LaunchBack
Launchpad
never left.
Apple quietly retired the full‑screen app grid. LaunchBack brings it back — pixel for pixel, blur for blur — as a lightweight, native utility that lives one keystroke away.
“Somewhere between Sonoma and Tahoe, the full‑screen grid you F4’d into a thousand times quietly disappeared” — swapped for a search box wearing Launchpad’s name. LaunchBack rebuilds the original, not a replacement for it.— why this exists
Everything you remember.
Nothing you don’t.
02 / features
The real grid
Seven columns, five rows, centered and framed exactly like the Launchpad you grew up with — not a rethought, redesigned imitation.
One keystroke away
⌥⌘Space from anywhere, any app. Press it again, or hit escape, and it's gone.
Instant search
Start typing the moment it opens. No click required — the search field is already focused and waiting.
Matches your desktop
The backdrop is your actual wallpaper, blurred — not a generic tint. Install a new one and LaunchBack notices.
Genuinely fast
Toggles open instantly, no lag, no spinner. Under 70MB resident — lighter than a browser tab.
Live app detection
Install or delete an app and the grid updates on its own — no relaunch, no manual refresh, ever.
Up and running
in about ten seconds.
03 / install
Download & drag
Grab the disk image below and drag LaunchBack into your Applications folder, same as any other Mac app.
Open it once
LaunchBack settles quietly into the background — no Dock icon, no menu bar clutter, no window left open.
Press the keys
Launchpad's back, full screen, blurred wallpaper and all.