# Cleat is out: a Mac launcher that answers before you finish typing > Cleat is a native Mac launcher: apps, files, clipboard history, window snapping, sums, timers and a local assistant from one keystroke. $49 once, no account, no analytics. Source: https://karakabakov.com/posts/cleat-mac-launcher/ --- [← All posts](https://karakabakov.com/posts/) # Cleat is out: a Mac launcher that answers before you finish typing [Gjorge Karakabakov](https://karakabakov.com/about/) September 11, 2026 - cleat - macos - launcher - swift - swiftui - productivity Press ⌘Space, type three letters, press Return. That is the whole pitch. Cleat is a launcher for the Mac, and after a summer of beta it is out today at [getcleat.app](https://getcleat.app/) for $49, once. This post is the long version: what it does, why I built another one of these, what it costs and what it deliberately does not do. ## What is Cleat? Cleat is a native macOS command palette. It opens apps and files, searches your clipboard history, snaps windows, does sums and unit conversions, sets timers, and answers questions with a model that runs on your Mac. Everything happens in one field that you summon with a key and dismiss with Escape. It needs macOS 15 or later and an Apple silicon Mac. It is a Swift app, not a web view. The palette opens in under a frame, the index of your apps lives in memory, and nothing you type is sent anywhere unless you pick a cloud model on purpose. ## Why build another launcher? I have used Spotlight, Alfred and Raycast for years, and I kept a list of the small things that made me leave the keyboard. A sum I had to open the calculator for. A link I had copied twenty minutes ago and had since overwritten. A window I dragged to the left half with the mouse, again. A timer I set on my phone because the Mac had no obvious place for one. None of those is a feature anyone switches launchers for. Together they are most of a working day. Cleat is my attempt to make each of them one line of typing, without an account, a subscription, or an extension store between you and the answer. ## What does it do out of the box? Type what you want and the right row appears. A few of the things I use every day: - **Apps and files.** `saf` opens Safari, `xcode` opens Xcode, and a typo like `safri` still lands. Files come from the folders you choose, with Quick Look on Space. - **Clipboard history.** `clip` lists everything you copied, images included, and Return pastes it into the app you came from. Text inside screenshots is searchable too. - **Windows.** `left half`, `right third`, `window 50%`, or a saved layout for a whole desk. - **Sums that read like speech.** `12 km to mi`, `240 * 1.21`, `tip 20% on 85`, `100 usd to eur`, `1 btc to usd`, `time in tokyo`, `3 hours ago`, `days until 25 dec`. - **Timers and alarms.** `timer 25m` starts a countdown that rings on top of everything, counts down beside the clock in the menu bar, and shows up in Notification Center if you were away. `wake me at 7` sets an alarm; `pomodoro` runs focus and break in turn. - **Tasks and reminders.** `task buy milk tomorrow` is a Cleat task; `remind me in 20 min to call bob` goes to Apple Reminders with the time already parsed. - **Browser tabs and history.** `tab invoice` switches to the tab, `hist github` finds the page you visited last week, in Safari, Chrome, Arc and the rest. - **Snippets.** Text you paste often, with a keyword that expands anywhere you type. - **System rows.** `wifi off`, `dark mode on`, `empty trash`, `lock`, `hidden files`, `restart dock`, `volume 30`, `brightness 50`, `password 16`, `uuid`, `qr` and a link. Type `?` in the palette and every tool appears with an example you can try in one click. ## Does the assistant send my text to the cloud? Only if you tell it to. `ask` and a question opens a chat, and you choose who answers: Apple Intelligence, a model bundled with the app that runs entirely on your Mac, a local server such as Ollama or LM Studio, or your own OpenAI, Claude or Grok key. The default never leaves the machine. Translation is on-device as well, and so is dictation on macOS 26. The empty chat offers a few starters that use whatever you last copied: summarize it, explain the error, draft a reply, rewrite it professionally. New Chat keeps the last ten conversations one click away. ## Can I extend it? Yes, in any language. An extension is an executable that prints one JSON object per line; Cleat turns each line into a row with an action. No SDK, no build step, no store. The bundled currency converter is a forty-line shell script, and you can read it in the commands folder. Cleat also declares its own actions for the Shortcuts app: open the palette, run a command, snap a window, start a timer, add a task or a reminder, search the clipboard, convert units, ask the assistant, translate text. ## Which languages does it understand? English, German, Spanish, French and Macedonian, and not only in the interface. `zeit in tokio`, `hora en moscú`, `wecker 7 uhr`, `passwort 16`, `пред 3 часа` and their neighbours reach the same parsers as the English forms. ## How much does Cleat cost? $49 USD, once. There is no subscription and no account. Checkout is handled by [Polar](https://getcleat.app/buy), the license key arrives by email within a minute, and you paste it into the window Cleat opens on first launch. One Mac at a time, and you can move the license whenever you like from Settings › License. Every update is included for as long as I develop Cleat. If it is not for you, email me within 14 days and the payment comes back in full, no questions asked. ## What does Cleat not do? It does not phone home. There is no analytics, no crash reporting you did not choose to send, and nothing to sign in to. Clipboard history, snippets and settings are files in your home folder. It does not run in a browser engine, it does not have an extension store, and it does not try to be a second desktop. It is a field you open, use, and close. ## Frequently asked questions **Does Cleat replace Spotlight?** It can. The first-run tour offers to take over ⌘Space, and Cleat does everything Spotlight does with the rest of the list above on top. You can also keep both and give Cleat another key. **Does it work offline?** Yes. Everything except cloud models and live currency rates works with no connection. The license checks in with Polar now and then and allows seven days offline between checks. **Can I bring my snippets?** Yes. Cleat imports snippets from Alfred and Raycast, and clipboard history from Alfred. **What if I have two Macs?** A license covers one Mac at a time. Deactivate on one, activate on the other; it takes a few seconds and needs no email. **Where is the documentation?** The [wiki](https://getcleat.app/wiki) has a page per feature, a generated list of every built-in row, and a changelog that matches the What’s New window in the app. [Download Cleat](https://getcleat.app/download), paste your key, and press ⌘Space. ## Keep reading [![A ring of coloured wedges with one ruled wedge lifted clear of it, tied by lines to six rows beside it, the last of them ruled rather than filled](https://karakabakov.com/images/sunflower.webp) August 30, 2026 ### Sunflower: my disk was full and macOS would not say why](https://karakabakov.com/posts/sunflower/) [![PocketBase running as the backend for a web and mobile project](https://karakabakov.com/images/pocketbase.webp) January 14, 2024 ### Using PocketBase.io as your backend for your next project](https://karakabakov.com/posts/using-pocketbase-as-backend/) [← All posts](https://karakabakov.com/posts/) [Get in touch](https://karakabakov.com/contact/)