Nubble: A Faster Way to Find Anything on Your Mac

Nubble is a free Spotlight-style launcher for macOS. Press Option-Space to find apps and files, do quick sums, ask AI with your own key, search the web, browse your clipboard history and convert files.

October 28, 2026 · Labs

Nubble is a search bar that opens over whatever you are doing. Press a key, type a few letters, press Return.

Nubble is a small, free app for macOS from Crooli Labs. There is no account, no trial and no subscription. Get it at nubble.crooli.com.

Nubble began as an app for the MacBook notch, with a file shelf and pop-ups. We rebuilt it as a launcher in version 2.0, and this post describes it as it is now. The notch features are gone.

Find apps and files

Press Option-Space anywhere. The bar opens near the top of the screen your pointer is on, and results update on every keystroke.

  • Type part of a name to open an app, such as saf for Safari. Initials work too, so gc finds Google Chrome.
  • Search your files, or jump straight to a path like ~/Downloads/report.pdf.
  • Type an address like github.com to open it in your browser.
  • Press Tab on a result for its actions, and Command-Return to show it in Finder.

Nubble learns what you pick, so the thing you open most is the first thing you see. You can change the shortcut from the menu bar, or use Command-Space if you switch off Spotlight's own shortcut.

Quick answers

  • Calculator. Try (12+8)*4.5 or 200 + 15%. Press Return to copy the answer.
  • Unit converter. Try 10 km in miles. Length, weight, temperature, data, time and more.
  • Web keywords. yt lofi beats, gh nubble, maps coffee or amz usb c cable go straight to that site's results.
  • AI answers. Ask Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, OpenRouter, Groq, Mistral or Grok with your own API key, or run Ollama on your Mac. Answers stream in and you can ask follow-ups.

Small tools for your Mac

  • Clipboard history. Press Control-Option-V to search text, links, images and files you copied, with a preview. Return pastes, and Command-P pins. Passwords are never saved.
  • File tools. Convert images, PDFs, documents, audio and video, compress anything, zip a selection, merge PDFs or make a GIF. Your originals are never changed.
  • Window management. Snap the window you are in to a half, third or quarter, or maximize it.
  • Running apps. Quit, force quit or hide an app by name, or switch to one.
  • Ports. See what is listening on localhost, then open it in a browser or stop it.
  • Screenshots. Capture a screen, an area or a window. The bar hides first, so it is never in the picture.
  • System commands. Lock Screen, Sleep, Toggle Dark Mode, Empty Trash, Restart and more.

Slash commands

Type / to see every command, including /help, /clip, /ports, /ai, /files, /windows, /apps and /system. Each one opens its own list, and nothing runs until you press Return. /help explains everything Nubble can do, with examples you can try. The full guide is on the docs page.

Built for the Mac

Nubble is a native Mac app. It is small, can open when you log in, and updates itself when a new version is ready. It works on any Mac running macOS 14 Sonoma or later, with Apple silicon or Intel.

Window management needs Accessibility access, which macOS asks for the first time you use it.

Getting it

The quickest way to install Nubble is the one-line Terminal command on the download page. It puts Nubble in your Applications folder and opens it.

You can also download the disk image and drag Nubble into Applications. Nubble is not notarised by Apple yet, so the first time you open a downloaded copy, macOS will say it cannot check the app. Right-click Nubble in Applications and choose Open, or click Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security. You only need to do this once, and the Terminal install skips it entirely.

There is no account and no tracking. Your files stay on your Mac. AI answers go only to the service you choose, using your own key, and only when you ask a question.

If something does not work the way you expect, tell us. Nubble is a Labs project, which means it changes quickly, and the fastest changes come from people using it.