Quera

Keyboard-driven launcher for Windows

Introduction

Quera is a keyboard-driven launcher for Windows. Press Alt + Space to bring up the search window, type a query, and instantly find apps, files, commands, bookmarks — plus a built-in calculator, system commands, input prefixes, and more. Built with .NET 8 WPF, zero WebView dependency.

Features

• Global Hotkey — Alt + Space toggle with fade animation
• File Search — Indexes Start Menu and custom directories
• Custom Commands — shell: / cmd: / ps: / run: with admin elevation
• Bookmarks — Keyword-triggered URLs
• Search Engines — keyword query syntax
• Folder Shortcuts — Keyword to open a directory
• Calculator — Type 2+2*3 and see = 8
• System Commands — shutdown / restart / lock / sleep
• Input Prefixes — > commands only, / files only, @ bookmarks only
• Aliases — reboot → shutdown /r /t 0
• History — Frequently used results rank higher
• Paginated Results — Tab / Shift+Tab to flip pages
• Auto-hide — Disappears when focus is lost
• System Tray — Lives in the tray with right-click menu
• Highly Configurable — 70+ YAML settings: colors, fonts, layout, shortcuts, priority
• Image Icons — Supports emoji and ico/png/jpg files

Shortcuts

Key	Action
Alt + Space	Show / Hide
↑ ↓	Navigate
Enter	Execute
Tab	Next page (auto-complete on search hint)
Shift + Tab	Previous page
Esc	Hide
Ctrl + ,	Open config
Ctrl + R	Reload config

Quick Start

1. Download and extract
2. Run Quera.exe
3. Press Alt + Space
4. Edit config.yaml

Configuration

settings:
  hotkey: Alt+Space
  width: 680
  opacity: 96
  max_results: 30
  autostart: false
  hide_on_deactivate: true
  hide_delay_ms: 200
  show_on_startup: false

window:
  always_on_top: true
  corner_radius: 20

icons:
  enable_image_icons: true
  cache_icons: true

colors:
  background: "#B216213E"
  search_card: "#0DFFFFFF"
  search_border: "#12FFFFFF"
  result_card: "#CC1A1A2E"
  result_border: "#33FFFFFF"
  result_hover: "#18FFFFFF"
  result_selected_start: "#D97035"
  result_selected_end: "#E8955A"
  text_primary: "#FFFFFF"
  text_secondary: "#8899AA"
  text_muted: "#556677"
  accent: "#D97035"

search_box:
  placeholder: "Search apps, files, commands..."
  icon: "🔍"
  esc_hint: "ESC to close"

results:
  padding_h: 10
  padding_v: 7
  margin: 1
  icon_size: 20
  badge_font_size: 9

layout:
  outer_margin: 12
  card_gap: 10
  search_padding: 14
  results_padding: 6

shortcuts:
  next_page: Tab
  prev_page: Shift+Tab
  execute: Enter
  hide: Escape
  open_config: "Ctrl+,"
  reload_config: Ctrl+R

search:
  match_mode: contains
  include_directories: false
  max_depth: -1

exclude:
  paths: [~/AppData, ~/.git]
  patterns: ["*.tmp", "*.log"]

cache:
  enabled: true
  refresh_on_start: true
  max_files: 50000

ui:
  border_radius: 20
  font_family: "Microsoft YaHei UI"
  font_size_search: 17
  font_size_result_name: 14
  font_size_result_desc: 11
  max_visible_items: 10
  item_height: 44
  show_icons: true
  show_type_badge: true
  show_status_bar: true

terminal:
  default: cmd
  admin_default: powershell

paths:
  - ~/Desktop
  - C:/Tools

file_types:
  - .exe
  - .lnk
  - .bat
  - .ps1

commands:
  - keyword: cmd
    name: Command Prompt
    action: run:cmd.exe
    icon: "⚡"
    admin: false

bookmarks:
  - keyword: gh
    name: GitHub
    url: https://github.com
    icon: "🔗"

folders:
  - keyword: desk
    name: Desktop
    path: ~/Desktop
    icon: "📁"

search_engines:
  - keyword: g
    name: Google
    url: https://www.google.com/search?q={query}
    icon: "🔍"

aliases:
  - keyword: reboot
    action: cmd:shutdown /r /t 0
  - keyword: logoff
    action: cmd:shutdown /l

priority:
  types: [command, bookmark, file, folder, search, search_hint]
  extensions: [.exe, .lnk, .bat, .ps1]
  custom_path_first: true

FAQ

Q: Hotkey conflict? Change settings.hotkey — supports Ctrl / Alt / Shift / Win.

Q: Config not taking effect? Press Ctrl + R to reload, or restart.

Q: No file results? Check paths and file_types.

Q: Custom icons? Use emoji (⚡) or local images (ico/png/jpg), ~ = user home.

Tech Stack

• .NET 8 WPF — native Windows, no WebView
• CommunityToolkit.Mvvm
• YamlDotNet
• Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting

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Made with 💚 by Quera