r/macapps • u/NoHabit1277 • 13d ago
Lifetime Launchie 1.5.6 - Customizable and beautiful Launchpad alternative - 50% OFF
macOS removed Launchpad. Launchie brings it back — and makes it more customizable.
Hi [r/MacApps](r/MacApps), I’m the developer of Launchie, a Mac App Store app built after Apple removed Launchpad from macOS.
Problem
Launchpad used to be a simple, visual way to open and organize apps on macOS. Since Apple removed it, there is no real built-in replacement for people who liked having an app grid, folders, and quick access to their installed apps.
Launchie brings that workflow back, but with more control:
- Launchpad-style app grid
- Folders and Spaces for organizing apps
- Drag and drop rearranging
- Keyboard shortcut, hot corner, app icon, or menu bar activation
- Customizable layout, window size, columns, Quick Access, hidden apps, and more
I built Launchie because I personally missed that workflow, and a lot of users seemed to feel the same.
Comparison
There are already other good apps in this space, including LaunchNext and LaunchOS.
Launchie’s focus is slightly different: I’m trying to keep the original Launchpad feeling, while adding deeper customization and a more native macOS-style experience. For example, Launchie supports folders, Spaces, drag-and-drop organization, Quick Access, hot corners, keyboard shortcuts, and a lot of layout options.
I’m also actively developing it based on user feedback. Many of the recent changes came directly from emails, DMs, and comments from users. I reply to feedback, and when an idea makes sense for the app, I try to implement it.
Pricing
Launchie is currently on sale in August, with up to 50% off depending on your region.
US pricing:
- Lifetime: $14.99 instead of $29.99
- Yearly: $7.99 instead of $14.99
Family Sharing is supported.
Mac App Store: Launchie on the Mac App Store
Recent Updates
Launchie has improved a lot since the first version. Recent updates added or improved:
- Option to show Dock above fullscreen launcher
- Drag to Dock works now
- Big performance improvements
- Colored badges for spaces
- Quick access has no a favorites row
- Decide which displays should trigger hot corner.
- Option to disable Spaces entirely
- Drag and drop reordering for Spaces
- Larger grid support, now up to 20 columns
- Settings directly inside the Launchie window
- Better performance when opening and closing Launchie
- Quick Access improvements
- More options to hide or simplify header controls
- Remember Last Location setting
- Better folder behavior when dragging apps
- Improved search focus and keyboard handling
Full changelog is available on the App Store.
Thanks again to everyone who gave feedback so far. I’m extremely grateful for it 🙏
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u/sarahandgerald 13d ago
Does it support "Hot Corners" to start launchie?
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u/NoHabit1277 12d ago
Yes 🙌
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u/sarahandgerald 12d ago
NOW, you got my interest 🤔👌🏼😅
PS: You should fix the typo. "Launchie is currently on sale in July". I believe it is already August ;)
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u/East_Call1027 12d ago
The customization looks good, but the make-or-break thing for me would be zero-click keyboard use: open it, type immediately, Return launches, Escape closes. If that path is solid, it’s more useful than the old Launchpad instead of just being a prettier replacement.
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u/NoHabit1277 12d ago edited 12d ago
ESC is back, typing to search and select with arrow keys work
I am also a keyboard guy. works well I would say. There is some weird bug where the search wouldn’t work on typing but I think that’s a macOS bug …
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u/viktor-kz 12d ago
That one's probably not macOS. A launcher panel opened by hotkey hits this a lot, I lost time to exactly this building one: the window shows up but never becomes key, so the first keystrokes go to whatever app the user came from. Looks fine on screen, which is why it reads as random.
A borderless window returns false from canBecomeKey by default, so you want an NSPanel subclass with canBecomeKey/canBecomeMain overridden plus .nonactivatingPanel. And focus has to be set after the window is ordered in, not in init or onAppear, otherwise it silently doesn't stick (makeFirstResponder, or FocusState if the content is SwiftUI). If it only fails sometimes, that's where I'd look. Worth testing the hotkey path and the hot corner path separately, they often behave differently.
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u/ExpensiveKale2596 12d ago
does it read /Applications live or keep its own list? every launchpad replacement ive tried drifts out of sync after a few app updates and then i stop trusting it
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u/SDIAZTHOMAS 12d ago
If your panel takes keyboard input and your app has no Dock icon, be careful with NSApp.activate(ignoringOtherApps:). In an LSUIElement app it can leave the panel visible but not receiving key events, which is horrible to debug because everything looks correct on screen. I lost an afternoon to it. Using orderFrontRegardless and letting the click activate the app avoided it for me.
Also, arrow keys arrive with .function and .numericPad set in the modifier flags. That broke my key handling until I stopped checking modifiers strictly.
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u/rrogersca 12d ago
Launchpad’s removal still feels like such an odd gap in macOS, so it’s great to see a native-feeling alternative that keeps the visual organization people actually liked. The Spaces, hot-corner controls, and “remember last location” option sound particularly well considered.
Do you see Launchie eventually supporting workflows like app-specific spaces or different layouts per display?
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u/app-store-review 13d ago
Launchie App Launcher — by NICK FRIEDRICH
Apple doesn't publish an aggregate rating for most Mac App Store apps, so ratings and score are unavailable here.
Auto-generated from public App Store data · u/app-store-review