-
Notifications
You must be signed in to change notification settings - Fork 0
FAQ
General questions about CyberLauncher features, configuration, and troubleshooting (current version v1.9.1).
CyberLauncher is a full-screen application launcher for Windows (Electron + React + TypeScript). It works as a fast, keyboard-driven alternative to the traditional Start Menu — it runs alongside Windows without modifying system files — featuring fuzzy search and system-wide file indexing.
Yes. CyberLauncher is completely free and open source under the GPLv3 license. There are no paid features, ads, or tracking. You can help keep it free here.
No. CyberLauncher runs alongside the Start Menu. You can use both — press Alt+Shift+L for CyberLauncher and Win for Start Menu.
Yes, except for auto-update checks and remote background-image URLs. Search, launch, scheduler, and monitoring are fully local.
Fuzzy search matches results even with imperfect typing. For example, "chr" matches "Chrome", "Chroma", etc. Results are ranked by relevance and usage frequency (Most Used / Most Recent).
Yes. CyberLauncher scans for UWP / MSIX apps, extracts clean icons from manifests, and launches them via AUMID. Go to Settings → WS SCANNER → SCAN WINDOWS STORE, then IMPORT. See Launch & Search.
Type > in the search box to execute shell commands directly (persistent directory, PowerShell/CMD engines, history with ↑/↓). Built-ins: help, clear, cd, explorer, wt, sys, apps, dir. For example, > notepad opens Notepad. See Launch & Search.
Yes, for executables only (.exe, .bat, .cmd, .ps1, .msi, .lnk). Right-click a result → Run as administrator, or set the per-app admin switch in the Add / Edit drawer. A UAC prompt confirms elevation.
Drag and drop .exe or .lnk files from Explorer onto the launcher (DROP TO ADD APP). Folders cannot be added by drag & drop — authorize them under Settings → SEARCH ENGINE → AUTHORIZED DIRECTORIES TO INDEX. See Organization.
The hybrid indexing engine crawls your directories to build a searchable database of files. It supports configurable depth, system drives, and custom authorized folders. Press Tab in the search box for system-wide results with MIXED / PROGRAMS / FOLDERS / FILES filters.
Indexing runs in the background with minimal impact. You can skip whole-drive indexing, reduce SCAN DEPTH LEVEL, or disable INDEXED SEARCH SERVICE for better performance.
Go to Settings → SEARCH ENGINE → AUTHORIZED DIRECTORIES TO INDEX → ADD DIRECTORY.
Yes, with two separate toggles: INCLUDE HIDDEN FOLDERS (DOTFILES) (show them in results) and INDEX INSIDE HIDDEN FOLDERS (recursively scan their contents, higher resource usage).
Hot corners summon the launcher when you move your cursor into an enabled screen corner (active-monitor only, with anti-accidental delay). Configure in Settings → GENERAL → SCREEN CORNER HOTSPOTS ACTIVATION. See Activation.
Yes. Go to Settings → GENERAL → TOGGLE ACTIVATION SHORTCUT, click the field, and press your combination. Per-app hotkeys are assigned in each shortcut's Add / Edit drawer. See Keyboard Shortcuts.
Pin a monitor or choose Follow cursor (Settings → GENERAL → DISPLAY MONITOR) to open wherever you summon it (hotkey, hotspot, or tray).
Yes. Settings → APPEARANCE → BACKGROUND TYPE → Image, then pick a preset, Browse your PC, or paste a CUSTOM BACKGROUND (URL). The 4th grid slot stores your custom image persistently. See Customization.
Two sliders: Settings → GENERAL → CARD SIZE GRID SCALE (card density) and Settings → APPEARANCE → INTERFACE SCALE (global zoom). There are no fixed 0.8×–1.4× presets.
Yes. Settings → GENERAL → INTERFACE LANGUAGE — applies instantly across menus, HUDs, terminal help, and dialogs.
The top bar shows live RAM and CPU (click either for the SYSTEM RESOURCES HUD: memory used/total, cores, uptime, launch count). The STORAGE HUD shows free/total space per drive. The footer mirrors uptime, last-24h launches, and date-time. See System & Monitoring.
Open it from the top-bar clock, footer date-time, or ⋯ → Task Scheduler: queue a shortcut or console command with a minutes+seconds countdown (SCHEDULE EXECUTION), track live countdowns, cancel anytime. See System & Monitoring.
Expected for new releases until Windows builds enough reputation for the file — see Installation & Setup: click More info, then Run anyway.
- Check if CyberLauncher is running (system tray — Windows may hide it behind the
^overflow; see Activation tray-pin help) - Try the global shortcut again
- Check if the shortcut conflicts with another app (
Settings → GENERAL)
- Some apps capture keys first — try a different combination
- Shortcuts registered by a non-elevated app don't fire while an elevated (admin) window is focused; running CyberLauncher as administrator helps in that case
- Re-register via
Settings → GENERAL → TOGGLE ACTIVATION SHORTCUT
- Check
Settings → SEARCH ENGINE → INDEXED SEARCH SERVICEis enabled (SYSTEM ONLINE) - Verify
AUTHORIZED DIRECTORIES TO INDEXcovers your folders - Toggle the service off/on and adjust
SCAN DEPTH LEVEL - For Store apps use
Settings → WS SCANNER → SCAN WINDOWS STORE
- Go to
Settings → WS SCANNER → SCAN WINDOWS STOREand wait forScan successfully completed - Press IMPORT; use the scanner search box (
Search in the Windows Store...) to find them
- Reduce
SCAN DEPTH LEVEL, skip whole-drive indexing - Lower
BACKDROP BLUR LEVEL, prefer Solid backgrounds -
Settings → BACKUP & DATA → ICON MAINTENANCE → Refresh all iconscleans orphaned icon-cache files
Open an issue on GitHub Issues with:
- CyberLauncher version (
Aboutshows it) +About → Copy diagnosticsoutput - Windows version
- Steps to reproduce
- Expected vs actual behavior
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch
- Ensure
npm run lint(tsc --noEmit) passes - Submit a pull request with a clear description
UI strings live in src/locales.ts (English + Spanish objects — new languages follow the same TranslationKey pattern). Submit a PR with your translation.
See the Donate section on the main README.