[HN Gopher] Script Kit: cross-platform, scriptable, automatic sh...
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       Script Kit: cross-platform, scriptable, automatic shortcuts to
       everything
        
       Author : nateb2022
       Score  : 55 points
       Date   : 2023-01-20 18:31 UTC (4 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.scriptkit.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.scriptkit.com)
        
       | imiric wrote:
       | At the risk of sounding like an HN contrarian: I find it
       | fascinating how many projects reinvent the wheel with a complex
       | solution for something that's already easily possible, while
       | introducing all sorts of limitations and security issues.
       | 
       | This seems like a repository of--hopefully verified--NodeJS
       | scripts, and a standard library of common tasks, presented by a
       | slick graphical launcher. The appeal seems to be that it's cross-
       | platform (yet no Linux?), and that users can write their own
       | scripts.
       | 
       | But... Other than the standard library, which might be useful,
       | all of this is already possible. Just write your scripts _in any
       | language_ and launch them via the universal launcher: the command
       | line. Or, if you want to get fancy, use any number of script
       | launchers, like rofi on Linux.
       | 
       | I'm curious to know what this tool does differently or better
       | than what's currently out there.
        
         | synergy20 wrote:
         | plus, rust-rewrite-all-your-utilities efforts, what rust really
         | adds is syntax highlighting and esp be .gitignore aware but I
         | now need remember quite a few different option flags.
         | admittedly, the old unix tools(e.g. find,grep,etc) should had
         | .gitignore-awareness etc a few years back, which is still
         | undone.
        
       | what-no-tests wrote:
       | Hey this looks great, but for those of us using Linux (Ubuntu) as
       | a desktop, is there a similar tool? Or a port of this?
        
       | johnlindquist wrote:
       | Creator of Script Kit here.
       | 
       | A few things to get out of the way:
       | 
       | - I love Alfred/Raycast/BetterTouchTool/etc
       | 
       | - I am not a company. This is an individual, highly-flawed
       | passion project. Let's be kind.
       | 
       | - I wanted to build an Open-source, cross-platform version of
       | these tools that focused on reusable scripts
       | 
       | - Linux builds exist, I don't have the machines nor bandwidth to
       | support them. I will need the community to step up if they feel
       | it's worthwhile
       | 
       | We use Script Kit a lot internally at egghead.io for
       | course/transcript production, so any success beyond that is
       | honestly just a bonus.
       | 
       | If there are any ideas/features/questions I can help with, the
       | best place to ask is over on our GitHub discussions page (much
       | easier to share code, etc).
       | 
       | Cheers - John Lindquist
        
         | MikeSchurman wrote:
         | Thanks John. I'm immediately excited by this project. I love
         | the idea of alfred et. al. but there's always something lacking
         | about them: it's difficult to do plugins, or they're done in a
         | language I don't know, or they're not cross platform. This
         | ticks all my boxes (as far as I can tell) so I'm looking
         | forward to trying it this weekend.
        
         | riidom wrote:
         | follow Linux discussion here (and have a link to the build):
         | 
         | https://github.com/johnlindquist/kit/discussions/121
        
       | afefers wrote:
       | This is fantastic but I can't see myself using it simply because
       | it uses Electron.
        
         | [deleted]
        
         | nateb2022 wrote:
         | I'm sure there's worse hiding beneath the covers of some apps
         | you use on a regular basis; e.g. Teams, Office, most AA/AAA
         | games, etc. While Electron is far from optimal, just because a
         | great app is built on top of it doesn't make that app any less
         | great.
         | 
         | As an example, although I do have a prejudice against Electron
         | based apps myself, that doesn't prevent me from using VSCode,
         | which itself is based on Electron. VSCode is pretty great, and
         | I'm not going to not use it simply because it uses Electron.
        
           | cosmotic wrote:
           | Using electron generally means 10x cpu, energy, and memory
           | usage. I'd say that is less great all on its own.
        
             | twosdai wrote:
             | Hey 10x of zero is still zero. :p
        
         | sigmonsays wrote:
         | I agree. web browsers need to become a service in the OS that
         | can securely be shared. Electron apps are crap until that
         | happens.
        
           | tomComb wrote:
           | They already are on android, iOS, and windows.
        
       | drinchev wrote:
       | This looks cool. However I was looking for a better "Alfred" on
       | my Mac and found https://www.raycast.com/.
       | 
       | Seems like it's not an electron app, but also works with JS and
       | even React.
       | 
       | In case someone is using both. What are the Pro/Cons against
       | Raycast for ScriptKit?
        
         | rockwotj wrote:
         | Raycast is an amazing tool, I use it everyday and have a few
         | custom scripts to do stuff. Highly recommend.
         | 
         | It's super nice to press cmd + space and type a common thing I
         | do without having to think. I use it to move windows around,
         | switch from light/dark mode (frontend dev) switch focus between
         | Firefox, terminal and IDEs, control Spotify, manage my Asana
         | tasks, the list goes on :)
        
       | swyx wrote:
       | this is a gorgeous landing page. thank you John for always being
       | so generous in sharing your automations.
        
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       (page generated 2023-01-20 23:01 UTC)