Cerebro — Open-Source Cross-Platform Productivity Launcher

Introduction

Cerebro is a cross-platform application launcher and productivity tool that gives you a single keyboard-invoked search bar for launching apps, running calculations, searching the web, and executing plugin commands. It aims to bring the Alfred/Raycast experience to all desktop operating systems.

What Cerebro Does

• Launches applications by name with fuzzy matching
• Evaluates math expressions and unit conversions inline
• Searches Google, Wikipedia, Stack Overflow, and other sources via plugins
• Translates text between languages directly in the search bar
• Opens files and folders from indexed directories

Architecture Overview

Cerebro is built with Electron and React. The main process manages the global hotkey listener and a frameless browser window that appears as an overlay. Plugins are npm packages loaded at startup; each registers a keyword or pattern and returns React components as result rows. The core search engine scores results from all active plugins and ranks them by relevance.

Self-Hosting & Configuration

• Download prebuilt binaries for Linux, macOS, or Windows from GitHub releases
• On macOS, also available via Homebrew: brew install --cask cerebro
• Install plugins from the built-in plugin manager (type "plugins" in the search bar)
• Configure the global shortcut, theme, and startup behavior in Settings
• Plugins are stored in ~/.cerebro/plugins and can be managed manually

Key Features

• Single search bar for apps, files, web search, and calculations
• Plugin ecosystem with community-contributed extensions
• Inline previews for search results without leaving the launcher
• Cross-platform consistency across Linux, macOS, and Windows
• Auto-update mechanism for both the app and installed plugins

Comparison with Similar Tools

• Raycast — macOS-only with a richer extension store and AI features; not open-source
• Albert — Linux-native launcher written in C++; faster but Linux-only
• Ulauncher — Python-based Linux launcher with extension support
• Alfred — macOS power-user launcher with Workflows; paid Powerpack for advanced features
• Rofi — X11 window switcher and launcher for Linux; purely keyboard-driven with no GUI previews

FAQ

Q: How does Cerebro compare to Alfred or Raycast? A: Cerebro offers similar core functionality (app launch, search, plugins) but is open-source and cross-platform. Alfred and Raycast have larger plugin ecosystems and are macOS-only.

Q: Is Cerebro resource-heavy? A: As an Electron app, Cerebro uses more memory than native alternatives (~100-150 MB). It remains responsive for typical launcher operations.

Q: Can I write my own plugins? A: Yes. Plugins are npm packages that export a function returning React result components. The documentation provides a plugin development guide.

Q: Does Cerebro support file search? A: Basic file search is available through plugins. For deep file indexing, dedicated tools like Everything (Windows) or mdfind (macOS) are more thorough.

Sources

• https://github.com/cerebroapp/cerebro
• https://cerebroapp.com/