ahk_launcher

Easily launch customizable commands 🚀🍰

ahk_launcher lets you launch commands and search the web directly from a simple launcher.

✨ Features

• Run Commands: Remap any Windows command to an easy to remember shortcut.
• Query Search Engines: Add any number of search engines and launch it using keywords to search directly from any window.

💥 Demo

demo.mp4

⚙️ Requirements

• Latest AutoHotKey v1 version (app currently doesn't support AHK v2)
• Running Windows 10 or above

⚡ Installation

Get the latest AutoHotKey v1 exe or use winstall with winget

as of Aug 2024, v1.1.37.02 is the latest AutoHotKey v1 version

winget install --id=AutoHotkey.AutoHotkey -v "1.1.37.02" -e

Then, download the zip and extract ahk_launcher-main.zip.

To run the script on boot, create a shortcut for app/launcher.ahk and place it in %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.

Run launcher.ahk and then use the hotkey Win + Space to use the launcher.

💡 Usage

• launcher.ahk handles the UI and functionality.
• user_commands.ahk is for custom commands and search engines.

user_commands.ahk is what users are expected to modify to their own needs. It contains simple switch case statements where users can add any number of commands and search engines.

🔍 Adding search engine

Say you want to add Wikipedia search:

case "wiki" . A_Space:
  showSearchBox("https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/", "Wikipedia", "ce6e6e7")

Note

the color ce6e6e7 used in showSearchBox function is an optional parameter which defaults to white cffffff

Now entering wiki and then hitting Space will present you with an edit box where you can enter your search query.

🏓 Adding command

Similarly you can map commands to run statements. Like a common annoyance I have is to quickly change system's environment variables:

case "env":
    open("sysdm.cpl")

Entering env will immediately launch the "System Properties" window from where you can go to Advanced > Environment Variables.

☑️ Future Improvements

• Add search engine suggestions
• Add SVG brand logos next to the title