Launchy

Launchy is a macOS SwiftUI application that recreates the familiar Launchpad experience with enhanced customization. It lets you browse, search, and organize installed apps into pages and folders with smooth paging, wiggle mode editing, and persistent layout storage.

Features

• App Browsing – grid of installed apps with search, paging, and keyboard navigation.
• Wiggle Mode – reorder apps, create folders, and batch-move selections with multi-select tools.
• Folders – drag-and-drop or tap to organize multiple apps into named collections.
• App Launching – click any app tile to open it immediately and close the launcher.
• Settings – tweak grid dimensions, icon scaling, and other layout preferences.
• Persistence – local storage keeps your custom layout intact between sessions.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
⌘E	Toggle wiggle (edit) mode
⌘,	Open settings
← / →	Navigate between pages
Home / End	Jump to first / last page
Page Up / Page Down	Navigate between pages
Escape	Layered dismiss: close folder → close settings → clear search → exit edit mode → hide launcher
Trackpad swipe / scroll	Navigate between pages (sensitivity configurable in settings)
F4	Global hotkey to toggle launcher visibility

Architecture

graph LR
    A[InstalledApplicationsProvider] --> B[LaunchyDataStore]
    B --> C[LaunchyViewModel]
    C --> D[DragCoordinator]
    C --> E[LaunchyRootView]
    C --> L[LayoutUndoManager]
    E --> F[LaunchyPagedGridView]
    E --> G[FolderContentView]
    F --> H[LaunchyGridPageView]
    H --> I[LaunchyItemView]
    J[GridSettingsStore] --> C
    J --> E
    K[GlobalHotkeyService] --> M[AppDelegate]
    N[TrackpadGestureService] --> M
    O[MenuBarService] --> M
    P[NotificationBadgeProvider] --> I
    Q[ApplicationIconProvider] --> I
    R[ICloudSyncService] --> C

Loading

Layer	Responsibility
Models	AppIcon, LaunchyItem, LaunchyFolder, GridSettings — pure value types (Codable, Sendable)
Services	InstalledApplicationsProvider discovers apps; LaunchyDataStore persists layout; GridSettingsStore persists preferences; GlobalHotkeyService / TrackpadGestureService handle activation; MenuBarService provides status item; NotificationBadgeProvider polls app badges; ApplicationIconProvider caches icons; ICloudSyncService syncs layout; LayoutUndoManager manages undo/redo
ViewModels	LaunchyViewModel owns the item list, paging, editing, and folder logic; DragCoordinator encapsulates drag-and-drop state and stacking
Views	SwiftUI views for the grid, folder overlay, settings panel, and search field

Requirements

• macOS 14.0 or newer
• Xcode 16+ with the Swift 6.2 toolchain (required for the Swift 6.2 package manifest)

Getting Started

Clone the repository and build:

git clone https://github.com/lbenicio/launchy.git
cd launchy

# Build and run in debug mode
make run

# Or build a release .app bundle
make bundle

# Create an unsigned DMG for distribution
make dmg

Development Tips

• Use swift build before submitting changes to ensure everything still compiles.
• Run make test to verify the test suite passes.
• Use make dmg to produce an unsigned DMG for local testing.
• Launch the app and press the edit button (wiggle mode) to manage icons and folders.
• Dependabot is configured for Swift and GitHub Actions updates; expect PRs prefixed with chore(deps).

Contributing

1. Fork the repo and create a feature branch.
2. Follow the pull request template (.github/pull_request_template.md).
3. Include relevant issue links and screenshots for UI changes.
4. Ensure new functionality has appropriate tests or manual verification steps.

License

This project is licensed under the GPLv3 License. See LICENSE.txt for details.