https://avilpage.com/enSat, 19 Sep 2026 11:34:06 GMTNikola (getnikola.com)http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rsshttps://avilpage.com/2026/09/raycast-open-source-tinycast.htmlAnand Reddy Pandikunta<p>I have been <a href="https://avilpage.com/2025/06/raycast-replaced-10-macos-apps.html">using RayCast</a> from ~4 years. I built 2 extensions, ~20 custom scripts, contributed to existing extensions. </p> <p>I raised support tickets related to automating RayCast exports &amp; settings. Unfortunately, there was no good resolution.</p> <h4>FOSS Alternatives</h4> <p>When looking at open source alternatives I stumbled on <a href="https://github.com/vicinaehq/vicinae">Vicinae</a>, <a href="https://github.com/MystikoLab/rustcast">RustCast</a> long back but they were not drop in replacements.</p> <p><img alt="raycast-drop-in-replacement" src="https://avilpage.com/images/tinycast-raycast-open-source-alt.png"></p> <p>Recently <a href="https://github.com/abue-ammar/tinycast">TinyCast</a> came out and I am using it as a primary launcher on one of the Mac. It is working well as a drop-in replacement so far without any major issues.</p> <p>It is just ~6MB(Raycast ~250MB) app and consumes ~60MB RAM (RayCast ~600MB).</p> <h4>Software as Moat</h4> <p>With AI, it is getting easy to build &amp; customise software. There is a growing trend where users are shifting towards open source alternatives(since I am in FOSS space, I might be biased).</p> <p>If you think software only is a moat, it is time to re-think again!</p>macbookraycasthttps://avilpage.com/2026/09/raycast-open-source-tinycast.htmlSat, 19 Sep 2026 09:33:06 GMT