Hail 1.0.0

The first release of Hail: a keyboard launcher for Windows. Press Alt+Space, type, press Enter.

Install

Download Hail-Setup.exe below and run it. It installs for your account only (no administrator rights), on x64 and Arm64, and can start Hail when you sign in.

What it does

• Apps from the Start menu, desktop and Microsoft Store alike, best match first.
• Files by name from the Windows Search index, and any folder whose path you type (Tab completes).
• Sums as you type: 15% of 240, 2^10, sqrt(2). Start with = to force it.
• Web search: type a keyword and a space (g, ddg, b, yt, gh, w) and the engine sits beside the box; Backspace at the start takes it away.
• Commands: Lock, Sleep, Sign out, Restart, Shut down. Anything that can cost unsaved work asks first.
• History: what you pick comes first next time, and an empty box shows what you pick most.
• Plugins: a folder in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Hail\plugins. Nothing in it runs until you enable it, and Hail asks again if its files change. The plugin contract, template and the Everything plugin are MIT licensed.
• Settings (Ctrl+, in the box, or the tray icon): the shortcut, start with Windows, providers, web engines, plugins, history and updates. Every change applies at once.

Privacy

Nothing you type leaves your PC unless you press Enter on a web search. There is no telemetry. The update check is off until you say yes, and sends only Hail's version.

Hail 1.0.1-dev.4 (latest build of master)

The newest build of master, rebuilt on every merge. Unsigned, so SmartScreen
will warn; see the README. Hail's own update check never offers this build.

Built from b478bed6338e0c7c52fb6e6161ee986d449ba968.

For a fixed, reproducible build, use a versioned release instead.