Free & open source · Windows · macOS · Ubuntu

MaxLaunchpad.
One key. Any app.

The keyboard-driven application launcher for Windows, macOS and Linux. Bind your programs to a virtual keyboard, summon it anywhere with a global hotkey, and launch with a single keystroke. Muscle memory, not mental effort.

Download for free Read the documentation

Press Alt + ` to summon. Press one key to launch. Two keystrokes, every time.

MaxLaunchpad — ~/.config/MaxLaunchpad/keyboard.yaml

F1–F10 · global function keys

1–0 · tabs

30 keys per tab

The MaxLaunchpad virtual keyboard — click a number key to switch tabs. Every key is one program.

Built for the way
your fingers already think.

Search launchers ask you to recall a name, type it, read a list and confirm. MaxLaunchpad replaces all four steps with one: the key you already know.

310Configurable shortcuts per profile
1Keystroke to launch, after the hotkey
3Operating systems, one workflow
0Accounts, cloud services, telemetry

Virtual keyboard layout

Ten tabs. Thirty keys each.
Ten function keys for everything.

Tabs work like tmux sessions for your applications — one context per tab, each with a full set of thirty bindings. Function keys stay global, so F1 means the same thing everywhere.

Function keys F1–F10

Global row, shared by every tab. Perfect for the ten apps you need no matter what you are doing.

Tab selectors 1–0

Ten named contexts — Dev, Work, Media, Games, Ops. Switch with a number key, the arrow keys, or a scroll of the wheel.

Letter & symbol keys Q–/

Thirty per-tab bindings across three rows: Q–P, A–; and Z–/. Spatial, deterministic, unforgettable.

MaxLaunchpad keyboard shortcuts reference
ShortcutAction
Alt + `  (⌥ + ` on macOS)Show or hide MaxLaunchpad — fully configurable
F1 – F10Launch a global shortcut from any tab
Q–P, A–;, Z–/Launch the shortcut on the active tab
1 – 0Jump straight to tab 1–10
← / → or scrollPrevious / next tab
Ctrl+F / ⌘+FSearch every shortcut by label, path, arguments, working directory, description or key ID
EscClose the dialog, or hide the window
Right-click a keyEdit · Copy · Cut · Paste · Delete · Open file location
Drop a file on a keyConfigure that key instantly
Alt (tap)Reveal the menu bar when it is hidden

Features

Deliberately restrained.
Relentlessly fast.

MaxLaunchpad does one thing: it makes your most-used applications instantly reachable from the keyboard. No plugin marketplace, no AI sidebar, no bloat.

Single-keystroke launch

The same key always launches the same app — forever. The window auto-hides the moment the program starts.

Global hotkey

Summon from any application with Alt + `. Modifiers and main key are re-bindable at runtime.

Drag & drop setup

Drag an executable, shortcut or .app onto a key. Windows .lnk files are parsed for target, arguments and working directory automatically.

Quick Select

Search installed applications inside the edit dialog to auto-fill label, path and description — with ↑ ↓ Enter navigation.

Arguments, working dir, admin

Every shortcut can carry command-line arguments, a working directory, a custom icon, a tooltip and Run as Admin on Windows.

Multiple profiles

keyboard.yaml, work.yaml, gaming.yaml — switch with File ▸ New / Open / Save As.

Auto-save with backups

Every change is written immediately, and the previous version is kept as a timestamped backup in backups/.

Multi-monitor & Spaces

Appears on the display under your cursor and on the current macOS Space. Always on top, auto-hides on blur, locks to center.

Light, dark & custom CSS

Follow the system theme or force one. Drop a .css file into styles/ and make it entirely yours.

Compact mode

Hide the menu bar, button icons, button text, empty buttons or whole keyboard rows until only what you need remains.

Real icons, cached

Extracts icons from Windows UWP/Store apps and macOS .app bundles, supports custom paths and URLs, falls back to generated DiceBear avatars.

Tray-first

The close button minimises to tray. Optional Launch on Startup and Start in Tray keep it out of your way.

Launch anything

Executables. Store apps.
Scripts. URLs.

If your operating system can run it, a MaxLaunchpad key can launch it.

Windows

.exe · .lnk · .bat · .cmd · .ps1 · Microsoft Store & UWP apps · shell: targets · elevated Run as Admin.

macOS

.app bundles launched via open -a with arguments · Unix executables · .sh · .command.

