Everything Zenkai

A fast app launcher for Linux and macOS built with Zig and Qt6. Every feature designed for speed, flexibility, and control.

Search & Launch

Fuzzy Search

Type a few characters and instantly find any application across thousands of .desktop entries with smart ranking.

Instant filtering as you type
Smart frequency-based ranking
Subsequence matching
Thousands of entries in milliseconds

Desktop Actions

Parse [Desktop Action ...] entries from .desktop files for actions like 'New Window' or 'New Private Window'.

Show actions in list with --show-actions
Show actions in bottom bar with --actions-bottombar
Supports any .desktop action entry
Deep integration with desktop files

Desktop Scanning

Automatically scans and indexes .desktop files across all standard XDG directories for complete application coverage.

XDG directory scanning
Automatic indexing
Complete app coverage
Skip scanning with --no-dapps

Icon Grid View

Fullscreen icon grid layout with pill-shaped search bar. Switch with --theme=launchpad --fullscreen for a launcher-style interface.

Grid-based icon layout
Pill-shaped search bar
Fullscreen immersive mode
Great for touchscreens

Plugins & Extensibility

Lua Plugin System

Extend Zenkai with Lua scripts. Drop a directory into external/plugins/ with a manifest.json and main.lua and the launcher picks it up automatically.

Full Lua scripting API
on_query and on_open hooks
Add custom results with api.add_result
Keep launcher open with NoReturn type

Custom Menu Entries

Add custom entries directly from the command line. No .desktop file needed.

Format: --menu=name|cmd|icon
Repeatable for multiple entries
Skips .desktop scanning when used
Perfect for quick launch scripts

Clipboard & URL Handling

Pipe content into a clipboard command or set a custom URL handler for plugin results.

--clipboard for copy-to-clipboard
--url-handler for custom browser
Avoid xdg-open launching browser
Works with xclip, wl-copy, etc

Themes & Visual

65+ Built-in Themes

Full visual customization via Qt stylesheets. Choose from 65+ built-in themes covering everything from Catppuccin to Dracula to Win95.

65+ curated themes included
QSS-based styling
Custom .qss file support
Browse with --list-themes

Live Theme Reloader

Edit .qss files and see changes instantly with the theme reloader. No restart needed.

Hot-reload QSS files
Instant visual feedback
Requires --debug flag
Use --theme-reloader flag

Flexible Window Control

Control every aspect of the launcher window from the command line.

Icon size with --size=N
Window width with --width=N
Window height with --height=N
Defaults: 32px icons, 600x500

Minimal Mode

Strip down the UI for a clean, focused launcher experience.

Hide icons with --no-icons
Hide bottom bar with --no-bottom-bar
Combine for ultra-minimal look
Perfect for keyboard-only users

Display & Behavior

Multi-Monitor Support

Open Zenkai on any monitor. Defaults to the monitor under your cursor.

Select monitor with --monitor=N
0-based indexing
List monitors with --list-monitors
Fullscreen works across monitors

Fullscreen Mode

Start in fullscreen for a more immersive experience. Auto-switches to XWayland on Wayland when combined with --monitor.

Fullscreen with --fullscreen
Auto-detects Wayland
Switches to XCB on Wayland
Great with icon grid themes

Backdrop & Focus Control

Control how Zenkai behaves when it loses focus. Show a backdrop to detect clicks outside.

Close on focus out with --close-on-focus-out
Stay open with --no-close-on-focus-out
Show backdrop with --show-backdrop
Click backdrop to close

Performance & Debugging

Lightning Fast Startup

Zenkai launches in 45-120ms thanks to its Zig core. No waiting around.

45-120ms startup time
Written in Zig for maximum speed
Qt6 for lightweight UI
Minimal memory footprint

Low Memory Mode

On Nvidia or when you want a lighter footprint, the zenkai.sh wrapper brings RAM down to 20-50MB.

20-50MB with low-memory mode
40-170MB normal mode
Included zenkai.sh wrapper script
No background processes

Benchmarking & Debugging

Built-in tools for measuring and debugging performance.

Benchmark with --benchmark-all
Debug timer with --debug
Verbose logging with --verbose, -v
Theme reloader for development

Platform & Language

Cross-Platform

Zenkai runs on Linux (X11 and Wayland) and macOS with a native Qt6 interface.

Linux X11 and Wayland support
macOS native support
Wayland auto-detection
Qt6 native widgets

Translations

Use Zenkai in your language with the built-in translation system.

Language selection with --language=CODE
Community-translated strings
Easy to add new translations
Falls back to English

Ready to try Zenkai?

Download the latest release and experience the fastest app launcher for Linux and macOS.