Mastering Sliprail: Start With the Unified Input

Sliprail is a cross-platform quick launcher and intelligent personal assistant. A unified input box connects apps, windows, commands, files, frequently used content, and Nora, letting you move from what you want to do directly to the next action.

This guide focuses on Sliprail's most fundamental interaction model. Once you understand these rules, you can use most desktop capabilities quickly and continue naturally into extensions and intelligent features.

Step 1: Open Sliprail

In the Windows or macOS desktop app, press the global hotkey to open Sliprail from anywhere. You can change the default hotkey in Settings.

The Web version does not use a system-wide hotkey. Open Sliprail Web to use capabilities suited to the browser environment. Window switching, app launching, and some system features are available only on desktop.

Step 2: Understand the Unified Input

Sliprail updates results as you type and can transition into a next-step interface when needed. Results may include:

  • Installed applications
  • Sliprail commands and extensions
  • Currently open application windows
  • Sub-commands or argument interfaces relevant to the current input

Search supports fuzzy matching, allowing you to find targets without entering their complete names.

Direct Search and Execution

The most common workflow is to type a keyword and press Enter.

  1. Type a keyword for an app, window, or command
  2. Adjust the selection with Tab, Shift+Tab, or the arrow keys
  3. Press Enter to execute

For example:

  • Type chrome to launch Chrome or reach a related window
  • Type sleep to find the sleep command
  • Type part of a window title to locate a specific open window

During direct search, the target keyword itself should not contain spaces. For Visual Studio Code, use vscode or visualstudiocode rather than entering the natural spaces in the app name.

Use Space to Continue

The spacebar is an important part of Sliprail's progressive interaction. When the current item supports arguments or sub-commands, pressing Space moves to the next step.

A common flow is:

  1. Type a space-free command keyword
  2. Press Space to confirm the current item or enter argument mode
  3. Continue filtering sub-commands or type the argument
  4. Press Enter to execute

For example:

  • google weather uses a web-search command with weather as the query
  • nora help me organize this requirement sends the question to Nora
  • Type encoding, press Space, select an encoding tool, and then enter the content to process

Arguments after the space can contain spaces. Only the keyword used to locate the first-level item needs to remain space-free.

Narrow Results With Filter Characters

Sliprail provides three common filter characters. Each can appear anywhere in the input.

Show Commands Only

Type / to show shortcut commands and extension capabilities.

  • /restart
  • restart/
  • res/tart

Show Open Windows Only

Type [ to show currently open windows.

  • chrome[docs
  • figma[dashboard

Window filtering is available only in the Windows and macOS desktop apps.

Show Apps Only

Type # to show applications.

  • #chrome
  • code#

Filter characters are particularly useful when apps, windows, and commands have similar names.

Select, Execute, and Organize Results

  • Use Tab, Shift+Tab, or arrow keys to change the selection
  • Press Enter to execute the selected item
  • Press Space on supported items to continue into sub-commands
  • Use the right-click menu on an app result to add rarely used apps to the hidden list

Hiding an app does not uninstall it or change the operating system. It only keeps Sliprail search results more focused.

Invoke Nora From the Input Box

Nora is Sliprail's built-in intelligent personal assistant. Type nora, a space, and your question, then press Enter to send the task to Nora.

For example:

  • nora summarize this text
  • nora translate the following content into English
  • nora create a test plan for this feature

If you type only nora and press Enter, Sliprail opens the full Nora interface. This is better for longer conversations, file analysis, model switching, image generation, and canvas work.

One Reusable Interaction Model

Sliprail's basic workflow can be summarized as:

Open Sliprail → Type a keyword → Execute directly or press Space to continue → Press Enter to finish

This model is not limited to app launching. It also runs through window switching, utility extensions, content tools, and Nora. The interface changes with context, while the core mental model stays consistent.

Suggested First Practice

  1. Open Sliprail, type an abbreviation for a common app, and launch it
  2. Type [ with a window keyword to switch to an open window
  3. Type / to browse available commands
  4. Type # to search applications only
  5. Choose an extension with sub-commands and press Space to continue
  6. Type nora [your question] to experience the intelligent personal assistant

Summary

Sliprail's unified input is both a quick-launch entry point and the interaction center through which the intelligent personal assistant connects different capabilities.

Once you understand keyword search, spacebar progression, filter characters, and keyboard selection, you can use the same habits for apps, windows, commands, and Nora. From there, explore file search, clipboard history, bookmarks, snippets, and extensions according to your own workflow.