Optional⌥L
Latest
The screenshot you just took, the file you just downloaded, what you just copied. Each says where it came from and when.
A little closer to everything on your Mac.
Option-Tab,
for everything else.
Hold Right Option, tap a letter, let go. Your clipboard, windows, recent files, headphones and the right action for what you’ve selected. One gesture, no typing.
Free for 14 days · macOS 14 or later · Apple silicon
Interactive preview
Choose a wheel. Point to an item or use the arrow keys. Enter runs it; Esc cancels.
Try it here: hold ⌥ and press V, Tab or S
BEYOND THE KEYBOARD
Drag to an edge.
Start dragging a file and the screen edges become places to drop it. Grab the screenshot and try.
Interactive Edge Drops preview
Drag the file above, or try one of these destinations.
Drag the file to an edge, or focus it and press Enter, then use the arrow keys.
ONE FAMILIAR GESTURE
One gesture. Learn it once.
- 01HoldRight Option, or any key you choose.
- 02TapA letter picks the wheel. Tap it again to move down.
- 03Let goWhatever is selected runs. Esc to back out.
Hold the key a little longer to see every wheel and its letter. You can adjust the delay.
YOUR MAC, WITHIN REACH
Thirteen wheels, filled with what’s happening now
Nothing to set up first. The clipboard holds what you just copied, the windows are the ones you have open, the files are the screenshot you just took.
⌥V
Clipboard
Text, images, files, links and colors. Release to paste, hold Shift for plain text.
⌥Tab
Windows
Every window, including minimized ones and those on other desktops. Type to filter: “we” finds WeChat.
⌥F
Recent Files
Screenshots, downloads and files you just saved. Release to paste straight into a chat or upload box.
⌥A
Audio
Switch speakers, headphones and microphones.
⌥B
Bluetooth
Connect or disconnect paired devices.
⌥T
Browser Tabs
Every tab in Safari, Chrome, Arc, Edge and Brave.
⌥I
Input Sources
Switch between English, Pinyin, Japanese and the rest.
⌥C
Meetings
Your next meetings. Release to join the call.
⌥S
System Toggles
Dark mode, Wi-Fi, Night Shift, keep awake and more, plus any Shortcut.
⌥O
Favorite Apps
Up to eight apps in fixed spots, so your hand learns where they are.
⌥M
App Commands
The commands you use most in the app in front, in fixed spots. Type to find any menu item.
⌥Space
Context
Actions for what you’ve selected or the app in front. More below.
Things a launcher can’t do
Optional never takes focus away from the app you’re in, and nothing starts with a search box. That makes a few things possible.
Every app gets its own wheel
Your most-used menu commands, in spots that never move.
A way back
⌥Z takes back supported actions, including a window switch or paste.
A clipboard that reads the room
Links first in an address bar, images first in a chat.
Send it anywhere
Flick a selection to AirDrop, Messages or Mail.
Edges that come alive
Drag a file and the screen edges light up to take it.
Edges, your way
Pick what sits on each edge, even sharing straight to WeChat.
A Shelf for later
Park files at the top edge, drag them out when ready.
Quick Look that stays
Preview a file, let go, and it stays open.
IT STARTS WITH YOUR SELECTION
The Context wheel reads the room
Same gesture, different actions. Chosen by local rules, with no AI.
Selected text
https://example.com/?utm_source=mailExample result
https://example.com/Selected text
#2F6FEDExample result
rgb(47, 111, 237)Selected text
128 × 3Example result
384- A link
- Open in another browserRemove trackingCopy as Markdown
- A date or time
- Add to CalendarConvert time zones
- A color code
- PreviewConvert to RGB, HSL or HEX
- Some math
- See the resultReplace the selection with it
- Any text
- Plain-text copyFull/half widthChange caseSpace between 中文 and English
- Images in Finder
- ConvertCompressRotateCopy the picture itself
- PDFs in Finder
- MergeExtract pagesCompress
- A Finder window
- New file hereOpen in TerminalShow hidden files
- Music or Spotify
- Play/pauseNextShuffleRepeat
- A video call
- MuteCamera on or off
THOUGHTFUL BY DEFAULT
Made to feel like part of macOS
Fast
The wheel opens locally, with no network round trip between your hand and the next action.
Private
Clipboard history, files and windows stay on your Mac. Password managers are skipped.
Yours
Change the trigger key, every letter, the style (switcher, list, wheel or the screen edges), the size, the highlight color and what’s inside.
Bilingual
English and Simplified Chinese, and it works while Pinyin is on.
Pay once
No subscription.
$10.99
¥68 in China, with Alipay and WeChat Pay
- Every 1.x update
- Use it on 2 Macs, move it to a new one any time
- 14-day free trial, no sign-up
- 7-day refund, no questions
Major new versions (2.0 and later) will be a paid upgrade.
Questions
Which Macs does it run on?
Macs with Apple silicon on macOS 14 Sonoma or later. That’s every Apple silicon Mac, from the 2020 M1 models on.
Why does it need Accessibility permission?
macOS requires it for any app that reacts to a held key, pastes for you or switches windows. Optional never records what you type. Screen Recording, Calendar and Automation are optional and only asked for when a wheel needs them.
How is this different from Raycast or Spotlight?
Those start with a search box: you open them, type a name, pick. Optional starts with your hand already on the key and never takes focus from your app, so it can paste where you are, act on what you’ve selected, keep every app’s commands in fixed spots and undo what it just did. Use both; they don’t overlap much in practice.
What if I already use Right Option?
Pick another trigger: Right Command, Right Control, Fn or the left keys. Letters that aren’t assigned to a wheel still reach your app.
How do I move my license to a new Mac?
Choose Deactivate This Mac in Settings › License on the old one, then paste your key on the new one. Lost the key? Use the recovery page.
Is there a Mac App Store version?
Optional is distributed directly, with Developer ID signing and Apple notarization. Public downloads and automatic updates are still being prepared.