Ubuntu / Linux

ELF binaries · .desktop entries · .sh · .py · .rb.

Every platform

http and https URLs open in your default browser — bookmark bar on a keyboard.

Configuration

Plain YAML.
Version it. Sync it. Share it.

Everything lives in ~/.config/MaxLaunchpad/ on every platform (honouring XDG_CONFIG_HOME). Put that folder in a Git repo and your launcher follows you to every machine.

~/.config/MaxLaunchpad/
~/.config/MaxLaunchpad/
├── settings.yaml   # App settings & global hotkey
├── keyboard.yaml   # Default keyboard profile
├── work.yaml       # Additional profiles you create
├── caches/         # Icon cache
├── logs/           # Application logs
├── styles/         # Custom CSS themes
└── backups/        # Timestamped auto-backups
keyboard.yaml — bindings & tab labels
tabs:
  - id: '1'
    label: 'Dev'
  - id: '2'
    label: 'Work'

keys:
  - tabId: 'F'            # global function row
    id: F1
    label: Help
    filePath: 'C:\Windows\HelpPane.exe'

  - tabId: '1'
    id: Q
    label: Calculator
    filePath: 'C:\Windows\system32\calc.exe'
    description: Launch Calculator
settings.yaml — hotkey, theme, window
hotkey:
  modifiers: [Alt]
  key: '`'
activeTabOnShow: lastUsed
lockWindowCenter: true
launchOnStartup: true
startInTray: true
theme: system          # light | dark | system
customStyle: default
windowSize: { width: 1000, height: 600 }
hideElements:
  menu: false
  buttonIcons: false
  emptyButtons: false
Microsoft Store / UWP app example
  - tabId: '1'
    id: O
    label: OutlookStoreApp
    filePath: explorer.exe
    arguments: >-
      shell:appsFolder\Microsoft.
      OutlookForWindows_8wekyb3d8bbwe!App

  - tabId: '1'
    id: T
    label: Terminal (admin)
    filePath: 'C:\Windows\System32\wt.exe'
    workingDirectory: 'C:\Projects'
    runAsAdmin: true

See the full YAML schema in the documentation

Quick start

Set up in 60 seconds.

  1. Launch it

    The virtual keyboard appears, and MaxLaunchpad settles into your system tray.

  2. Enable Drag & Drop Mode

    View ▸ Drag & Drop Mode keeps the window visible and movable while you configure.

  3. Drag apps onto keys

    From Explorer, Finder or Files — or right-click a key and use Quick Select.

  4. Name your tabs

    Right-click a number key 1–0 and choose Edit: Dev, Work, Media, Games.

  5. Press and go

    Turn Drag & Drop Mode off, hit Alt + ` anywhere, then one key. Done.

Comparison

MaxLaunchpad vs. Spotlight, Alfred,
Raycast, Flow Launcher & Rofi

They are complementary, not mutually exclusive. Keep your search launcher for one-off files — use MaxLaunchpad for the 20–50 programs you open every single day.

Keyboard launcher comparison: interaction model, platform support and configuration portability
  MaxLaunchpad Spotlight / Alfred / Raycast Flow Launcher / Wox / Launchy Rofi / dmenu
Interaction modelFixed key → appType & searchType & searchType & search
Keystrokes to launch1 (after hotkey)3–83–83–8
Result stabilityFixed binding, alwaysRanking may changeRanking may changeRanking may change
WindowsYesAlfred / Raycast: noYesNo
macOSYesYesNoNo
LinuxYes (Ubuntu / Wayland)NoNoYes
Visual, spatial layoutVirtual keyboardNoNoNo
Plain-text portable configYAMLNoPartialYes
Per-shortcut args / adminYesLimitedLimitedLimited
Open sourceYesMostly noYesYes

If you loved the discontinued Windows-only MaxLauncher, MaxLaunchpad is the modern, cross-platform continuation of that idea.

Use cases

One tab per context.

Developers

IDE, terminal, DB client, API client, log viewer and local docs — one tab per stack.

Sysadmins & DevOps

RDP and SSH sessions, admin consoles and PowerShell scripts with pre-baked arguments and Run as Admin.

Gamers

A Games tab of launchers, mod managers, overlays and voice chat.

Creators

Photoshop, DaVinci, OBS and stream-deck-style shortcuts — without buying a stream deck.

Keyboard purists

Never touch the mouse, the Dock, the Start menu or the taskbar again.

