Nongfsq / frun
git clone https://github.com/Nongfsq/frun.git
v0.2.1 · 4d ago
A tiny program launcher for Windows. Alt + Space, type a few letters, Enter.
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+31
stars, 7 days · #1,287
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Star history starts 2026-10-20; the chart appears after the second daily snapshot.
LanguageRust
LicenseMIT
Created2026-10-15 (5d ago)
Last push4d ago
Watchers0
OwnerUser
Links
- GitHub: github.com/Nongfsq/frun
- Releases · Issues · Hacker News mentions
README excerpt
frun Alt + Space. A few letters. Enter. A small, quiet program launcher for Windows. 中文 · Keys · Get it · MIT License frun looks for programs and nothing else. It finds them wherever they live: the Start menu, the Microsoft Store, and the small tools you keep in folders like `D:\Tools` that never made it into the Start menu. Your documents stay out of the way. ## What it does ### Type a name, or its pinyin `wx` finds 微信 (WeChat), `vsc` finds Visual Studio Code. Enter opens the top row; Alt + a number opens that row. ### One program, one row A program folder often holds a dozen exes: the app, its updater, crash reporters, helpers. frun lists the program once and keeps the rest behind it. Press → to see them. ### Paths work too Type `d:\so`, press Tab to complete, keep typing, press Enter, and the folder opens in Explorer. ### Right-click for the rest Open as administrator, open the containing folder, hide a program you never want to see again (Ctrl + Z brings it back), or stop searching a folder. ### Light and dark It follows the Windows theme, or you can pick one. With more than one screen, it opens on the screen your mouse is on. ### Open everything as administrator, if you want Turn on *Open as administrator* in Settings → General, and every program you start from frun runs elevated. Windows still asks each time, as it should. frun itself never asks for administrator rights. Microsoft Store apps are left alone, because Windows does not let them run elevated this way. ### Nothing to set up On first run frun reads the install records Windows keeps, works out which folders hold your programs, and adds them. When you install something new, it shows up on its own. ## Keys | Key | What it does | | --- | --- | | Alt + Space | Show or hide (you can change it in Settings) | | Enter | Open | | Alt + 1 … 8 | Open that row | | → | Show the other exes in a program's folder (← folds them back); accept a path completion | | Tab | Accept a path completion; otherwise move to the next row | | Ctrl + Shift + Enter | Open as administrator | | Ctrl + Enter | Open the containing folder | | Ctrl + Delete | Hide this program; Ctrl + Z to undo | | Ctrl + , | Settings | | Esc | Back, or hide | ## Small on purpose One exe of about 2 MB, written in Rust. No installer, no runtime, no web view. Measured on the author's machine with 1,603 programs indexed: ## Get it Download `frun.exe` from Releases, put it anywhere you like, and run it. It needs Windows 10 or 11. Turn on *Launch at startup* in Settings if you want it there after a restart. New versions arrive on their own: frun downloads them in the background, checks them against the published SHA-256, and switches over the next time it hides. The exe is not code-signed yet, so the first time you run it Windows SmartScreen may say it protected your PC. Choose *More info*, then *Run anyway*. To build it yourself instead, install Rust and run: [code] To remove frun, turn off *Launch at startup*, quit i