI is the short question. AI Chat is the thread with attachments and model switching. AI Commands store a prompt you repeat. Dictation and Translate are listed with paid features on the billing page, under the name Translator for the translation tool.
More on AI & Assistance
Bring-your-own keys and local Ollama models do not spend Raycast credits, but the v2 changelog says those connection methods require Pro. A Free account does not get a back door through a personal API key.
Open these features
Keyboard Productivity
Reach commands with aliases, hotkeys, and the action panel.
Aliases, hotkeys, and the action panel are how the rest of the app stays fast. The panel is Command-K on a Mac and Ctrl-K on Windows. Notes are filed here because the manual treats them as a hotkey-reachable capture surface. Free accounts get five notes.
More on Keyboard Productivity
Hyper Key is a dedicated modifier layer. Remap a key only after you have read the current manual, because this guide stops at the overview.
Open these features
Window Management
Move and resize the focused window, with custom layouts on paid plans.
Built-in commands cover halves, quarters, displays, and exact sizes. On a Mac they need Accessibility access. Custom commands and multi-window layouts are the paid Custom Window Management feature.
More on Window Management
Stage Manager can hide windows a layout expected to show. The manual says so. A layout is also only useful on a computer that still has those apps installed.
Open these features
Extensions
Add community commands from the Store, or build a focused integration.
The Store shows extensions compatible with the system you are on. Thousands are advertised by Raycast. This site has not reviewed them one by one, so a listing elsewhere is not an endorsement.
More on Extensions
Building an extension uses React and TypeScript. Script commands are a lighter path and live in the developer group. AI Extensions, which let a chat call a tool, require paid AI.
Open these features
Clipboard & Snippets
Reuse recent copies and expand short keywords into longer text.
Clipboard History keeps text, images, files, links, emails, and colors until the retention window deletes them. Windows of 6 months, 1 year, and unlimited are marked Pro and are not enabled for you automatically. History does not sync.
More on Clipboard & Snippets
Snippets expand keywords and can insert dates or clipboard values through dynamic placeholders. Pick an unusual keyword. Do not store secrets in either feature.
Open these features
Developer Workflows
Turn a script into a command without shipping a full extension.
A script command is a local file with a metadata header. Mac templates include AppleScript and Swift. Windows scripts use whatever interpreter is on PATH, and PowerShell may refuse to run until the execution policy changes.
More on Developer Workflows
Cloud Sync copies script settings, not the script files. Another computer will not grow the same commands by signing in.
Open these features
Automation
Sync a setup, schedule an AI prompt, or start a Focus session from a rule you define.
Focus blocks or allows apps and sites for a session you configure. The manual's own table says the blocking behavior exists on macOS and Windows. The billing page never names the plan, so this guide does not invent one.
More on Automation
AI Automations schedule a prompt. Cloud Sync copies selected settings between paid, signed-in devices and deliberately leaves clipboard history and credentials behind. The Windows FAQ conflict about Cloud Sync is called out in the feature record.
Open these features