Boost your productivity as a dev team by replacing Spotlight with Raycast

We're always on the lookout for tools that can streamline our workflow and boost productivity. As a team we use macOS (kind of essential for doing iOS development) and if you're a Mac user too, you're likely familiar with Spotlight, the built-in search function first introduced in OS X Tiger way back in 2005. It's a powerful way to find files, kick of web searches and launch applications. But what if there was a more powerful, feature-rich and configurable alternative? That's exactly what Raycast is. We've been using it now for a couple of years and its been a hugely valuable bump to our productivity across the Add Jam team.

What is Raycast?

Raycast is an app launcher that lets you complete tasks, calculate, share common links, and much more. It's designed to be your central command centre, replacing not just Spotlight, but potentially a host of other productivity apps as well. Raycast has so many features but here's the cliff notes of what we find most useful:

1. It does everything Spotlight does

I always think an 'alternative to' has to at minimum achieve what the incumbent can do - does that make sense? Like my Nest Thermostat, take away the smart aspects of it and when you walk up to it it still does everything a dumb thermostat could do. I don't lose anything by embracing the alternative. Raycast does this with Spotlight, by migrating to it you don't 'lose' any functionality, its just all gains. Search across your system is still a powerful and useful feature to have mapped to a shortcut as it has been with Spotlight for almost two decades.

2. Extensibility

One size rarely fits all, especially in software development. That's where Raycast's extensibility comes into play. Think of it as a platform that you can customise with various plugins to suit your specific needs.

For instance at Add Jam we use 1Password for our credentials, this has an extension for Raycast allowing us to easily interact with our vaults. There's so many extensions such Homebrew, Google Workspace, Notion etc etc.

And the best part? If there isn't an extension for something you need, you can build it yourself. It's like having a productivity tool that grows with you.

3. Custom scripts and workflows

As developers, we live and breathe automation. Why do something manually when you can script it, right? Raycast takes this to heart with its ability to run custom scripts.

Here's a real-life example: We often need to switch between different projects, you'll know the annoyance of switching context for various projets. Instead of manually opening multiple applications and configuring settings, we created a custom Raycast script. Now, with a single command, we can launch our editor, start our local dev server, open the relevant documentation and pull the code and migrate the database. It's like having a virtual assistant that sets up your workspace exactly how you like it.

4. AI Integration

This one probably needs a blog post of its own but the AI capabilities of Raycast have been a huge productivity boost for the Add Jam team.

The Raycast AI capabilities (available to Pro subscribers), we've found ourselves using it for quick code reviews, generating boilerplate code, and even explaining complex algorithms or helping proof our blog content. It's like having a senior developer / marketer / advisor on call 24/7.

The real nugget of access AI models through Raycast is being able to switch between models. if you're finding Claude Sonnet is sttruggling with your particular task you can easily switch to GPT. All in the one chat thread. It's a game changer.

5. Clipboard history

Have you ever copied something important, only to accidentally copy something else before pasting? It's the digital equivalent of losing your keys. Raycast's clipboard history feature ensures this never happens again.

This feature has been a time saver countless times. Whether it's retrieving that API key I copied but forgot to paste, or finding that chunk of code I copied from Stack Overflow, the clipboard history has saved me from countless face-palm moments.

This in itself isn't a killer feature or anything novel - clipboard managers have been around for decades - but having it just part of this all in one productivity powerhouse is really beneficial.

6. Window management

Tired of manually resizing and positioning windows?

While multiple screens are great for productivity, it can turn into a game of window Tetris. In my experience at an operating system level macOS is pretty bad at window management. That's where Raycast's window management features have been a big productivity boost for the team.

With simple keyboard shortcuts or commands in 'Spotlight', we can snap windows to predefined layouts, move them between monitors, or resize them to perfect proportions. It's particularly useful when we're pair programming or presenting work to clients. No more awkward fumbling with window sizes during Zoom calls!

Getting started with Raycast

Convinced to give Raycast a go? They have a great onboarding experience so this part of the post is perhaps redundant but here it is anyway... how to get started with Raycast:

1. Head over to the official Raycast website and download the installer.
2. Once installed, you'll be prompted to set up your preferred hotkey. We recommend sticking with ⌘ + Space to make the transition from Spotlight smoother.
3. Take some time to explore the built-in commands. Try launching apps, searching files, and using the calculator. As I said the onboarding experience is really good.
4. Next, dive into the extension store. Start with extensions related to your most-used tools, maybe things like 1Password, Slack and Notion?
5. For the full experience, consider upgrading to Raycast Pro. The AI features alone are worth it, in our opinion. As I said we'll do another blog post on these AI capabilities and how we use them at Add Jam.

Real-world impact: How Raycast changed our workflow

Since adopting Raycast, we've seen some tangible improvements in our day-to-day work:

• Time Saved: finger in the air, total estimate but I think fair estimate to say that each team member saves about 30 minutes a day on various small tasks. That adds up to 2.5 hours a week, or 130 hours a year!
• Reduced Context Switching: With everything accessible from one interface, we're jumping between apps less often, helping us stay in the flow.
• Improved Collaboration: Shared snippets and custom scripts have made it easier for us to maintain consistent workflows across the team.
• Learning and Growth: The AI features have become an unexpected tool for getting work done quicker and also continuous learning, helping us stay up-to-date with best practices and new technologies.

Being more efficient as a team

At Add Jam, we're all about working smarter, not harder. Raycast has become an integral part of that philosophy. It's more than just a Spotlight replacement - it's a comprehensive productivity platform that has significantly enhanced our daily workflow.

Whether you're deep in the weeds of a Ruby on Rails project, crafting the perfect React Native app, or exploring the latest in web development with Next.js take it from us Raycast has something to offer you. It's not just about saving time; it's about creating a work environment that's more efficient, more enjoyable, and more aligned with the way modern developers work.

Are you ready to supercharge your productivity? Give Raycast a try. Trust me, once you experience the difference, you'll wonder how you ever managed without it.

And hey, if you're curious about how we at Add Jam optimise our development processes or if you're looking for a team that's always on the cutting edge of technology and productivity, why not get in touch? We'd love to chat about how we can bring our efficiency-driven approach to your next software development project. Or you can just dive in and read some more of our blog posts on productivity such as this list of productivity apps for small businesses.

After all, in the world of software development, every second counts. Why not make those seconds work harder for you?

Referral link

Raycast didn't pay us to write this post, we genuinely think its a worthwhile tool you should be adopting in your workflow. However as Pro subscribers we do have a referral link/code we can share: