Juno vs Raycast
AI that controls your desktop vs the developer launcher with AI chat.
Raycast has become the go-to launcher for developers. It replaces Spotlight with a fast, extensible command palette — plus AI chat, window management, and a growing extension ecosystem.
Juno takes a fundamentally different approach to AI on the desktop. While Raycast adds AI as a text chat layer, Juno gives AI eyes and hands. It sees your screen, moves the mouse, types on the keyboard, and completes tasks the way a person would.
Raycast AI answers questions. Juno AI does the work.
| Feature | Juno | Raycast |
|---|---|---|
| Primary purpose | AI controls your desktop | Launcher with AI chat |
| AI capability | Sees screen, clicks, types | Chat and text generation |
| Can interact with any app | Yes (vision-based) | Via extensions only |
| Voice control | Built-in ("Hey Juno") | No |
| Developer tools | MCP server, CLI for agents | Extensions, script commands, snippets |
| Multi-step task execution | Autonomous (AI figures out steps) | Manual (user triggers each step) |
| Extension ecosystem | MCP protocol (open) | Raycast Store (proprietary) |
| Open source | Yes (FSL-1.1-MIT) | No (extensions are open source) |
| Price | Free / API costs | Free / $8-16/mo for AI |
| Speed for quick actions | Slower (AI processing) | Instant |
For developers specifically
Raycast's developer story is extensions and script commands. Juno's developer story is different: it exposes desktop automation as an MCP server that AI coding agents can use.
npx juno-cuaThis gives Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, and other AI agents the ability to see and control your desktop. Raycast extensions run inside Raycast. Juno tools run inside any AI agent.
When to use Raycast
- Quick app launching and window switching
- AI text generation and chat
- Snippets, clipboard history, quick calculations
- Developer-specific extensions (GitHub, Jira, Linear)
When to use Juno
- Tasks that require interacting with your screen ("click this, type that")
- Multi-app workflows with visual context
- Giving AI coding agents desktop capabilities
- Tasks you'd describe to an assistant, not automate in a script
Use both. Seriously.
Raycast makes you fast. Juno does your work. Use Raycast to launch apps, search files, and generate text. Use Juno when you need AI that can actually see what's on your screen and do something about it.
Go beyond text chat. Get AI that takes action.
Try Juno Free