Search Flick for an app that isn't open and it's there too. When five or fewer windows match what you type, an Apps section lists up to five installed apps by name; pick one and it opens.
See it
Calculator isn't running, so no window matches. It appears under Apps instead, and Return opens it.
The Apps section joins window search only when it can help: once you've typed enough to mean something, and few windows match.
Hold ⌥, tap Tab and type, or press ⇧⌘Space from anywhere. Every way to start is in the search guide.
When five or fewer windows match, an Apps section appears below them with up to five apps whose names match, best match first. It updates a tenth of a second after you stop typing.
Select an app and press Return, or click it. If no window matches, the first app is already selected, so in a search you started by typing while holding ⌥, letting go opens it too.
When the section appears, where Flick looks for apps, and what it leaves to other tools. Something missing? See an app is missing from search.
Only after two or more characters, and only while five or fewer windows match. Windows that match only loosely, by letters scattered through a title, don't count toward the five. With browser tabs turned on, matching tabs count toward the five too. An app is selected first only when no window matches, so it never takes the selection from a window. Searching the front app's windows (⌘` or ⌥`) shows no Apps section.
Apps directly inside Applications, the Applications folder in your home folder, and the folders that hold macOS's own apps and utilities, plus Finder. An app kept in a folder inside Applications doesn't appear. Names match the way window names do, initials included. An app you've just installed shows up within a minute or so.
Flick asks macOS to open the app and closes its panel. An app that already has a row in the results isn't listed again: pick its window instead. Number keys pick only windows, never apps. Apps you've ignored in Settings › Exceptions can still appear here, so you can open them from search; see ignoring an app.
A full launcher. It opens installed apps by name and nothing else: no files, folders, commands or web searches. Spotlight still opens apps and files. If you want a launcher alongside Flick, see how Flick compares with Raycast.
With the default ⌥Tab trigger. Using ⌘Tab instead? The full shortcut list covers both.
| Keys | What it does |
|---|---|
| Type two letters | Shows the Apps section when five or fewer windows match. |
| ↓ ↑ | Moves from the windows into the Apps section and through it. Tab and ⇧Tab work too, and so do ⌃N and ⌃P once the list stays open. |
| Return | Opens the selected app. |
| Let go of ⌥ | Opens the selected app, in a search you started by typing while holding ⌥ (unless you've set Flick to keep the list open). |
| Esc | Clears the search. Press it again to close Flick. |
In the free versionThe Apps section works the same. The free version's limit of 5 recent windows applies to windows, not to the apps you can open.
It may be in a folder inside Applications, or somewhere else Flick doesn't look. It may already have a row in the results, or more than five windows or tabs match, so type a little more. A newly installed app can take a minute to appear.
No. Ignoring an app in Settings › Exceptions hides its windows from the list and from search, but the app can still appear under Apps when you type its name.
No, there's no setting for it. It shows only when five or fewer windows match, and an app is selected first only when no window matches, so a search for a window still lands on the window.
Windows first, apps when you need them.
The free version never expires and switches between your 5 most recent windows. A one-time license, from $9.49, unlocks every window and browser tabs.