Notes from building Vehla.
Less "AI is the future". More what we learned on the actual ship.
I Got Tired of Stacking Mac Utilities - So I Built One Command Center
A founder essay on why Vehla is a local-first Mac command center - keyboard palette, clipboard, windows, and AI in one hotkey - instead of another single-purpose utility stack.
Read on MediumVehla Extensions SDK: build Store packages in TypeScript and Swift
What’s in the open vehla-extensions repo: dual SDKs, example packages, permissions, signing, Dock widgets, and how to install or publish Store commands.
Read the postMac AI launcher: Vehla, the command center with AI built in
What a Mac AI launcher is, why privacy and local models matter, and how Vehla combines AI actions, clipboard, windows, and a lifetime license in one palette.
Read the guideCommand palette vs Raycast: what’s the difference?
A command palette is a pattern. Raycast is a product. Here’s how to tell them apart - and when a Mac command center like Vehla is the better fit.
Read the guideVehla vs Raycast vs SuperCmd: which Mac command center fits you?
A sourced comparison of three different approaches: built-in local-first workflows, a mature launcher ecosystem, and a free open-source Raycast-compatible alternative.
Read the comparisonBest Raycast alternatives for Mac.
A practical guide to launcher and command-center alternatives, including Vehla, Alfred, SuperCmd, LaunchBar, and focused utility stacks.
Read the guideLocal AI on Mac without a subscription.
How MLX, Gemma, Ollama, LM Studio, BYOK cloud keys, and Vehla's local routes fit together on Apple Silicon.
Read the postWhat an MCP client means on a Mac.
A guide to connecting tools, reviewing permissions, and keeping agent workflows understandable from a local command center.
Read the postAI clipboard OCR for Mac.
How local OCR, image clipboard history, QR detection, and AI transforms make copied screenshots more useful.
Read the postVehla vs Raycast: which Mac command palette should you use?
Raycast is a polished launcher with a large extension ecosystem. Vehla is a native Mac command center with AI, local models, file actions, clipboard history, and workflows built in.
Read the postVehla vs Alfred: a modern Mac command center with AI built in.
Alfred is a classic Mac power-user launcher. Vehla brings the keyboard-first idea forward with AI, local models, native actions, and iCloud-synced workflows.
Read the postWhy we made local-first the default - and what it cost us.
Cloud inference is faster, cheaper to ship, and easier to support. We made the harder choice. Here's the math, the missteps, and the moment we knew it was right.
Read the postNotes on Gemma 4 E4B at 4-bit on Apple Silicon.
How Vehla thinks about Gemma 4 models, default local inference, and the trade-offs between speed, quality, and download size.
Read the post11 rewrite tones, 1 prompt skeleton.
The structure behind every Rewrite - Professional, Casual, Confident, and the rest. What works, what flatters the model, and what we threw away.
Read the postDesigning a command palette you actually use.
Spotlight, Alfred, Raycast, Linear - every great palette has the same five details right. We rebuilt ours three times to get there.
Read the postWhat shipping v1.0 actually felt like.
What shipping a menu-bar AI assistant taught us about shortcuts, permissions, local models, and support.
Read the postWe removed telemetry.
What we learned about trust as a feature, and why Vehla does not collect prompts, outputs, or product analytics.
Read the post