ulauncher.io

Ulauncher's official site, ulauncher.io, is the single entry point for all of it: the Download section covers stable and dev releases plus per-distro install commands, the top navigation links to Docs, Extensions, and Color Themes, the Issue Tracker handles problems, and the Support section lists starring the project, donating on Patreon, or contributing code. Use the site directly if you want the current release and official install paths; use the issue tracker rather than the homepage for troubleshooting.

Downloads and Installation

The Download section lists a stable release and a dev release, with version numbers and links loaded on the page. Pick stable for daily use; the dev release is the option if you want to test newer changes.

Installation commands differ by distribution:

Verify: after installing, launch Ulauncher and confirm the search bar appears and finds an installed application. Common snag: on Debian, don't follow the Ubuntu PPA steps — use the Debian instructions linked from the download page.

Docs, Extensions, and Color Themes

• Docs — linked in the top navigation; the theme documentation referenced on the homepage lives here.
• Extensions — linked in the navigation; the homepage describes extensions as a way to add quick access to scripts, searches, or community-built add-ons.
• Color Themes — Ulauncher ships with four built-in themes and supports custom color themes; the theme docs explain how to build your own.

Getting Help and Supporting the Project

For bugs and problems, use the Issue Tracker linked in the navigation. The Support Ulauncher section offers three paths: give the project a star, donate on Patreon, or contribute code.

What the Launcher Does

The homepage summarizes the core behavior: fuzzy search that tolerates spelling mistakes, remembers previous picks, and auto-selects the best option next time; personalized shortcuts and extensions; and a fast directory browser — type ~ or / to start, then press Alt+Enter for advanced options. The site also embeds video tutorials, including an overview video and walkthroughs of extensions and custom theming, if you prefer learning by watching.

If you're new to Ahrefs and want to run your first SEO audit, the fastest path is: open Site Explorer, enter your target URL, review the Overview for a health snapshot, then dig into Organic Keywords, Top Pages, and Site Audit to find specific problems. From there, build a short prioritized to-do list instead of trying to fix everything at once.

This tutorial walks through that workflow using a realistic starting scenario, explains what the numbers mean, and shows how to turn findings into actions.

Before You Start: Pick a Narrow Scope

A common beginner mistake is auditing an entire large website on day one. The reports become overwhelming, and you can't tell which issues matter.

Instead, choose one of these starting points:

• A single important page (your homepage or a key product/service page)
• A small site (under ~50 pages, e.g., a personal blog or small business site)
• One section of a bigger site (e.g., /blog/)

For this tutorial, assume you're auditing a small business site with about 30 pages. The same steps scale up later.

You'll need an Ahrefs account to follow along. Ahrefs offers paid plans, and pricing and feature limits change over time, so check the current Pricing page for what's included in each tier before committing.

Step 1: Enter Your Target in Site Explorer

Site Explorer is Ahrefs' core tool for analyzing any website or URL.

1. Open Site Explorer from the top navigation.
2. In the search box, paste your domain (e.g., example.com).
3. Choose the Exact URL or Domain mode depending on scope. For a full-site view, use Domain or Prefix; for a single page, use Exact URL.
4. Press Enter.

You'll land on the Overview report. Don't try to absorb everything — focus on four numbers first.

Reading the Overview Snapshot

Important caveat: Ahrefs' traffic and keyword numbers are estimates based on its own data. They won't match Google Search Console or your analytics exactly. Treat them as directional, not absolute.

Step 2: See What You Already Rank For

Go to Organic Keywords in the left sidebar. This shows queries where your site appears in search results.

Sort by Traffic (descending) to see which pages bring the most estimated visitors. Then look for:

• Keywords ranking in positions 4–15 — these are often the easiest wins. A small content or on-page improvement can push them onto page one.
• Keywords with high volume but low position — potential opportunities if the topic is relevant.
• Irrelevant keywords — if you rank for something off-topic, it may signal thin or mismatched content.

Write down 5–10 of the position 4–15 keywords. These become your first optimization targets.

