I’ve been developing Raycast Extensions since before the public launch of their extension API (alpha tester). Over the past few years, I’ve contributed 12 extensions, including the very first two available in the store.

  • Home Assistant
  • GitLab
  • Speedtest
  • Weather
  • Gmail
  • YouTube
  • OpenWeatherMap
  • RICE Score
  • Snake
  • Twitter
  • Pixabay
  • Unifi (got removed)

I stopped contributing six months ago, but why?

The Raycast Extension ecosystem has changed significantly in the last couple of years, and if you’re considering contributing an extension, you should know what you’re getting into.

Here’s a brief story about my journey as a Raycast extension contributor and the hard lessons I’ve learned over the past four years.

The Beginning Link to heading

In the beginning, everything with the Raycast app was free, but it was always clear that they had plans to build a business around it. Despite that, I developed all the extensions mentioned, and it was an enjoyable and relaxing experience because they are very simple mini apps in most cases.

I was the first to see Raycast as an app development platform, but it was originally built with just a single command and a single code block in mind (this is about extensions and not script-commands). To push its capabilities further, I developed a preprocessor that could compile a single codebase into multiple commands which allowed me to build my GitLab extension. Multi-Command Extensions became native in Raycast later and shaped how most extension developers have worked for the past few years.

I also developed a VSCode extension to simplify the development workflow - making debugging smoother and managing multiple commands more efficient.

For fun, I even created a Snake extension, and it was an incredible experience getting it up and running. It was the very first game to launch on Raycast.

Back then, I never expected things to take such a different turn.

The Single Repository Issue Link to heading

The Raycast store is powered by a single repository, which initially seems like a simple approach: you submit a pull request, and if it passes review, your extension gets added to the store (or updated). I was skeptical, though, because over time, this would lead to a massive repository, and with my experience handling such repos, I knew that could become problematic without adequate safeguards in place.

At first, it was just code files, which is fine — you can have millions of them in a Git repo without major issues. But then they introduced a requirement to add a screenshot of your extension to the repo, and the image requirements are absurd. They demand such high resolution, and any Git pro would quickly spot the potential problems this would cause.

Contributing to monorepos like this isn’t particularly enjoyable - mainly due to various Git-related issues. The workarounds they’ve implemented don’t seem to work all that well either (Check out the recurring posts about it in their Slack #extensions channel).

The maintainers do a great job managing pull requests, but in my opinion, the design of the store repository and the overall workflow are fundamentally broken.

But at least these are just technical issues.

The Ownership Problem Link to heading

On the surface, this model might seem fine, but it comes with some serious implications, especially regarding ownership.

When I contribute my extension to the repository, I am clearly the copyright owner since there’s no process that transfers copyright to Raycast. However, the repository is licensed under the MIT license, which grants them redistribution rights - and by submitting your code, you automatically agree to the MIT license without any upfront explanation.

So, what happens if I don’t agree with changes Raycast (the company) has made since I added my extension?

In short: Not much.

Raycast’s approach: They revoke your ownership of your project, transfer control of its core elements to others or themselves, and in some cases, delete it from the store completely.

It’s frustrating. Your own project, which you put significant effort into, is now taken away from you. Essentially, they rip you off. There is some communication through Slack, but developers are given no real options or input.

How to Fix That Link to heading

This issue could be easily addressed, much like how other projects, such as Home Assistant HACS, handle it.

The solution is simple: have individual repositories for each extension, with a central registry where quality checks take place.

This idea has been mentioned by developers multiple times in the official Slack, and while it’s a straightforward fix, it’s clear there’s no real interest in implementing it. And the reason for that is pretty obvious.

Allowing the installation of non-store extensions would solve this issue as well (and no, the Teams plan is not a real fix).

You become the free employee for them Link to heading

When people talk about why they switched to Raycast, the primary reason they often mention is the rich extension ecosystem. In other words, the main selling point of the app is us, the extension developers. Yet, in return, we don’t really get much beyond the work we put in.

And if you ever disagree with their rules, as mentioned earlier, you lose access to your own project.

Raycast essentially “hires” free contributors to help push their app, which they monetize with a Pro plan. This is a common scenario in the open-source community, but Raycast takes it to an extreme.

They introduced a point system for contributions, but it took them over a year to make it “functional”, and when it finally did, it turned out to be obscure.

There seems to be no interest on their part in addressing this situation.

Essential changes are never communicated at all Link to heading

Raycast’s communication with developers is also lacking. Important changes are often not communicated at all.

One change that stands out is when they abruptly discontinued support for older Macs 1-2 years ago, with no prior notice. This directly affected me, as I use Raycast on my personal Mac, not at work. One day, out of nowhere, I couldn’t use my own work anymore.

Coincidentally, in the same week, they announced Raycast Pro, which introduced AI features for the first time. What a move - forcing developers to pay for a Pro plan in order to integrate AI into their extensions. No big deal for extension developers who use their Mac daily at work, but for all other like me this was no option.

And, unsurprisingly, the AI stuff never really took off.

I paused my contributions, and since many people asked me in Slack why I stopped, I posted an “official” message in the #extensions channel. Thomas (the CEO) responded, accusing me of claiming their incentives. It was pretty ironic, considering that in the first few sentences of my message, I actually mentioned that for someone who uses a Mac daily, Raycast Pro is a good deal.

A few weeks later, we found a way to continue, but in hindsight, that interaction was a clear warning sign.

Contributions To Zero Link to heading

In the Fall of 2024, something happened that caught me completely off guard. To me, it was one of the most disrespectful actions a company can take toward a long-term contributor. As a result, I made the difficult decision to stop contributing to my 12 extensions entirely. This includes my own Raycast projects as well like my VSCode extension, my Raycast Store Charts extension, and my Raycast component library, RaycastUI. Thankfully, I retain ownership of these, which allows me to make my own decisions.

After several more incidents, such as a clear false advertisement post on X (which, by the way, got me blocked by the person when I answer the tweet 😆) which got delete afterwards, my motivation to contribute again still is zero.

I refused to cooperate when Raycast asked me to add new API features to my extensions (the new AI features) - especially since I had originally reached out about something completely different and got this as their response.
I was genuinely surprised to receive such a request after everything that had happened. It felt like the MiB had used their flashy thing on them.
After that, they went ahead and added the features themselves. Later, I noticed that many users were experiencing issues because the implementation was poorly done.
To top it off, they even claimed on X that someone else was the owner of my extension - what a “nice” move.

Conclusion Link to heading

It’s a pretty strange situation. They’re actively bringing in new developers, as seen in the recent hackathon, because their ‘free’ contributor base would collapse without them. I feel sorry for anyone who gets caught up in this without fully understanding the terms.

If you’re contributing and you’re okay with how things are handled, then nothing should stop you contributing.

However, as always, you should be fully informed about the potential consequences before making any decisions.

There are many great employees at Raycast. The ones being addressed here will know who they are, and if they don’t, it’s likely because they never really cared.