ALTRun

Project Overview

ALTRun is an Alfred-style launcher for Windows written in AutoHotkey v2 and open sourced under GPL-3.0. Press Alt+Space to summon the search box, see results from the very first character, and fold app launching, file search, calculations, system operations and web search into one input field.

It is extremely light: under 1MB to download and about 2MB as a single exe, with no .NET or Electron dependency. Without Everything installed it falls back to a built-in index; with it, disk-wide instant search integrates seamlessly, and result ranking learns your habits over time.

Item	Value
Platform	Windows 10 / 11
Stack	AutoHotkey v2
Size	<1MB download, about 2MB single exe
License	GPL-3.0

A 2MB Alfred: press Alt+Space and the whole disk plus every app sits at your fingertips.

Key Features

• Instant launching: Alt+Space summons the box and results appear from the first character, fully keyboard driven
• Everything integration: disk-wide instant search when Everything is present, built-in index as fallback
• Smart ranking: results learn from frequency and recency, getting sharper the more you use it
• Quick math: type an expression for an instant answer, no calculator app needed
• Clipboard access: reach clipboard history right from the bar
• System commands: shutdown, restart, lock and other operations execute as you type
• Web search: keywords jump straight to search engines without opening a browser first

Target Audience

• macOS migrants missing Alfred or Spotlight
• Heavy Windows users who live on the keyboard and loathe the Start menu
• Minimalists obsessed with binary size and resource use
• Efficiency fans pairing launchers with Everything for instant disk search

Quick Start

1. Download the archive from Releases and extract it anywhere
2. Run the exe and press Alt+Space for the search box
3. Type the first letters of an app name to launch it
4. Install Everything and restart ALTRun for disk-wide instant search
5. Try an expression, a system command or a search phrase to explore

Core Advantages

• Extremely light: a 2MB single file with no .NET and no Electron, negligible footprint
• Blazing response: native AutoHotkey implementation delivers results from the first character
• Search without gaps: Everything when present, a built-in index when not
• Hackable: GPL-3.0 with AHK v2 scripts, easy to tweak

System Requirements

Item	Requirement
OS	Windows 10 / 11
Runtime	no .NET, no Electron
Optional	Everything (for disk-wide instant search)

Notes

• Check hotkey conflicts: if Alt+Space clashes with other software, adjust one side yourself
• Everything is optional: without it the built-in index covers less, pairing is recommended
• First index takes time: building the built-in index initially takes a while, which is normal