Step 3: Find Your Best and Weakest Pages

Open Top Pages. This ranks your URLs by estimated organic traffic.

Look for two things:

1. Your top performers — understand what topics and formats work. Can you create more content like this?
2. Pages with traffic but poor rankings — these may need on-page fixes (title, headings, internal links).

If a page gets zero traffic and targets a topic you care about, it's a candidate for a rewrite or consolidation.

Step 4: Run a Technical Site Audit

Now move to Site Audit. This crawls your site and flags technical and on-page issues.

1. Click Site Audit → New project.
2. Enter your domain and set crawl settings (default is usually fine for a small site).
3. Start the crawl and wait for it to finish.

Once complete, you'll see a Health Score and a list of issues grouped by category.

Which Issues to Fix First

Not all issues are equal. Prioritize in this order:

Ignore low-impact warnings (like minor meta description length) until the big items are handled.

Step 5: Turn Findings Into a To-Do List

You now have raw data. Convert it into a short, actionable list. Example:

1. Fix 3 broken links found in Site Audit.
2. Rewrite title tags on 5 pages with duplicate titles.
3. Improve 4 pages ranking in positions 6–12 by adding missing subtopics and internal links.
4. Remove or update 2 thin pages with no traffic.

Keep the list to 5–10 items max for your first audit. Finishing a short list beats starting a long one.

Common Beginner Mistakes

• Chasing every red flag. Site Audit flags many minor issues. Fix what affects rankings and users first.
• Trusting estimates as exact numbers. Ahrefs data is modeled, not measured from your analytics.
• Auditing a huge site too early. Start small to learn the interface.
• Ignoring search intent. A page can be technically perfect but still fail if it doesn't match what searchers want.
• Forgetting to re-crawl. After fixes, run Site Audit again to confirm improvements.

Where to Go Next

Once your first audit is done:

• Compare with competitors using Site Explorer's Competing Domains and Content Gap reports.
• Track keyword rankings over time with Rank Tracker.
• Explore backlink opportunities in the Backlinks and Link Intersect reports.
• Set up recurring Site Audit crawls so new issues surface automatically.

Your first audit isn't about perfection — it's about building a repeatable habit: enter a target, read the key reports, pick the highest-impact fixes, and act. Do that once a month and your site's health compounds.

Ulauncher ships with four built-in color themes and supports custom themes you build yourself, so you can change its look without touching the launcher's core behavior. To start, open Ulauncher's preferences and pick one of the built-in themes; to go further, follow the theme documentation on ulauncher.io to create a custom color theme. This applies to the standard Linux release installed from the official download page.

Start with the four built-in themes

The quickest customization path is the set of themes bundled with Ulauncher. The project's site states that Ulauncher "ships with four built-in themes," which means you can switch the launcher's appearance immediately after install — no extra files or downloads required.

The general flow for any launcher theme change:

1. Open Ulauncher's preferences (the settings entry point for the launcher).
2. Find the appearance or theme section.
3. Select one of the built-in themes.
4. Reopen the launcher to confirm the new colors apply.

Expected result: the launcher window and result list render in the selected theme's colors.

Common snag: if the theme list looks empty or unchanged, confirm you are running the stable release from the official download page rather than an older package from a third-party repository.

Build a custom color theme

For anything beyond the four presets, Ulauncher supports custom color themes. The site directs users to "read the theme docs to build your own," so the documentation is the authoritative reference for the theme file format and where themes are placed.

A practical approach:

• Read the theme docs first to learn the required file structure and color keys.
• Copy an existing built-in theme as a starting point, then adjust the color values.
• Place the custom theme where the docs specify so Ulauncher can detect it.
• Select it in preferences the same way you would a built-in theme.

Expected result: your theme appears alongside the built-ins and applies when selected.

Common snag: a theme that does not show up usually means a file naming or location mismatch with the docs — recheck the documented path and filename conventions before editing colors further.

