CopperlightCompare
A free, open source Raycast alternative.
Raycast is a polished launcher with an extension store and AI built in. Copperlight covers the everyday core, from apps and files to clipboard history, snippets and windows, with no account and no AI service, and every line of it is open source.
Copperlight vs Raycast
| Feature | Copperlight | Raycast |
|---|---|---|
| Source code | Open, under the GPL-3.0 | Closed; Store extensions show their source |
| Account | None | Needed for AI and Cloud Sync |
| AI | No AI service; Apple Intelligence, on your Mac, helps find apps | AI chat and commands, with Pro |
| Clipboard history | Text and images, 90 days by default | Yes; the free version keeps up to 3 months |
| Snippets | Pasted by name, with {date}, {time}, {clipboard}, {query} and {cursor} | Yes |
| Window management | Halves, quarters, thirds, nudging, other displays, restore, and saved layouts | Yes; custom layouts with Pro |
| Floating notes | Yes, as many as you like, in Markdown | Yes, Raycast Notes |
| Translation | On your Mac, with Apple’s Translation (macOS 26) | With Pro |
| Extending it | Commands and quicklinks in a text file, scripts in a folder, script filters that list what they print, Raycast script commands as they are | Extensions from its Store, written in React and TypeScript, and script commands |
| Settings | One plain-text file you can keep in git | In the app; Cloud Sync with Pro |
| Platforms | Mac | Mac, Windows and iOS |
| Analytics | None | Used “for analytics and product improvement,” per its privacy policy |
Which one is for you
Pick Raycast if
You want extensions from its Store for the services you use, AI built in, or the same launcher on Windows and iPhone.
Pick Copperlight if
You want a launcher you can read every line of, settings in one text file, and nothing to sign in to. Script commands you wrote for Raycast come with you.
Moving over from Raycast
- Hotkey. Copperlight opens with ⌥Space. If Raycast uses it, give one of them another key in its Settings, or quit Raycast.
- Script commands. Copy them into ~/.config/copperlight/scripts/. Their @raycast headers, title, mode, description, arguments and confirmation, are read as they are.
- Quicklinks become commands in config.toml, with {query} where your text goes:
[[command]] alias = "gh" type = "url" url = "https://github.com/search?q={query}" - Snippets become [[snippet]] entries, with {date}, {time}, {clipboard} and {query} filled in, and {cursor} for where the cursor goes.
- Extensions from the Raycast Store don’t run in Copperlight. Many everyday ones are built in: clipboard history, emoji, translation, timers, a pomodoro and window commands.
Questions
Is there a free, open source alternative to Raycast?
Yes. Copperlight is free and open source under the GPL-3.0. It covers apps, files, clipboard history, snippets, window management, math and conversions, with no account.
Do Raycast script commands work in Copperlight?
Yes. Put them in Copperlight’s scripts folder and their @raycast headers are read as they are. Extensions from the Raycast Store don’t run in Copperlight.
Can I use Copperlight without an account?
Yes. Copperlight has no accounts at all, and no telemetry.
Does Copperlight have AI like Raycast?
No. Copperlight has no AI service and won’t add one. With Apple Intelligence on, the Mac’s own model helps it find apps by what they do.
Can Copperlight and Raycast run side by side?
Yes, as long as each has its own hotkey.
Raycast details from raycast.com, its manual and its privacy policy. Checked October 2026.
Try it in a minute.
Download it, drag it into Applications and press ⌥Space. The first launch takes one extra click.