How does Script Kit compare to Alfred?

[johnlindquist]

This question has come up a lot, so I thought I'd address it:

Brief History

Script Kit started as a CLI. This is important to note because Script Kit is still rooted in terminal usage. The scripts created with Script Kit can be used in your terminal, continuous integration system, non-interactive through keyboard shortcuts, etc.

In fact, I initially used Alfred (and Karabiner) to launch my Script Kit scripts!

I've used Alfred for many years, have written many, many workflows, and consider myself an extreme power user of Alfred. I ❤️ Alfred.

Then Came the App

After using Alfred to launch scripts for a while, I wanted more. More control, more visual options, more scheduling, more everything.

The App serves as an interface between your script and your keyboard/system/etc. Each time a script pauses at an arg it opens a channel to the App. The script and App communicate until the App finally sends back a VALUE_SUBMITTED and the arg is now resolved so the script can continue.

Lazy Args

I call this concept lazy args. If you think of running scripts/CLIs, you know how often you reach for --help or man or just give up in confusion. Script Kit aims to remove that pain by prompting you with information on each required arg and teaching you how to use each script. A personal favorite is the env util (which essentially wraps the arg util) where I recommend people display a clickable link where they can go grab the needed env var.

I'm also investigating ways of surfacing/exposing optional flags through checkboxes, etc, but that's future work

Script Kit ❤️s Developers

The core experience of Script Kit is helping you author your scripts. I don't pretend to know what your scenarios are that you need to automate away, but I have a lot of experience so I know how to give you the tools you need. We're currently only in beta and you can already see many developers customizing scripts for themselves. These are personal scripts that address their specific needs. And that's what I love to see!

Oh yeah, Script Kit is open-source and free :D

The Future

The future of Script Kit lies in Script Widgets, event triggers, exporting webhooks, bundling scripts as binaries, and many more dev-focused features that I'm very excited to work on.

You Didn't Answer the Question in the Title...

I know, but I'd rather highlight what I love about Script Kit. I love Alfred and it has served me so well for many, many years.

- John Lindquist