What to customize first

Color themes change appearance only. If your goal is faster workflows rather than looks, the site points to personalized shortcuts and extensions for quick access to scripts, searches, or community add-ons. Themes and shortcuts are independent: you can change colors without affecting how fuzzy search or shortcuts behave.

Choosing between built-in and custom themes

Pick a built-in theme if you want a fast change with zero configuration. Build a custom theme if you need the launcher to match a particular color scheme across your desktop.

Verify and troubleshoot

After applying any theme, reopen the launcher and type a query to see results rendered in the new colors. If nothing changes, confirm which release you installed — the download page separates a stable release from a dev release, and behavior can differ between them. For theme-specific issues, the site links an issue tracker where you can check whether others have reported the same problem.

Ulauncher's fuzzy search matches application names even when you misspell them, learns from your previous picks to auto-select the best option next time, and extends the same launcher bar with personalized shortcuts and community-built extensions. You get this behavior by installing Ulauncher on a supported Linux distribution (Ubuntu/Debian, Arch, Fedora, openSUSE, or CentOS 7) and typing into the launcher instead of navigating menus.

Fuzzy search: matching without exact spelling

The core mechanism is described on ulauncher.io as fuzzy search: you type an application name "without worrying about spelling," and Ulauncher "figures out what you meant." In practice, this means the launcher scores candidate applications against your typed characters rather than requiring a literal prefix or exact string.

A concrete example of the intended workflow: you want to open a terminal-based note tool but type a garbled or partial name. Instead of returning nothing, Ulauncher surfaces the closest matches, and you confirm with Enter. The benefit is fewer keystrokes and no need to recall exact package or desktop-entry names.

Learning from previous picks

Ulauncher also "remembers previous picks, and auto-selects the best option next time." This is a ranking behavior layered on top of fuzzy matching: the same query can resolve to different top results depending on what you selected before. For a daily-use launcher this matters more than raw match quality — repeated tasks converge on one keystroke pattern.

Two practical implications:

• Consistency builds speed. If you always pick the same result for a query, the auto-selection makes that query effectively a one-Enter action.
• Changed habits change results. If your top pick shifts, expect the auto-selection to follow your newer choices rather than staying pinned.

Shortcuts and extensions: the same bar, more actions

Ulauncher describes shortcuts and extensions as the way to "speed up your workflow with personalized shortcuts and extensions," including "quick access to scripts, searches, or reuse community-built add-ons."

The shortcut system is best understood as user-defined actions bound to queries in the launcher. A typical use case: a query that runs a script you wrote, or one that forwards your text to a web search. You define the trigger and the action; the launcher bar becomes the entry point.

Extensions follow the same model but are shared. The site points to an extensions directory and separate documentation, and community add-ons are reused rather than rebuilt. The video tutorials listed on the site — including "RICE Linux with Ulauncher - Extensions and Custom Theming" and "Ulauncher More Than App Launcher" — cover this extension and theming workflow, so they are a reasonable starting point if you want to see the system in action before configuring your own.

Directory browsing as a built-in shortcut

One documented built-in behavior doubles as a shortcut example: type ~ or / to start browsing files and directories, then press Alt+Enter for advanced options. This shows the pattern — a short trigger character switches the launcher from app search into a different mode — which is the same idea you apply when defining your own shortcuts.

What you need before relying on these features

Note that the site states there is currently no dev repository for Fedora, and the PPA instructions are specifically for Ubuntu — Debian users are directed to separate instructions. Version numbers on the download page load dynamically, so check the site for the current release rather than assuming a version.

How to verify it's working

1. Install Ulauncher for your distribution using the command above, or the .deb via your graphical installer.
2. Open the launcher and type a deliberately misspelled application name. If fuzzy search is active, you should still see the intended app among the results.
3. Select a result, close the launcher, and repeat the same query. The previously chosen option should now be auto-selected, confirming the learning behavior.
4. Type ~ or / and press Alt+Enter to confirm the directory browser mode responds.
5. Add a shortcut or extension from the docs, then trigger it from the launcher bar to confirm your custom action runs.

