Launchtype

I wrote this app to quickly launch commands (applications) with or without command line arguments on Windows.

I have an app on my mac called Launchbar which does this very efficiently, letting me run apps or websites by the use of small commands or abreviations.

I don't like having a cluttered desktop on Windows, and sometimes I have a lot of different websites to run with complicated URLs and I have to find the text file where I have them stored, copy the address to the browser, etc. this is now over.

This is a launcher that can be used with the press of ctrl+alt+space (maybe I will make it configurable later).

You can add commands via the UI, for example add chrome.exe using a URL as arguments to run a website, or add your favorite game as the path to directly run that game using a comand.

From the UI you can also copy existing commands, edit them, and delete.

The commands are stored in a commands.json file (or any other file you specify in the command line). which is modifiable via any text editor that supports JSON formatting to make it readable.

Usage

The app includes several command line parameters:

• -m, --start-minimized: Start the application minimized
• -s, --snippets-on-invoke: Start in snippets mode instead of commands mode
• -c, --commands [file]: Specify a custom commands file (default: commands.json)
• -l, --steam-library [path]: Specify a custom Steam library path (default: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps)

Once you add a command using the Add button in the UI, in order to use it you can either:

1. Select it from the list
2. Type its shortcut (if any) in the input field of the UI.
3. Type enough letters in the command's display name for it to show up in the list and the screen reader to speak it.

Snippets

Snippets are pieces of text that, when their filename is typed to the input field of the UI, the content of the file is put in the clipboard.

In order to use snippets, you need to create .txt files in the snippets folder of the app.

The name of the file is its shortcut, without the txt extension, and the content is what gets coppied.

For example, if you have a file called email.txt in the snippets folder which contains the text my_email@gmail.com, whenever you type "email" in the input field of the app and select it from the list by pressing enter, your email will be in the clipboard, my_email@gmail.com.

In order to access snippets you need to be in snippets mode, you can do this by typing a dash character (-) in the input field. This will cause all the commands to be removed form the list and the snippets will show up.

To go back to commands mode, you can press the period key (.). anyway, each time the app is opened by using ctrl alt space, it is by default in commands mode so nothing needs to be done.

Clipboard History

Clipboard history can be accessed by pressing ? (question mark) in the input field. It will show up to 50 text items that you coppied to your clipboard, and it persists across restarts.

It will only work with textual items, not file paths or stuff like that.

Steam Games Launcher

Steam games launcher mode can be accessed by pressing , (comma) in the input field. This mode scans your Steam library for installed games and lets you launch them directly.

The scanner looks for installed games in your Steam library folder (default: C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps) by parsing the appmanifest files. You can specify a custom Steam library path using the -l command line option.

Once in Steam mode, you can search for games by name using fuzzy matching, just like with commands. Selecting a game will launch it through Steam.

To go back to commands mode, press the period key (.).

Mode Switching Summary

The app has four modes, each accessed by typing a special character in the input field:

Character	Mode	Description
(default)	Commands	Launch saved commands and applications
-	Snippets	Copy text snippets to clipboard
?	Clipboard	Access clipboard history
,	Steam	Launch installed Steam games
.	(any mode)	Return to Commands mode

Audio Feedback

The app provides audio cues for various actions:

• Startup sound when the app launches
• Show/hide sounds when toggling the window
• Match sound when an exact shortcut is found
• Type sound when search results update
• Run sound when executing a command or launching a game
• Copy sound when copying a snippet or clipboard item

Accessibility

This application is designed with accessibility in mind, particularly for screen reader users:

• All UI changes are announced via screen readers (using the accessible_output2 library)
• First search result is automatically spoken
• Fully keyboard-driven interface (no mouse required)
• Audio feedback for all interactions

Known issues

Alt F4 closes the application and you need to run it again (will fix). Workaround: Use control alt space to hide its Window, or launch a command. Launching a command makes the window go away.

The visual appearance of the ap might not be up to standards. I'm blind and cannot debug the interface. Workaround: Open a PR and help me make it better ;)

TODO

1. Find a way to prevent alt f4 from closing the window.
2. Find a way to play audio on windows.
3. Ensure that pyproject.toml dependencies are properly set up.
4. Compile this into an executable for windows.
5. Possibly tweak the search difflib method.
6. Refactor command and snippet handling in the UI