Choose a goal to narrow the list. Until you do, every workflow is shown.
Open a repeated destination with a Quicklink
A website, folder, or app you open many times still takes a search or a bookmark menu.
Features: Quicklinks, Root Search, Aliases and Hotkeys
Platforms: macOS and Windows
Plan: Shared team Quicklinks have a cap on Teams Free.
View workflow
Prerequisites
- Raycast is installed from its developer, not from this website.
- You know the URL, folder, or app you want to reopen.
Steps
- Open Raycast with the hotkey you configured.
- Run Create Quicklink and add the URL, file, folder, or app path.
- Give it a name you will remember.
- Open the action panel with Command-K on macOS or Ctrl-K on Windows and set an alias or hotkey if you want one.
- Later, type the name in Root Search or use the shortcut.
Practical outcome
The destination is available from the same field as your other commands. How much time that saves depends on how often you use it. This site does not estimate a number.
Limitations
- A Quicklink does not sign you in.
- Shared team Quicklinks have a cap on Teams Free.
- Syncing Quicklinks to another computer requires paid Cloud Sync.
Related reading
Find a file by name from the launcher
You know a file's name, but not which folder you left it in.
Features: File Search, Root Search, Action Panel
Platforms: macOS and Windows
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Prerequisites
- File Search has permission to index the folder that holds the file.
- The file is not excluded by an ignore rule.
Steps
- Open Raycast and start typing the file name.
- If you need metadata or recent files, run Search Files.
- Press Return to open the file, or Command-K / Ctrl-K for actions such as Quick Look or Save as Quicklink.
- If name search is not enough, enable Content Search only after Spotlight on macOS or Windows Search already covers those folders.
Practical outcome
Name matches can appear beside apps and commands, so a known file does not require a separate browse step.
Limitations
- Content inside files is not searched until Content Search is on, and that setting depends on the system index.
- Granting access to only some folders hides everything else.
- The index stays on that computer.
Related reading
Place two windows with half-screen commands
Dragging windows to compare two documents is fiddly, especially on a laptop trackpad.
Features: Window Management, Aliases and Hotkeys
Platforms: macOS and Windows
Plan: This sequence uses built-in commands. Custom layouts are a separate paid feature.
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Prerequisites
- On macOS, grant Raycast the Accessibility permission the manual describes.
- The apps you want to arrange are already open.
Steps
- Focus the first window.
- Open Raycast and run Left Half, or use a hotkey you assigned to that command.
- Focus the second window and run Right Half.
- Use Restore if you want the previous size back.
Practical outcome
The built-in half commands are a repeatable arrangement. They do not require a custom layout.
Limitations
- Some apps refuse to resize.
- macOS Spaces and Stage Manager change how windows are shown. The manual documents a Stage Manager caveat for layouts.
- This sequence uses built-in commands. Custom layouts are a separate paid feature.
Related reading
Move the focused window to another display
A window opened on the wrong monitor and you do not want to drag it across.
Features: Window Management
Platforms: macOS and Windows
View workflow
Prerequisites
- More than one display is connected.
- On macOS, Accessibility permission is granted.
Steps
- Focus the window you want to move.
- Run Move to Next Display or Move to Previous Display.
- If you do this often, assign a hotkey from the action panel.
Practical outcome
The focused window moves between displays without a long drag. The command does not rearrange every other window.
Limitations
- A single-display computer has nowhere to move the window.
- Full-screen and some protected windows may not move.
Related reading
Restore a saved multi-window layout
You rebuild the same arrangement of editor, browser, and notes every morning.
Features: Custom Window Layouts, Quicklinks
Platforms: macOS and Windows
Plan: A paid plan that includes Custom Window Management.
View workflow
Prerequisites
- A paid plan that includes Custom Window Management.
- The same apps are installed on the computer where you restore the layout.
Steps
- Arrange the windows the way you want them.
- Run Save Current Layout and name it.
- Optionally attach a URL, file, or Quicklink to an app in the layout editor.
- Later, run the layout by name.
Practical outcome
A named layout recreates an arrangement you already designed. It does not decide which arrangement is best.
