I've been doing this for >10 years with https://manytricks.com/butler/. Works great! You can also bind snippets of text, scripts, etc. I can't overstate how important it is to have a keyboard that groups function keys into "islands" of (generally) 4 so you can touch-type them. An ergonomics consultant once observed that the source of my neck pain was that I looked at the keyboard while typing. As a touch-typist, I... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago

I’m currently starting a job using windows after being on Mac for many years and have settled on AHK to replace part of my workflow from a program called Butler that I absolutely could not do without on Mac. It can do text expansion but isn’t really its main selling point. It can trigger site specific searches amongst other things that I’ve only found AHK able to replicate. Source: over 1 year ago

For task/app launching, LaunchBar, QuickSilver, and Butler (and of course Alfred that you already mentioned). I use LaunchBar. Alfred is probably more powerful, but LaunchBar is the snappiest for the way I use it. It's not as much about saving seconds/milliseconds as it is being able to stay in a flow. Source: over 2 years ago

Charmstone (Paid) The quicker switcher launcher for macOS, same as Rcmd. Just another choice I guess. Source: about 1 year ago

Not exactly what you are describing: Charmstone. Source: over 1 year ago

Charmstone [1] is a different take from everything mentioned here (I'm the developer). The idea is to use your spatial memory to switch/launch apps faster than anything else that I've found, with a smaller learning curve and less memorization. You can use keyboard shortcuts with the arrow keys, modifier keys + cursor movement, or a trackpad gesture. [1] https://charmstone.app. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago

Https://charmstone.app is somewhat like this OP. Source: over 1 year ago

I had a few people point out how this is similar to https://charmstone.app,. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago