A Spotlight-inspired command palette for Ubuntu Linux, built with Tauri, Rust, and Svelte.
Rat Search installs as a resident desktop utility and opens a compact focused launcher on demand. Version 1 searches installed applications, files, folders, local calculator expressions, Google question searches, GNOME Settings panels, recent search history, and opt-in local text clipboard history.
- Search and launch installed Linux desktop applications.
- Search files and folders by name from
Desktop,Documents,Downloads, andPictures. - Evaluate local arithmetic expressions and open the desktop calculator with
Enter. - Search
open <folder>to open matching folders in Visual Studio Code. - Search
open <code-like-file>to open matching code-like files in Visual Studio Code. - Search
open <non-code-file>to open matching PDFs, images, videos, audio, archives, and other non-code files with the system opener. - Keep normal file/folder searches without
openon the existing default opener. - Fall back to the system opener when VS Code is missing or cannot open the selected item.
- Open Google searches for question-style queries, including sentences ending
in
?or containing whole words such aswhat,how, orshould. - Find whitelisted GNOME Settings panels such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Displays, Keyboard, and Sound.
- Reuse recent successful search queries from local history.
- Opt in to local text clipboard history, search older copied text, copy a stored item back to the system clipboard, delete one item, or clear history.
- Keep clipboard history local, disabled by default, and filtered with best-effort sensitive text checks.
- Run the selected result's default action with
Enter. - Reveal file and folder results with
Ctrl+Enter. - Copy file and folder paths with
Ctrl+Cwhen no search text is selected. - Render app icons from the local icon theme when available.
- Show source-aware app, file, folder, calculator, web, settings, and history icons, including clipboard results.
- Keep search responsive by scanning files once at startup and searching in-memory app/file/folder catalogs plus lightweight history state.
| Shortcut | Behavior |
|---|---|
Alt+Space |
Toggle the launcher on X11 |
Ctrl+Alt+Space |
Open or close the launcher through the GNOME shortcut on Wayland |
Up / Down |
Move selection |
Tab |
Cycle selection |
Enter |
Run the selected result's default action |
Ctrl+Enter |
Reveal the selected file/folder |
Ctrl+C |
Copy the selected file/folder path if no input text is selected |
Esc |
Clear or close the launcher |
On Wayland, global shortcut registration is skipped by design. The Version 1
setup script binds Ctrl+Alt+Space to a shell command that runs
rat-search foreground so GNOME treats the launcher as a fresh user-activated
window. The login startup entry still runs plain rat-search as the hidden
resident process.
Run the Tauri development app:
npm run tauri devIf the Tauri CLI cannot find Cargo, add Cargo to PATH first:
export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"The development app starts as a resident utility with the launcher window
hidden. Use Alt+Space to toggle the launcher on X11. On GNOME Wayland, test
the installed shortcut path with the setup script and Ctrl+Alt+Space.
When developing from the Snap-packaged VS Code app, native GTK/WebKit
environment variables can leak into child processes. If tauri dev fails with a
Snap library symbol error, retry from a normal terminal or a clean shell
environment.
Build a Linux desktop package through Tauri:
npm run tauri buildLinux build artifacts are written under:
src-tauri/target/release/bundle/
After installing and running the setup script, Rat Search starts at login as a hidden resident process and the GNOME shortcut opens focused foreground launchers that use resident IPC for warm search/action state.
Rat Search Version 1 uses a current-user setup script for startup and hotkey configuration after package install:
bash /home/sanuk/Desktop/Projects/rat_search/scripts/setup_ubuntu_user_startup.shThe setup installs an autostart entry with Exec=rat-search and configures the
GNOME Wayland hotkey to run rat-search foreground.
The open prefix is the only VS Code intent in Version 1. Rat Search does not add
YouTube, GitHub, terminal, note, code <path>, calc <expr>, user-defined
quick keys, user-defined commands, arbitrary shell execution, or destructive
actions.
Calculator expression prefill depends on installed calculator support. When a safe prefill form is not available, Rat Search opens the calculator and copies the existing calculator fallback text.
Version 1 preserves opt-in local clipboard history. Clipboard history remains local-only and disabled by default.
There is no tray, settings UI, or crash restart service yet. Tauri/WebKit startup cost can still affect how quickly the foreground launcher appears, though resident IPC keeps search/action state warm.