What is RustCast used for?

RustCast was a Rust-based, open-source macOS popup launcher in the style of Raycast; the author has since retired it and recommends other tools. It is a good fit for studying a Rust and iced desktop app, and forking an open-source Raycast-style launcher.

Is RustCast open source?

Yes. RustCast is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at MystikoLab/rustcast and is written mainly in Rust.

Yes. RustCast is open source, so the software itself is free to use.

Can I self-host RustCast?

Yes. RustCast can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.

What is RustCast an alternative to?

RustCast is an open-source alternative to Raycast, Alfred and LaunchBar. Other open-source alternatives to Raycast include Flow Launcher and PowerToys.

Is RustCast actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to RustCast was on 26 September 2026, and the latest release is v0.8.5, published on 31 July 2026. The project has 1.1k stars on GitHub.

RustCast: open-source alternative to Raycast, Alfred

About RustCast

RustCast is an open-source productivity launcher for macOS written in Rust with the iced UI toolkit. It was designed as an alternative to Raycast, giving a quick popup window for launching apps, running utilities and triggering workflows from the keyboard.

The feature list in the README includes automatic loading and searching of installed apps, icons, scrollable results, customizable themes and colors, Spotify control, running custom shell scripts with variables, a Google search shortcut, a calculator, clipboard history and a configuration file in TOML. A plugin-style library helps with shell scripts, and installation was offered through Homebrew or a downloadable disk image.

The README now states that RustCast is no longer being maintained, with the author using a different launcher and mentioning another closed-source option. The code remains available under the MIT licence for reference or forking. Anyone considering it should treat it as a retired project rather than a supported application, and look at maintained launchers for day-to-day use.

Key features

Popup launcher for macOS apps
Customizable themes and colors
Calculator and clipboard history
Custom shell script commands
Spotify controls
TOML configuration file

Good fit for

→Studying a Rust and iced desktop app
→Forking an open-source Raycast-style launcher

Built with: Rust
Tags: launcher; macos; rust; raycast-alternative; productivity; iced; spotlight; desktop-app; retired

RustCast: questions and answers

What is RustCast used for?: RustCast was a Rust-based, open-source macOS popup launcher in the style of Raycast; the author has since retired it and recommends other tools. It is a good fit for studying a Rust and iced desktop app, and forking an open-source Raycast-style launcher.
Is RustCast open source?: Yes. RustCast is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at MystikoLab/rustcast and is written mainly in Rust.
Is RustCast free?: Yes. RustCast is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
Can I self-host RustCast?: Yes. RustCast can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
What is RustCast an alternative to?: RustCast is an open-source alternative to Raycast, Alfred and LaunchBar. Other open-source alternatives to Raycast include Flow Launcher and PowerToys.
Is RustCast actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to RustCast was on 26 September 2026, and the latest release is v0.8.5, published on 31 July 2026. The project has 1.1k stars on GitHub.