Vicinae

Vicinae brings a Raycast-style launcher to Linux. Hit a hotkey to search apps, files, clipboard history, emoji and browser tabs, expand text snippets anywhere, and install many Raycast extensions straight from Raycast's own store. GPL-3.0 and free, with a macOS beta and a Windows build that just left alpha.

There's nothing to host, but setup depends on your desktop. Wayland is the main target, X11 is less polished, GNOME wants a companion extension for clipboard and window features, and on some compositors you bind the global hotkey yourself. On a Mac it needs Apple Silicon and macOS 14 or newer. Telemetry is on by default (a daily ping with your OS, desktop and screen setup), with a settings toggle to turn it off.

Linux users: install it, it's the closest thing to Raycast there. On a Mac, Raycast's free plan is still more polished, and Sol (ospfranco/sol) is the simpler open option. On Windows, Flow Launcher (Flow-Launcher/Flow.Launcher) has the longer track record. No paid tier, and no AI yet.

The catch: Raycast extension support is partial and borrowed. The project's own test sheet confirms only a small slice of the store working, many extensions are built around macOS, and store access runs through Raycast's servers, which Raycast could cut off. Window management is a switcher, not snap-to-halves layouts.