raycast / raycast/extensions

Enable programmable floating windows

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api feature request Stale
Dominant language
TypeScript
Stars
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Forks
6.9k
Avg merge
2d 6h
Merged PRs (30d)
442

Description

Describe the feature and the current behavior/state.

Today, users can use Raycast to write notes in a special kind of floating window that stays always active in the macOS screen. This can be enabled with "Toggle floating note focus/window"

I'd like to request enabling these floating windows to render other things than notes, and enable them through an extension. This feature would be a great feature that has been sorely missing in the macOS world for ages. For example, see some previous efforts here. Right now, to attain the above I need to code a Swift application.

Will this change the current API? How?

Yes, the idea is that Raycast provides an extension API to create these floating windows, and that they can provide their own React component to handle the implementation.

Who will benefit from this feature?

People that have been wanting to find a programmable way to configure an active floating window in their macOS with all kinds of personal information that's useful for a work session. In my case, I'd like this window to contain a list of tasks I need to do, together with Pomodoro information and other interactive data pulled from online services.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

The issue names no files, tests, or entry points. Start by examining Raycast’s existing floating note behavior and extension API surface, then define the window lifecycle and React rendering contract. Done should mean extensions can create programmable always-on-top windows beyond notes, with documented behavior and tests.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
macos, react, typescript
Domain
api, desktop, frontend
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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