Common sticking points

• Wrong install path for your distro. The PPA is Ubuntu-only; Debian needs its own instructions, and Fedora has no dev repository. Using the wrong command is the most likely reason an install fails.
• Expecting exact-match behavior. Fuzzy search is forgiving, but a query that matches many applications can still surface an unexpected top result until your picks train the ranking.
• Assuming extensions are bundled. Extensions and custom themes come from the linked docs and directory; the launcher ships with four built-in themes, not a preloaded extension set.
• Skipping the video walkthroughs. If shortcuts and theming feel abstract, the site's tutorial videos demonstrate the extension and theming workflow directly.

The short version: fuzzy search removes spelling precision from your workflow, the pick memory removes repeated selection, and shortcuts plus extensions turn the same launcher bar into a general command entry point for scripts and searches.

Ulauncher is a Linux application launcher with fuzzy search, custom color themes, shortcuts, extensions, and a fast directory browser. You install it differently depending on your distribution: Ubuntu users can use a PPA or a .deb package, Arch users install from the AUR, Fedora users install with dnf, and openSUSE and CentOS 7 users install a downloaded package with zypper or yum. The site lists a stable release and a dev release; the commands below follow the official download instructions.

Before you start

• Confirm your distribution and package manager, since the commands are not interchangeable.
• For the .deb route, download the package file first and note its exact filename — the examples use a placeholder like ulauncher_x.y.z_all.deb.
• For openSUSE and CentOS, the site's download links are shown as loading placeholders, so get the current package file from the download section of ulauncher.io before running the install commands.

Ubuntu (Debian-based)

Ulauncher documents two Ubuntu options.

Option 1: Install via PPA. The site provides a PPA install command for Ubuntu. Run the PPA command shown on the download page, then install Ulauncher from that repository. The site notes these instructions are specifically for Ubuntu.

Option 2: Install the .deb file. Download the .deb, then run:

sudo apt install ./ulauncher_x.y.z_all.deb

Alternatively, right-click the downloaded file and choose to open it in your graphical installer (normally named "Software").

Debian: The site says Debian instructions are available by expanding a section on the download page — follow that expanded text rather than the Ubuntu PPA steps.

Arch Linux

Ulauncher is available in the AUR:

https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/ulauncher/

Install it with your preferred AUR helper, or clone the AUR package and build it with makepkg following standard AUR procedure.

Fedora

Ulauncher is available for all current Fedora Linux releases:

sudo dnf install ulauncher

The site explicitly states it does not currently support any dev repository for Fedora, so use the standard release package.

openSUSE

Download the package from the site, then install it with:

sudo zypper in packagename.rpm

You can also double-click the downloaded package to install it graphically.

CentOS 7

CentOS 7 needs the EPEL repository before installing the downloaded package:

sudo yum install epel-release && sudo yum install packagename.rpm

Verify the install and try the basics

After installation, launch Ulauncher from your application menu or your desktop environment's run dialog. Then check that the core features work:

1. Fuzzy search: type an application name without worrying about exact spelling — Ulauncher matches what you meant, remembers previous picks, and auto-selects the best option next time.
2. Directory browsing: type ~ or / to start browsing files and directories, then press Alt+Enter for advanced options.
3. Themes: Ulauncher ships with four built-in themes and supports custom color themes; the theme docs on the site explain how to build your own.
4. Extensions and shortcuts: add personalized shortcuts and extensions for scripts, searches, or community-built add-ons.

Common snags

• Wrong package manager: the PPA steps are Ubuntu-specific; Debian users should use the expanded Debian instructions on the download page.
• Placeholder filenames: commands like sudo apt install ./ulauncher_x.y.z_all.deb and sudo zypper in packagename.rpm require the real filename of the file you downloaded.
• Fedora dev builds: don't expect a dev repository for Fedora — the site says none is currently supported.
• CentOS 7: the yum command fails without epel-release, so install it in the same command as shown.

For visual walkthroughs, the site links video tutorials covering an Ulauncher overview, extensions and custom theming, and using Ulauncher beyond app launching.