Quicksilver
Free
Absolutely Free
Quicksilver overview
Quicksilver is a light, fast and free Mac application that gives you the power to control your Mac with keystrokes alone.
Quicksilver allows you to find what you need quickly and easily, then act upon these objets as you see fit. All with your fingers on the keyboard. As an example, if you want to find an application hidden in the depths of your file system, simply activate Quicksilver with a keystroke, type a few letters of the application's name, then hit Return or Enter to launch it, or tab and type to find an action such as Quit, Trash, Email To..., Run at Login, Move To..., Get Info, Reveal, the list goes on.
Quicksilver indexes and parses only selected parts of the contents of your hard drive in the Catalog, which means it locates and displays the items matching your search quickly. Quicksilver has a modular structure which means features for interaction with a whole host of of other applications (iTunes, 1Password, Safari, Microsoft Office) can be done after installing the relevant plugin.
What’s new in version 2.4.0
Updated on Jul 13 2022
New:
- Execute triggers from the Quicksilver interface! Can't remember the keyboard shortcut for a trigger or have to many triggers? Starting with Quicksilver 2.4.0, you can now give triggers a unique name and add them to your Quicksilver catalog. Run your custom commands right from within Quicksilver!
- Super-charged 'combined' objects. Allow combined text objects to be pasted to the clipboard, improved icons for combined objects and more.
- JXA (JavaScript Application Scripting) has made it to Quicksilver! Use JXA to create your own custom actions to execute from within Quicksilver.
- Improved support for custom interfaces. Allow interfaces to override icon position and text editor size.
- Korean & Spanish localizations.
Changed:
- Performance optimizations when browsing files using Quicksilver
- Performance optimizations when Quicksilver is idle in the background
- Include objects returned to Quicksilver in the object history
- Preference pane tweaks for improved readability and control
- Improved handling of the result window size - store across relaunches and keep all 3 result windows the same size.
Fixes:
- Fix crashes that would occur with the 'Running Processes' catalog entry
- Fix preference pane layout for localized languages (e.g. Spanish)
- Potential crash when saving mnemonics to disk
- Potential crash when displaying the file conflict panel
- Potential crash that could occur when trying to → into web pages that weren't UTF8
- Fix how keyboard shortcuts that include →↓↑← would display in the trigger preferences
- Fix the 'Switch to keyboard layout' option that allows you to specify what keyboard layout to use when Quicksilver is activated.
Developer:
- Re-enable unit tests for the project. Developers should add to unit tests for all new PRs.
- Automatically sign local builds of Quicksilver
Information
App requirements
- Intel 64
- Apple Silicon
- macOS 10.14 or later
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What customer like
Performance
Value
User Experience
What needs improvements
Regular updates
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Comments
User Ratings
May 29 2022
Version: 2.2.1
Who woke the dead?! Quicksilver having its plentiful bugs repaired? Astounding. I thought they wanted it to suck! i almost want to try using it again.
Apr 7 2022
Version: 1.6.1
1.6.1 is the latest for macOS High Sierra 10.13.x. This can be downloaded from the developer's site.
2.0.0 and later (including 2.0.2, as is currently being delivered as download, *not* 1.6.1) require macOS Mojave 10.14 or later.
Nov 2 2021
Version: 1.6.1
Still works just fine, as it has done for years. Simple, quick, easy to use.
Jul 5 2021
Version: 1.6.1
This was the greatest piece of Mac software I have EVER used (I used it for more than 15yrs); it is still amazingly functional, but the exceedingly slow maintenance of the app and it's plug-ins finally pushed me to Launchbar this year. Even so I fire up the app every few months because I miss it's functionality, but each time I am reminded why I sadly left it; it is now less customisable, and less modern than Launchbar and Alfred (I hate Alfred's UI). If it were updated I would be back in an instant!
Jun 19 2021
Version: 1.6.1
I think of this as orphanware. It's dilapidated and unwilling to catch up with the future. Look elsewhere for a replacement. It was nice, sort of, for a while. A great idea. Then it rotted on the vine. Sad.
Jul 2 2020
Version: 1.6.1
The invoice is a little dated ... Otherwise no problem. Uninstalled.
Jun 29 2020
Version: 1.6.1
There comes out often new system utilities made by developers full of goodwill and visions that I encourage as I can but seem to be a bit lost facing the many traps put with purpose and bugs lazily left in MacOS evolving to downgrade the Macs towards iOs and phone users, as the smart asses of the marketing imposes to satisfy the avid, bulimic hunger of the stakeholders of a company that once upon a time was lead by someone whose aim and priority was to build the best computers of the world.
Then there are experienced developers that keep making year after year more perfect their products, not discouraged be having been abandoned by Apple, if not even fought as atheists in Egypt.
Quicksilver, Default Folder, Path Finder, Alfred, I would add FinderPop (sadly not more updated by the good Turly but still NECESSARY and still 'almost working') are keeping our MacINTOSHES (!!!) on the original path tracked by Stev, making them, if carefully 'tuned up' still the best and most lovely OS: powerful while friendly.
Apple developer should learn by these guys instead to be 'corrupted by avidity'!
