KRunner
Shares rank 6 of 8 app launchers by recommenders
Fast KDE Plasma launcher with plugins and search extensions, often rated above Spotlight. Caveats: currency conversion often fails to trigger, and it is mainly useful to KDE users.
Fast KDE Plasma launcher with plugins and search extensions, often rated above Spotlight. Caveats: currency conversion often fails to trigger, and it is mainly useful to KDE users.
10 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 8
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 80%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 8 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 4 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Plugins and KDE search extensions
“KRunner also has plugins, Gnome Also has search extensions, without depending on a 3rd party app that might pull the rug anytime.”
Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop” “it supports all the enabled KDE Search plugins”
Comment from 10 Jan 2026 in “I replaced Windows with Linux and everything's going great”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Currency conversion often doesn't trigger
“it often doesn't trigger when you want to convert e.g. currency”
Comment from 25 Oct 2026 in “SpeedCrunch 1.1” Only useful to KDE users
“krunner is only going to attract KDE users”
Comment from 24 Sep 2026 in “Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop” Cannot index Google Drive files
“I can't seem to get KRunner to index my Drive files”
Comment from 20 Nov 2025 in “Gaming on Linux has never been more approachable”
Other app launchers people recommend
The four most recommended other app launchers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raycast | 95 | 27 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Alfred for macOS | 55 | 4 | 93% | 12 | 10 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| Spotlight | 43 | 133 | 24% | 11 | 6 yrs5 owners | — |
| Tuna launcher for macOS | 10 | 6 | 63% | 2 | — | — |
| KRunnerThis page | 8 | 2 | 80% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it often doesn't trigger when you want to convert e.g. currency”
“but krunner is very good.”
“KRunner also has plugins, Gnome Also has search extensions, without depending on a 3rd party app that might pull the rug anytime.”
“krunner is only going to attract KDE users”
“KRunner is arguably more Capable than spotlight in some cases.”
“None of these are perfect.”
“it supports all the enabled KDE Search plugins”
“I can't seem to get KRunner to index my Drive files”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.