Kunkun vs Launchy
Kunkun
kunkun.shLaunchy
launchy.netSide by side
| Figure | Kunkun | Launchy |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | Free |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| API | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 0 | 2 |
| Spec score · App Launcher Software | 7.2 (#30) | 8.6 (#6) |
| Spec score · App Launchers | 7.1 (#34) | 9.1 (#3) |
| Spec score · App launchers | 6.8 (#36) | 9.0 (#3) |
| Integrations | The store lists extensions for services and tools including Letterboxd, Imgur, Zed, VSCode, Google Search, and Hacker News. | The official plugin list includes PuTTY sessions, Todoist, Windows Live Messenger, system power controls and task switching. |
| Support | The documentation directs users to Discord for help with building extensions. | The help page directs users to the distributed Readme.pdf and Launchy forums for support. |
Plans
In their own words
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.
Launchy
Launchy is a free utility for opening programs, files, folders, and websites with a few keystrokes. It indexes start-menu programs and can search directories and file types that users add. It stays in the background until the hotkey is pressed: Alt+Space by default, or Control+Space on Linux. Users can customize its appearance with skins and extend it through plugins for web searches, calculations, custom commands, and bookmark access. Other listed plugin examples include PuTTY sessions, task switching, and system power controls; these are made by other developers, and Launchy does not guarantee their functionality or behavior. Portable mode stores configuration files in the directory where Launchy runs, so it can be used from a USB stick. The bundled Calcy calculator supports addition, division, subtraction, multiplication, and parentheses. The listed platforms are Android, Linux, macOS, and Windows. Launchy is free to download with no fixed price; the listed recommended value is $10 USD, and the plan notes suggest considering a $3 contribution.