Appetizer vs Kunkun
Appetizer
appetizer.cozic.net
Kunkun
kunkun.shSide by side
| Figure | Appetizer | Kunkun |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | — |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | — | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 0 |
| Spec score · App Launcher Software | 8.7 (#4) | 7.2 (#30) |
| Spec score · App Launchers | 8.6 (#6) | 7.1 (#34) |
| Spec score · App launchers | 8.5 (#8) | 6.8 (#36) |
| Maker | The site copyright identifies Laurent Cozic. | The official site credits the project to Huakun. |
| Open source | The maker describes Appetizer as open source and says it will remain free. | The documentation says the application and community extension code are available for examination on GitHub. |
| Support | Forum registration is closed because of spam, and the site says users may contact the maker if needed. | The documentation directs users to Discord for help with building extensions. |
Plans
In their own words
Appetizer
Appetizer is a free, open-source application launcher dock for Windows that organizes shortcuts and folders. A wizard imports shortcuts from different locations, after which icons can be arranged by drag and drop or grouped in menus. The dock can resize and display horizontally or vertically, with small, large, and extra-large icons, custom icons, and skins; two skins are included. It supports launching several items together, a hotkey to hide or show the dock, and minimizing it to the tray. Special items provide controls for the desktop, Recycle Bin, and Control Panel. With the standard PortableApps.com folder structure, Appetizer should detect applications and documents automatically. Version 1.4 is offered as a Windows installer or portable ZIP; the ZIP can run from a hard drive or USB stick and saves settings in the application directory. The download page lists Windows 2000, XP, and Vista. Plugins add functions such as USB document encryption, shortcut grouping, and closing the dock after launch, but require a restart after installation. Multilingual help and an API reference are provided.
Kunkun
Kunkun is a free, open-source app launcher for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It supports command launching and extensions, and its maker describes it as an alternative to Alfred and Raycast. Users can build lightweight extensions in JavaScript, including interfaces made with React, Vue, or Svelte. The community extension store includes tools such as Google Search, VSCode project opening, SQLite browsing, JSON formatting and inspection, and YouTube downloading. Extensions can also be installed from GitHub, npm, or tarball files. Before installing an extension, users can view its declared permissions; Kunkun says it blocks and logs unauthorized API access. The maker says submissions are personally reviewed before being added to the repository. The application and community extension code can be examined on GitHub. The project describes itself as early-stage and a work in progress. Downloads are listed for all three desktop platforms, including macOS AArch64, x64, and Universal builds. Extension-building questions are directed to Discord.