Limitations
- This is a paid feature in the billing manual.
- Closing other windows can still raise unsaved-change prompts.
- The Windows marketing page and the manual do not tell the same story about how complete custom window management is on every build. Confirm in the app.
Related reading
Expand a keyword into text you repeat
You retype the same address, introduction, or template.
Features: Snippets, Dynamic Placeholders
Platforms: macOS and Windows
Plan: Teams Free has a shared snippet and Quicklink cap.
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Prerequisites
- You can choose a keyword that will not appear in ordinary sentences.
Steps
- Create a snippet and paste the longer text.
- Assign a distinctive keyword.
- If the text needs a date or the current clipboard, read the dynamic placeholder manual before adding one.
- In the destination app, type the keyword so the snippet can expand.
- Use Search Snippets when you forget the keyword.
Practical outcome
Repeated text can be inserted consistently. Someone still has to make sure the text is right.
Limitations
- A common keyword will expand when you did not mean it to.
- Do not store passwords in snippets.
- Teams Free has a shared snippet and Quicklink cap.
Related reading
Paste an earlier copy from Clipboard History
The thing you need was copied a few items ago and the system clipboard only holds the latest one.
Features: Clipboard History
Platforms: macOS and Windows
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Prerequisites
- Clipboard History is enabled.
- The source app is not on the disabled-apps list.
Steps
- Copy as you normally do.
- Open Clipboard History and search, or filter by type with Command-P or Ctrl-P.
- Press Return to paste the selected entry into the focused app, or use the action panel to paste as plain text.
- Exclude password managers in settings if those copies should never be stored.
- Choose a retention period. Options longer than three months are marked Pro and are not enabled automatically.
Practical outcome
An earlier copy can be pasted without going back to the original app, as long as it is still inside the retention window.
Limitations
- History can store sensitive text. Exclusion and retention settings are part of using it.
- Clipboard history is not included in Cloud Sync.
- Universal Clipboard behavior described in the manual is an Apple-device feature.
Related reading
Run a local script as a command
A short script you already trust is buried in a terminal history.
Features: Script Commands, Aliases and Hotkeys
Platforms: macOS and Windows
View workflow
Prerequisites
- You can read the script and you trust what it does.
- The interpreter exists on that computer. Mac and Windows do not use the same default languages.
Steps
- Run Create Script Command and pick a language template that matches the computer.
- Put the script in a folder you add under Settings, Script Commands.
- Fill in the title in the metadata header.
- Run it from Root Search.
- Assign a hotkey only after you have run it successfully on purpose.
Practical outcome
A script you already use can sit beside other commands. The benefit is convenience, not a new capability the script did not have.
Limitations
- RaycastWork does not provide scripts to install.
- On Windows, PowerShell's execution policy can block a script.
- Script files are not copied to your other computers by Cloud Sync.
- Grant macOS privacy prompts to Raycast when the manual says to, because Raycast is the process running the script.
Related reading
Add one Store extension for a tool you already use
You keep opening a browser to do one small action in a tool that may already have an extension.
Features: Extension Store, Root Search
Platforms: macOS and Windows
Plan: AI use of an extension requires a paid AI plan.
View workflow
Prerequisites
- You know which third-party service you want to reach.
- You are willing to review that extension's own permissions and sign-in.
Steps
- Open the Store command.
- Search for the tool. Only extensions compatible with this operating system are shown.
- Read the description and author details on the listing.
- Install it if you are comfortable with the publisher.
- Sign in through the extension's own flow if it asks. That account is with the other service.
Practical outcome
A compatible extension can surface one service inside the launcher. It does not replace that service.
Limitations
- This site does not endorse individual extensions.
- A Mac extension that needs native code may not exist on Windows.
- An Enterprise allow-list can block an install.
- AI use of an extension requires a paid AI plan.
Related reading
Ask Quick AI a question you will verify
You want a short explanation or a draft without opening a separate chat site, and you have AI access.
Features: Quick AI
Platforms: macOS and Windows
Plan: The account is on a paid plan or the Pro trial.
