Search instantly through the macOS UI. Then click. Or copy.
The Site
wooshy.app for the handsome marketing thing. Looks like it's using Comic Sans MS but it's not, I swear.
License
Wooshy is young and tends to take random naps
Manual
Search
What does Wooshy search through?
Wooshy searches through UI elements' metadata, i.e. labels, titles, values, tooltips, placeholders, types etc.
Some of this metadata is visible on the screen, while some is hidden behind the scenes.
To discover all the terms you can use to reach a Target, check out The Inspector
The Art of Searching
Wooshy's philosophy is to avoid navigation. Rather, you start with a gross search—just a few letters—and if needed you narrow down to the specific target you want to reach by typing a few more letters. This is possible thanks to:
- fuzzy matching: Wooshy will look for parts of different words, in any order. it's up to you
- role search: you can specify the role of the UI element you want, again in any order
So basically the best way to use Wooshy is: 1) you type a bit 2) if you've reached your Target, congratulations 3) if not, continue your current word, or add a new one to the search by adding a space, and start typing more 3) keep doing until you reach your Target 4) or you can also navigate between the Targets highlighted.
For example to specifically target a Log in button, you could type log but. See the videos below for more examples:
issue.mp4
full.mp4
The term can also be a star—*—that will show you all the UI elements that you can target.
The Inspector 🕵️♂️ ️
While Wooshying, hover over potential Targets to get The Inspector
TheInspector.mp4
Navigate
If you still need or want to navigate through the results, you can with:
| target | key |
|---|---|
| next | tab or down or control n |
| previous | shift tab or up or control p |
| first | command up |
| last | command down |
| halfway up | control up |
| halfway down | control down |
If you use kindaVim, then you'll be able to navigate with Vim moves by entering Normal Mode and:
| target | kindaVim move |
|---|---|
| next | j or down or control j or control n |
| previous | k or up or control p |
| first | gg |
| last | G |
| halfway up | control b or control u |
| halfway down | control f or control d |
Click
What would be Wooshy without all the clicks:
| keyboard | on the Primary Target |
|---|---|
return |
left click |
control return |
right click |
option return |
option click |
shift return |
shift click |
command return |
command click |
fn return or control option command return |
double left click |
If The Input™ is empty and therefore no Primary Target is selected, Wooshy will click at the current mouse position instead. Magic!
Just Move the Mouse
You can also just move the mouse without clicking. It is less fun though:
| keyboard | mouse equivalent |
|---|---|
shift command return |
run over there |
Copy
⌘C on a Primary Target will copy the visible (or descriptive for icons, images, etc.) text.
Add any modifier key (⌃, ⌥, or ⇧) to ⌘C to copy the metadata instead, i.e., the URL for links, status for checkboxes, tabs, radiobuttons, etc.
APIs
Wooshy sends Distributed Notifications to macOS when you activate and deactivate The Input. You can listen to those Notifications with external tools like BetterTouchTool or Hammerspoon and build your own custom workflows as a result of those Notifications.
The Notifications Names are:
- WooshyInputDidAppear
- WooshyInputDidDisappear
Need to bring any macOS window to the foreground?
Try our free, open-source Alfred Workflow: Wooshy: Window to the Foreground!.
Roadmap
- ~80% will do: add a mode without The Input showing, so that focus is not stolen from macOS. this will allow using Wooshy for menu contents, popovers, notifications, etc.
90% will do: handle double clicks. at first i thought it was not necessary as you can open anything with⌘obut some places, at least in the new macOS Ventura, require double clicks (shit iOS-style bs) but will require the user to type more properly (can still show what is typed a la kV Characters Window, and allow for delete of last character, etc.).70% will do: different flavors of fuzzy search (Alfred, Launchbar, Raycast, etc.)- ~70% will do: continuous mode. keep showing The Input as long as you don't press the hotkey
Alternatives
- Shortcat (closed source, one time purchase)
- Vimac (open source, free)
- Homerow (closed source, one time purchase)
- Superkey (closed source, one time purchase)
- VimMotionApp (closed source, free)