In simple English
Wox is a search bar that floats on your computer screen. You press a key combination to open it, type what you want, and press enter. It opens programs, searches your hard drive, and runs small add-ons. It runs fast and uses about 150 megabytes of memory (a measure of short-term computer storage, so your computer stays fast). It is free to use and open source (meaning anyone can read and change the code).
What it is
Wox is a cross-platform (software that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux) application launcher written in the Go (a programming language made by Google) language. It gives you keyboard-first control over your computer, similar to Raycast or Alfred.
What it is good for
People who want to open apps and find files without clicking through menus will like this. It removes the mouse work from your daily computer tasks.
- Runs fast because it is built natively instead of using heavy web browser tech.
- Uses around 150 megabytes of memory while sitting quietly in the background.
- Works across Windows, macOS, and Linux with the same keyboard shortcuts.
- Requires you to learn new keyboard shortcuts to get the most out of it.
- Plugin installation may need extra tools like Python or Node.js depending on the add-on.
- GPL-3.0 licence (a legal rule that says if you change the code and share it, your version must also be free and open source) applies if you modify the project.
The built-in operating system search bar like Windows Spotlight or macOS Spotlight.
Homebrew (a package manager for installing software on macOS and Linux from the command line)
- raycast/extensions7.8k stars
Raycast is a popular alternative, though Wox runs natively across more operating systems.
- HypothesisWorks/hypothesis9.1k stars
A Python library that generates test inputs and reduces any failure to the smallest example that still fails.
- wntrblm/nox1.6k stars
Runs your tests and other jobs in fresh isolated environments, described in an ordinary Python file.
brew install --cask wox