tinycast is a small, powerful application designed to make your daily computer work faster and easier. It lives quietly in your menu bar and gives you three superpowers:
- Instant Launcher – Open any app, file, or folder by typing just a few letters. No more hunting through folders or the dock.
- Smart Hotkeys – Create custom keyboard shortcuts for actions you repeat all the time. One keystroke can do the work of many clicks.
- Clipboard History – Never lose a copied item again. tinycast remembers everything you copy, so you can paste something from hours ago with ease.
Think of tinycast as your personal productivity sidekick. It's small, fast, and stays out of your way until you need it.
- Type a few characters and instantly see matching apps, files, and websites
- Fuzzy search means you don't need to spell perfectly
- Navigate with arrow keys and press Enter to open – done in under a second
- Assign any keyboard combination to any action
- Launch apps, run scripts, type text snippets, or switch windows
- Create profiles for different tasks or times of day
- Automatically saves every text snippet, link, or image you copy
- Search through your history with instant results
- Pin important items so they never get overwritten
- Paste any item with a single shortcut
- Built specifically for macOS, using system tools for smooth performance
- Uses very little memory – typically under 30 MB
- No cloud, no account, no telemetry. Your data stays on your Mac.
- Fits perfectly with the macOS look and feel
- Easy-to-understand settings panel
- Works with both light and dark mode
To run tinycast smoothly, your Mac should meet these simple requirements:
- Operating System: macOS 12 (Monterey) or newer
- Memory: At least 4 GB of RAM
- Storage: 20 MB of free disk space
- Processor: Any Intel or Apple Silicon Mac
Getting started with tinycast is simple. Follow these steps:
Visit this link to download the application:
You'll be taken to the releases page where you can find the latest version.
Look for a file named something like tinycast-v1.0.0.dmg (the version number may differ). Download this file to your Mac.
- Once the download finishes, find the
.dmgfile in your Downloads folder - Double-click the
.dmgfile – it will open a window - Drag the tinycast icon into your Applications folder
- Eject the disk image (drag it to the trash or press Command+E)
- Open your Applications folder
- Double-click the tinycast icon
- On first launch, macOS might ask for confirmation – click Open in the popup
- tinycast will appear in your menu bar (top of your screen, near the clock)
When you first use the hotkeys or clipboard features, macOS will ask for permission. Please click Allow when you see these prompts:
- Accessibility – needed for hotkeys and controlling apps
- Input Monitoring – needed to see what you're typing for hotkey shortcuts
These permissions are only used locally on your Mac to make tinycast work. Nothing is sent anywhere.
- Press Option + Space (default shortcut) to open the launcher
- Start typing the name of an app (like "mail" or "notes")
- Use Up/Down arrows to select the result
- Press Enter to launch
- Click the tinycast icon in the menu bar
- Choose Preferences
- Go to the Hotkeys tab
- Click the + button to add a new hotkey
- Assign a key combination and choose an action
- Copy anything (text, image, or link)
- Press Shift + Option + V (default shortcut) to open clipboard history
- Scroll through your recent copies
- Click on an item or press Enter to paste it
- Make sure you dragged it to the Applications folder
- Try right-clicking the icon and selecting Open from the menu
- Check that your Mac meets the system requirements
- Check that you granted Accessibility permission in System Settings > Privacy & Security
- Try restarting tinycast from the menu bar icon
- Make sure your hotkey isn't already used by another app
- Ensure Input Monitoring permission is granted
- Check that you haven't cleared history in settings
- Try copying a new item and then opening history
- Restart the application from the menu bar
- Clear your clipboard history in Preferences
- Make sure your macOS is up to date
Is tinycast free?
Yes, tinycast is completely free to use. There are no paid tiers or hidden costs.
Does tinycast work on Intel Macs?
Absolutely. tinycast runs on both Intel and Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) Macs.
Can I sync my clipboard across devices?
No. tinycast keeps everything local for privacy and security. No cloud syncing is available or planned.
How do I uninstall tinycast?
Simply drag the tinycast icon from your Applications folder to the Trash. Then empty the trash.
Will tinycast slow down my Mac?
No. tinycast is designed to use minimal resources. Most users won't even notice it's running.
- First public release
- Core launcher functionality
- Basic hotkey support
- Clipboard history with search
- Dark and light mode support
- Custom themes
- Cloud sync option (optional)
- Advanced text expansion
- More hotkey profiles
We're here to help if you have any questions or issues.
- Documentation: Check the docs folder in the repository
- Issues: Report bugs or request features on the GitHub issues page
- Community: Join discussions in the GitHub discussions tab
Your feedback is valuable and helps us improve tinycast for everyone.
Your privacy is important. Here's what tinycast does with your data:
- Everything stays on your Mac – No cloud storage or servers involved
- No tracking or analytics – We don't collect any usage data
- Clipboard content is stored locally – Only on your device
- Open-source transparency – You can review the code anytime
- Create custom profiles for different work modes (design, coding, writing)
- Pin frequently used clipboard items so they stay at the top
- Use fuzzy search in the launcher – it's more forgiving than exact matching
- Assign a hotkey to your most-used app to switch instantly
- Clear clipboard history regularly to keep it fast and tidy
There are many launcher apps out there, but tinycast stands out because:
- It's small and fast – No bloat or unnecessary features
- It's native – Uses macOS APIs for reliability and performance
- It respects your privacy – No accounts, no cloud, no tracking
- It's simple – You'll be productive within minutes of installing
- It's free – Powerful tools shouldn't cost money
If you like tinycast, tell your friends and colleagues! A star on the GitHub repository also helps us a lot.
- ⭐ Star the repository on GitHub
- 🐦 Share on social media
- 💬 Recommend it in your team chat
tinycast is built with care to make your daily computing smoother. We hope it saves you time and effort every single day. Download it now and feel the difference immediately.
Remember – tinycast is here to make you faster. Let it handle the repetitive stuff while you focus on the important things.
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