Multi-machine users

Commit your YAML profile to Git and reproduce your exact workflow on a new laptop in seconds.

Download

Install MaxLaunchpad on
Windows, macOS and Linux.

Free, open source, no account required. Pick a package manager or grab the installer.

Windows · winget
winget install AwesomeDog.MaxLaunchpad
macOS · Homebrew Cask
brew install --cask AwesomeDog/tap/maxlaunchpad
Download from GitHub Releases Star the project on GitHub
System requirements and installation notes by platform
PlatformRequirementNotes
WindowsWindows 10 or later (incl. Windows 11)Works out of the box.
macOSmacOS 11 Big Sur or later (Apple Silicon)Run xattr -cr /Applications/MaxLaunchpad.app to clear the quarantine flag, then add it to Login Items for auto-start.
LinuxUbuntu 24.04 or equivalent (Wayland)Under Wayland the global hotkey may need manual setup in GNOME keyboard settings.

Tech specs

Everything, on the record.

Product type
Desktop application launcher
Platforms
Windows 10/11 · macOS 11+ (Apple Silicon) · Ubuntu 24.04
Shortcut capacity
310 per profile — 10 global function keys + 10 tabs × 30 keys
Default global hotkey
Alt + ` · ⌥ + ` on macOS · fully re-bindable
Window
1000 × 600 px default, resizable and persisted, always on top, auto-hide on blur, lock to center
Configuration format
YAML, validated at runtime, auto-saved with timestamped backups
Config location
~/.config/MaxLaunchpad/ on all platforms (respects XDG_CONFIG_HOME)
Themes
Light · Dark · System, plus user CSS via styles/*.css
Search
Ctrl+F / ⌘+F across label, path, arguments, working directory, description and key ID
Icon system
Native extraction for UWP/Store and .app, file + memory cache, DiceBear fallback avatars
Tech stack
Electron · React (functional components + hooks) · TypeScript · Context + useReducer · js-yaml · zod
Privacy
Single instance, fully local. No account, no cloud sync, no telemetry.
License
Open source — free for personal and commercial use
Repository
github.com/AwesomeDog/maxlaunchpad

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is MaxLaunchpad free and open source?

Yes. MaxLaunchpad is an open-source Electron, React and TypeScript desktop app, free for personal and commercial use. There is no account, no cloud service and no telemetry.

Does it work on Windows 11?

Yes — Windows 10 and Windows 11 are both fully supported, and it works out of the box.

Does it run on Apple Silicon Macs?

Yes, on macOS 11 Big Sur or later with Apple Silicon. After installing, run xattr -cr /Applications/MaxLaunchpad.app to remove the quarantine attribute.

Does the global hotkey work on Linux / Wayland?

MaxLaunchpad targets Ubuntu 24.04 on Wayland. Because Wayland restricts global shortcut registration, you may need to bind the hotkey through GNOME’s own keyboard-shortcut settings.

Can I sync my launcher configuration between computers?

Yes. Everything lives in plain YAML under ~/.config/MaxLaunchpad/. Commit it to Git, sync it with Dropbox, OneDrive or Syncthing, or simply copy a single profile file to another machine.

How many shortcuts can I create?

310 per profile: ten function keys shared globally, plus ten tabs of thirty letter and symbol keys each. Create as many profiles as you like.

Can it launch Microsoft Store (UWP) apps, .lnk shortcuts or shell scripts?

Yes — .exe, .lnk, .bat, .cmd, .ps1, shell: targets and Store/UWP apps on Windows; .app bundles and shell scripts on macOS; ELF binaries, .desktop files, .sh, .py and .rb on Linux. URLs open in your default browser.

Can a shortcut pass command-line arguments or run as administrator?

Yes. Every shortcut supports arguments, a working directory, a custom icon, a tooltip description, and Run as Admin on Windows.

Is it a replacement for MaxLauncher?

It is a spiritual successor to the discontinued MaxLauncher, rebuilt from scratch with modern tooling and extended from Windows to macOS and Ubuntu. Profiles use MaxLaunchpad’s own YAML format.

Where are logs and backups stored?

~/.config/MaxLaunchpad/logs/ and ~/.config/MaxLaunchpad/backups/. A backup is written before each save whenever the profile content has changed.

Stop searching.
Start pressing.

Two keystrokes to any application on your machine. Install MaxLaunchpad and let your muscle memory do the work.

Download for free Documentation