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Search Light vs Kupfer: catalog facts
Search Light	Kupfer
Best for: GNOME users who want a Spotlight-style search box	Best for: Linux users who liked Quicksilver's way of acting on things from the keyboard
Free Free and open source.	Free Free and open source under the GNU GPL.
Linux	Linux
Spotlight-style popup without leaving the current workspace Uses GNOME's built-in search All 3 strengths for Search Light Spotlight-style popup without leaving the current workspace Uses GNOME's built-in search Configurable through a preferences dialog	Object-and-action workflow like Quicksilver Extensible through plugins All 3 strengths for Kupfer Object-and-action workflow like Quicksilver Extensible through plugins Mature project with a long history
Only works on GNOME Shell GNOME extensions can break with new GNOME releases	Linux only Slower development pace than newer launchers
Downloadable app	Downloadable app
Open source	Open source
License not stated	License: GPL
No account needed	No account needed
Offline features available	Offline features available
Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Search Light github.com/icedman/search-light Catalog checked September 24, 2026	Official website Full listing and sources Sources for Kupfer kupferlauncher.github.io Catalog checked September 23, 2026

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