nex-cli 6.4.1

A keyboard-first launcher for Windows
Documentation
nex-cli-6.4.1 has been yanked.

A keyboard-first launcher for Windows. Press a global hotkey to summon a floating search bar and quickly find and launch applications, files, folders, and custom actions.

crates.io Platform License GitHub

Install

cargo install nex-cli

Or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/haxllo/nex
cd nex
cargo build --release

Overview

Nex is a lightweight, fast launcher that puts your workflow at your fingertips. Built in Rust for minimal memory footprint and near-instant responsiveness.

Key Features

  • Global Hotkey - Summon the launcher from anywhere with a customizable keyboard shortcut
  • Fuzzy Search - Find apps, files, and folders with intelligent matching
  • Actions - Execute custom commands, web searches, and system operations
  • Clipboard History - Access recently copied items (optional)
  • Plugins - Extend functionality with custom plugins
  • Game Mode - Suppress the launcher while gaming

Quick Start

Run

cargo run --release

Or run the built binary directly:

./target/release/nex.exe

Configuration

On first launch, Nex creates a default config at:

%APPDATA%\Nex\config.toml

Key settings:

Setting Default Description
hotkey Alt+Space Global hotkey to summon launcher
max_results 8 Maximum results to display
show_files false Include files in search
show_folders false Include folders in search
launch_at_startup false Start with Windows

CLI Commands

nex --status          # Check if running

nex --quit            # Stop the launcher

nex --restart         # Restart the launcher

nex --status-json     # JSON status output

Search Syntax

  • Type normally - Fuzzy search across all indexed items
  • Prefix commands - > for actions, @ for apps, : for files/folders
  • Web search - Prefix with ? to search the web

Project Structure

nex/
├── apps/core/          # Main Rust application
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── runtime.rs  # Main entry point & event loop
│   │   ├── search.rs   # Search indexing & querying
│   │   ├── discovery.rs # File/app discovery
│   │   └── ...
│   └── Cargo.toml
├── apps/assets/        # Icons & branding
├── scripts/           # Build & packaging scripts
├── tests/             # Integration tests
└── docs/              # Documentation

Requirements

  • Windows 10/11 (64-bit)
  • Rust 1.75+ (for building from source)

Building

# Development build

cargo build


# Release build

cargo build --release


# Run tests

cargo test

Documentation

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.