CLUSTER APPLICATIONS-LAUNCHER-START · 26 ENTRIES · EARLIEST ENTRY 2017-02-19
Desktop application launchers
This cluster comprises 22 lightweight desktop application launchers that focus on quickly opening programs and files, often as menu-based alternatives to built-in system launchers. The dated history shows irregular monthly entries from 2008 to 2026, with the largest pre-index counts (2 and 3) appearing in 2026-01 and 2026-04, though counts remain low overall. Traction is led by dsh-launcher (194 stars), while the other named members have no activity signal.
Entry timeline
ENTRY TIMELINE
Each bar is the month a member carries, which is a creation date where the source published one and a crawl date otherwise. Nothing in the index was found before 11 August 2026, and coverage broadened sharply on 14–15 August, so a bar from then on reports how much we found that month, not how much was built; an earlier bar reports how far back a member's own source dated it — not how long we have been watching.
Members by activity
Activity signals, not revenue.
Build origin · 6 hand-coded
Operator · 6 open source
Two labels per entry, never collapsed into one: how it was built, and who stands behind it. Counted over the 6 listed below. Unlabelled means nothing has decided yet — not that the answer is small.
- 21Workspaces0★6 yrabandonedlivehand-codedopen sourceA desktop launcher that opens a project's code editor, website, and file directory together to quickly set up a work session.
- 22yeahlaunch0★8 yrabandonedlivehand-codedopen sourceSimple application launcher that places a horizontal menu at the top of the screen for quick access.
- 23interrobang-fossil0★5 yrabandonedlivehand-codedopen sourceTiny launcher menu that provides quick access to applications and commands.
- 24xfce4-zorinmenulite-plugin0★4 yrabandonedlivehand-codedopen sourceDesktop application launcher that provides a start menu to quickly access installed programs, designed for a lightweight operating system.
- 25piedock0★6 yrabandonedlivehand-codedopen sourceA desktop application launcher that arranges apps in a circular menu.
- 26pmenu0★9 yrabandonedlivehand-codedopen sourceTerminal-based application launcher that offers a dynamic menu with optional most-recently-used ordering.
Ranked by traction, highest first, and paged 20 at a time — this is a window on the cluster, never the whole of it. Ties are broken by a stable id so a product cannot appear on two pages or fall between them. Browse every cluster.