Jun 26 2020
Version: 1.6.1
As of v1.6.0, I swear the devs lost interest. It was abysmal. Now, their web page links to the WRONG file for the installer. You end up with a ".qspkg" file, which is NOT the installer. There is something very wrong over there. The CORRECT link to the actual INSTALLER for 1.6.1 is HERE: https://qsapp.com/archives/downloads/Quicksilver%201.6.1.dmg
Jun 21 2018
Version: 1.5.8
Version 1.5.9 is out, dated March 12, 2018.
I use Quicksilver all day, every day and am grateful for its existence. However, it has some consistent, long-term problems that the developers willfully ignore. Here are a few:
• The auto update process runs to what appears to be completion, then it FAILs, forcing the user to manually download the latest version, Quit running Quicksilver, then manually install the app and run it.
• If there are plugin updates available, the list window isn't smart enough to allow scrolling within the space provided by your desktop. Instead, it can run off the bottom of the desktop, making it impossible to see all the updates or click the button at the bottom to install them.
• The version Changes web page hasn't been titled. If you want to save it, you have to manually name it from 'Untitled'.
• It often provides geeky, obscure notification messages that are entirely useless. For example, "Unable to locate 1Password logins Please set the 1Password 3rd party integration file'..." means what? Good luck ungeeking the lingo..
I've also found it dangerous to update to the latest version, creating what is for me the unique situation of avoiding updates. When I do update, I save a copy of the currently working version first in order to be able to restore it if the new version of Quicksilver manages to break something, which it notoriously has in the past.
General conclusion: Great software with long term incoherent, geek inflicted quirks. As such, I'd never recommend it to Granny. Therefore, I knock off 2 stars in the score. Ungeeking it would earn it 5 stars.
I use Quicksilver all day, every day and am grateful for its existence. However, it has some consistent, long-term problems that the developers willfully ignore. Here are a few:
• The auto update process runs to what appears to be completion, then it FAILs, forcing the user to manually download the latest version, Quit running Quicksilver, then manually install the app and run it.
• If there are plugin updates available, the list window isn't smart enough to allow scrolling within the space provided by your desktop. Instead, it can run off the bottom of the desktop, making it impossible to see all the updates or click the button at the bottom to install them.
• The version Changes web page hasn't been titled. If you want to save it, you have to manually name it from 'Untitled'.
• It often provides geeky, obscure notification messages that are entirely useless. For example, "Unable to locate 1Password logins Please set the 1Password 3rd party integration file'..." means what? Good luck ungeeking the lingo..
I've also found it dangerous to update to the latest version, creating what is for me the unique situation of avoiding updates. When I do update, I save a copy of the currently working version first in order to be able to restore it if the new version of Quicksilver manages to break something, which it notoriously has in the past.
General conclusion: Great software with long term incoherent, geek inflicted quirks. As such, I'd never recommend it to Granny. Therefore, I knock off 2 stars in the score. Ungeeking it would earn it 5 stars.
Jan 30 2017
Version: 1.5.2
Good app, free and nice but I don't see any considerable differences from the Spotlight option on a Mac. I suppose, it will be helpful if you have huge amount of apps, folders and files which are not in a good order, then Quicksilver is a great decision.
Jun 23 2016
Version: 1.4.1
This is an app that I must have. It provides much more than what Spotlight has. A bit confusing at first when trying to configure for more advanced operations but excellent nevertheless.
Jun 21 2016
Version: 1.4.1
The current version is 1.4.2, which is what downloads. As ever, if your installed version of Quicksilver is working, either DON'T update it, or backup the current version first just in case the new version throws bugs at you and you need to revert back again.
May 20 2016
Version: 1.3.1
1.4.1 is available on their website - still the best Mac app ever
Nov 9 2015
Version: 1.3.1
works but without the main developer who went to google, its development could just as well have ended
Aug 5 2015
Version: 1.3.0
As usual: BEWARE updating Quicksilver. Every single time I've updated Quicksilver on my systems, it has CHOKED. I end up going back to the only version that I've ever found to reliably work for my setup: v1.1.3. Sadly, going back a version in Quicksilver can means your triggers are all screwed up with little "?" marks next to the, meaning you have to literally set them up from scratch all over again. And yes, if you complain to the project team, they'll get all defensive and denial mode on you. So don't bother. Just use the version that works. If you see a newer version, DO NOT UPGRADE until you've tested it out on some other test volume. Don't screw up your working Quicksilver setup for the sake of yet-another buggy update. And no, I won't honor rants in opposition to what I've said above. I've been through this damnable ritual too many times to bother going into flame warz over it. Just be glad if you figured out how to set up Quicksilver and have it working for you.
What's wrong with version 1.3.0? It's activity simply drops dead without any notice or warning. Nothing programmed in it works any more. You have to reboot the thing and hope it now works again. Or better yet, go back to the version of Quicksilver that wasn't buggy for you. It's great that its free! But you get what you pay for. Headaches are not worth paying for.
Jul 13 2015
Version: 1.2.2
been using this for close to 10yrs - first app I install whenever I update the OS; can do almost anything, and I find myself adding it to different workflows all the time.
Jun 26 2015
Version: 1.2.2
Hey Patrick, how about adding some screenshots (or video) showing how this sucker actually works? Alfred and LaunchBar have them, but I can't even get a glimpse of Quicksilver's functionality or GUI.
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