View workflow
Prerequisites
- The account is on a paid plan or the Pro trial.
- The computer is online.
- You have credits remaining if the plan uses Raycast-provided models.
Steps
- Open Root Search.
- Press Tab for Quick AI, as the quickstart describes.
- Ask a bounded question.
- Read the answer and check anything you might act on.
- Open AI Chat instead if you need attachments, a longer thread, or a model switch.
Practical outcome
A short prompt can stay inside the launcher. The practical benefit is proximity, not correctness. The model can be wrong.
Limitations
- Free plans do not include AI.
- The Pro trial does not include top-tier models.
- Do not include secrets in the prompt.
- Screen Awareness is separate. Do not assume the model can see your display.
Related reading
Reuse one AI Command for a rewrite you always edit
You paste the same rewrite instruction into a chat several times a week.
Features: AI Commands
Platforms: macOS and Windows
Plan: Team sharing and Cloud Sync have their own plan requirements.
View workflow
Prerequisites
- Raycast AI is available on the account.
- You have a specific instruction, such as a shorter version or a clearer version.
Steps
- Create an AI Command with that instruction.
- Name it for the job, not for a model.
- Run it on text you are allowed to send to the AI feature.
- Edit the output before it goes to anyone else.
- Assign a hotkey only after the command behaves the way you want.
Practical outcome
The instruction does not have to be retyped. The output still needs review, so this is not an unattended publisher.
Limitations
- Each run can spend credits.
- A vague instruction produces vague output.
- Team sharing and Cloud Sync have their own plan requirements.
Related reading
Capture a daily list in Raycast Notes
Small tasks are scattered across chats and you want one keyboard-reachable list.
Features: Raycast Notes, Aliases and Hotkeys
Platforms: macOS and Windows
Plan: You have room within the five-note Free limit, or you are on a paid plan with unlimited notes.
View workflow
Prerequisites
- You have room within the five-note Free limit, or you are on a paid plan with unlimited notes.
Steps
- Run Create Note.
- Put the title on the first line.
- Use the task-list syntax or shortcut documented in the Notes manual.
- Pin the note if you want it at the top of Search Notes.
- Optionally set the hotkey the manual mentions, Option-N on macOS or Alt-N on Windows.
Practical outcome
A short list is available without opening a separate notes application. It stays useful only if you actually update it.
Limitations
- Free accounts are limited to five notes.
- This is not a shared project manager.
- Sync to another computer needs paid Cloud Sync. Cloud Sync v2 for iOS is not available yet, according to the manual.
Related reading
Start a Focus session with an explicit block list
Specific apps or sites keep interrupting a block of work you already defined.
Features: Focus
Platforms: macOS and Windows
Plan: The billing manual does not clearly place Focus on Free or paid. Confirm access in the app.
View workflow
Prerequisites
- You have decided which apps or sites to block, or which few to allow.
- You accept that blocked apps quit when the session starts.
Steps
- Run Start Focus Session.
- Enter a goal and a duration, or leave the duration with no limit.
- Choose Block, then add the distracting apps, sites, or a category you already created.
- Start the session.
- Use Pause or Complete when you need to leave it. Set No Snooze if the default snooze would undermine the session.
Practical outcome
The session makes a distracting app harder to open for a period you chose. It does not produce a productivity score.
Limitations
- Allow mode blocks everything outside the list. Start with Block mode if you are unsure.
- The billing manual does not clearly place Focus on Free or paid. Confirm access in the app.
- The AI control for Focus requires Raycast AI.
Related reading
Keep an existing task tracker one shortcut away
You already have a task manager and do not need a second one inside the launcher.
Features: Quicklinks, Raycast Notes
Platforms: macOS and Windows
View workflow
Prerequisites
- The task manager has a URL or app you can open.
Steps
- Create a Quicklink to that app or URL.
- Optional: keep a separate Raycast note for scratch items that are not ready for the tracker.
- Move items into the tracker when they become real tasks.
Practical outcome
Raycast opens the system you already trust. The list of record stays in that system.
Limitations
- This does not import tasks from the other product.
- A Quicklink will not update a task by itself.
Related reading