When comparing Hain vs Launchy, the Slant community recommends Launchy for most people. In the question“What are the best app launchers for Windows?” Launchy is ranked 5th while Hain is ranked 8th. The most important reason people chose Launchy is:
For those using Debian based distros Launchy is very easy to install as their website has 32 and 64bit .deb files available. For all other diistros Launchy will have to be compiled from source.
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Pros
Pro Nice default design that uses themes that are compliant with the Albert theming system
Pro Cross platform
Pro Easy plugin installation using NPM integration
Pro .deb files available for Debian based distros
For those using Debian based distros Launchy is very easy to install as their website has 32 and 64bit .deb files available. For all other diistros Launchy will have to be compiled from source.
Pro Easily themed with many available on the web
Launchy can be easily themedby placing themes into the Launchy theme folder and then selecting that theme from within the apps settings. There are also many user created themes available which is great for those that want their launcher to match the rest of their OS's theme.
Cons
Con The project is now archived on Github, so it is no longer in development
Con Built in Electron, but Linux and Mac versions have to be compiled by the user since the dev only officially compiles and distributes to Windows for now
Con Small selection of plugins
The official plugin page on Launchy's homepage hosts just 11 plugins.
Con Abandoned
Launchy was last updated in 2010.