App Sources

App Sources decides where LaunchNext scans for .app bundles and how launcher search responds while you type.

Built-in sources

Default system paths are always present:

• /Applications
• ~/Applications
• /System/Applications
• /System/Cryptexes/App/System/Applications

You normally do not need to change these.

Custom sources

Add extra folders when you keep apps on:

• external drives
• custom tool directories
• dev/test app locations

Search behavior

Fuzzy search

Fuzzy search changes launcher results from simple substring matching to scored matching.

When enabled, LaunchNext can match:

• exact names
• prefixes
• word starts
• acronyms
• compact subsequence matches
• names that contain the query

This helps short queries find apps even when you do not type the full visible name.

Search delay

Search delay controls how long LaunchNext waits before updating results while you type.

• Lower values feel more immediate.
• Higher values reduce result churn on slower machines or very large app libraries.
• The current range is 100 ms to 600 ms, with 300 ms as the default.

Common actions

Add folders

1. Click Add folders...
2. Select one or more directories
3. Let LaunchNext scan and sync

Remove one source

Click the remove button on that source row.

Reset all custom sources

Use Restore defaults to clear all custom source entries.

Offline badge

If a source path is not currently available, it shows an Offline badge.

This is common for unmounted external drives.

Expand a source

From each custom source, you can expand details to:

• list apps found under that path
• remove individual apps from current layout

This helps when one directory contains temporary or duplicate apps.

Troubleshooting scan issues

If a source is not reflected correctly:

1. Verify the folder still exists
2. Refresh LaunchNext
3. Remove and add the source again
4. Reopen LaunchNext if needed