Raycast

I've been using Raycast for a few months now, and I've never felt better. I have more energy, my skin is clearer, and my eyesight has even improved. There are five main functions I use regularly:

1. Snippets
2. Quicklinks
3. Extensions (e.g., Jira, Git)
4. Clipboard History
5. Script Commands

These features are truly awesome, and I highly recommend them. Below, I'll describe each in more detail so you can tailor them to your own workflow.

Snippets

The snippet function allows you to save text snippets that you use frequently for quick lookup and reuse. I use snippets in two main ways:

• Prompt Library: I store prompts like "Explain this code snippet in simple terms" or "Refactor this function for better readability." I also keep prompt starters like "Acting as a senior developer, please review..." that I can complete with specific context.
• Quick Links: I save my Calendly booking link, company wiki URLs, and frequently referenced documentation. For example, typing "cal" instantly gives me my scheduling link to paste in emails.

Quicklinks

Quicklinks are an extension of the links I keep in snippets. If I want to paste a link into a text, I use snippets. But if I want to go directly to a link, I use a quicklink. For example, I have quicklinks for the homepage of our data analysis dashboard, specific JIRA issues (by key), or other bookmarks I need to access quickly.

To clarify the difference: snippets are for inserting text (like pasting a link into an email), while quicklinks are for navigation (like opening a dashboard in your browser). Think "paste" vs "go to."

Extensions

Extensions take things a step further. They’re especially useful for tools like Git, JIRA, and more. Raycast already offers many extensions. For example, if I want to create or search for a JIRA issue but don’t know the key, I can use the JIRA extension.

Clipboard History

The history feature is great for finding things I’ve typed or copied recently (even from a few days ago). I can search my clipboard history, find what I need, and add it wherever necessary.

Script Commands

Script commands are a bit more advanced, as they require some coding knowledge. You can add scripts that execute directly from Raycast. Here are a couple of scripts I use:

• Emoji Replacement: Since I use JIRA, email, and Teams, each with different emoji sets, I have a script that converts ":thumbsup:" to 👍 for email but to (y) for Teams messages.
• To-Do Aggregator: I organize my notes in topic-specific folders like work, ideas, and projects, with todos written as * [ ] task in markdown. A Python script aggregates all todos across these folders into a single overview, keeping context about where each task originated.

Raycast has fundamentally changed how I interact with my computer. Tasks that used to require multiple clicks or remembering exact URLs now happen with a few keystrokes. The initial setup takes maybe an hour, but the time savings compound daily.

The real power isn't in any single feature—it's in building a personalized command center that grows with your workflow. Start with snippets for your most common text, add a few quicklinks, and gradually expand from there. Your future self will thank you.