I'm gradually switching from Windows to Kubuntu and am looking for a launcher that feels similar to Flow Launcher. Most of the options I've tried—including KRunner, Alfred, Ulauncher, and Vinca—can launch apps, but they don't seem to provide Google-style web search suggestions or autocomplete while I type. I'd like to enter a query in the launcher and see suggested searches before submitting it. Are there any Linux launchers or plugins that support this?
3 Answers
KDE Plasma’s built-in search may cover the launcher part of what you need, although its web-search integration might not provide live Google suggestions. It’s worth checking the available search plugins and their configuration.
Ulauncher is highly customizable and can be extended with search-related plugins, so it may be worth revisiting if you can find an extension that queries Google suggestions. Some users have reported compatibility problems with it under Wayland, though, so your desktop session could affect how well it works.
That was one of the issues I ran into—Ulauncher didn’t behave reliably in my Wayland session.
KRunner has a web search plugin that you can enable in its settings. It also supports prefixes such as `:keyword` to send a query through a specific web-search provider.
That handles the search itself, but it still doesn’t show autocomplete suggestions while I’m typing. I have to enter the whole query first.
I checked it, but the missing autocomplete suggestions are the main problem. The search only runs after the full query is entered.