MiniLauncher

A compact offline Windows app launcher built with WPF and .NET.

MiniLauncher is designed for local-first workflows: pinned apps, settings, store metadata, and usage history live on your machine without a cloud account or network dependency.

Highlights

• Global hotkey: Alt + Space
• Search apps, folders, shortcuts, scripts, and custom keywords
• Pin by button or drag-and-drop
• Drag apps onto Offline Store to pin instantly
• Grid/list views with favorites and recent sorting
• Rename pins, edit keywords, change icons, and reorder items
• Offline Store powered by local config.json
• Tray mode, start with Windows, open near cursor
• Export/import config
• Portable self-contained win-x64 publish

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/ts4m97/MiniLauncher.git
cd MiniLauncher/MiniLauncher
dotnet run

Build

cd MiniLauncher
dotnet build

Publish Portable Build

cd MiniLauncher
dotnet publish -c Release -r win-x64 --self-contained true

Output:

MiniLauncher/bin/Release/net9.0-windows/win-x64/publish/MiniLauncher.exe

Configuration

User configuration is stored at:

%AppData%\MiniLauncher\config.json

Settings can export/import this file for backup or migration.

Offline Store

Set a local Store Path in Settings. The store folder can contain a root config.json:

{
  "apps": [
    {
      "name": "Example Tool",
      "path": "Tools/ExampleTool.exe",
      "icon": "Icons/example.png",
      "category": "Tools",
      "keywords": "example utility"
    }
  ]
}

See Offline Store docs for more examples.

Project Status

MiniLauncher is early but usable. See the roadmap for planned improvements.

Releases And Packages

Download stable builds from GitHub Releases.

Tagged releases also publish a MiniLauncher.Portable package to GitHub Packages. See RELEASING.md for the release process.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a pull request.

License

MIT. See LICENSE.