Where to Launch a Raycast Extension: The Store Pull Request and the Communities Around It
Launch a Raycast extension through the Raycast Store, which you reach by running npm run publish; that opens a pull request against the open raycast/extensions repository on GitHub. Raycast’s team reviews the pull request, and once it is merged the extension goes into the Store automatically. Prepare an MIT licence, a 512x512 PNG icon and up to six screenshots, then tell Mac users through a free launch page and developer communities.
How does a Raycast extension reach the Store?
There is no upload form. Raycast’s publishing guide, read on 13 November 2026, tells you to run npm run build to validate the extension, then npm run publish. The second command asks you to authenticate with GitHub because it automatically opens a pull request in the raycast/extensions repository. You can keep pushing commits to that pull request by running the command again.
Then you wait. The guide says the team reviews the extension and asks for changes where needed, and when the pull request is accepted and merged, the extension is published to the Raycast Store automatically. Anyone can read the review conversation, which is useful: you learn what reviewers care about from other people’s pull requests before you open yours.
What does the Store check before it will merge?
| Item | The rule | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Licence | Use MIT in the license field | It sits in Raycast’s metadata checklist, so it is checked |
| Icon | 512x512 PNG that works in light and dark themes; the default Raycast icon is rejected | The icon is the first thing in search results |
| Screenshots | At most six, at least three recommended; 2000x1250 PNG at 16:10, one background throughout | They are the whole product page |
| Titles | Follow the Apple Style Guide; subtitles add context, not descriptions | Search indexes both title and subtitle |
| Categories | Case-sensitive, Title Case, set in package.json | A typo hides the extension from its category |
| README | Needed when setup is required, such as an API token | Adds an About This Extension button on first run |
Take the screenshots with Raycast’s own Capture Window command while the extension runs in development mode; it hides development-only elements and uses your wallpaper or a custom one. Pick a high-contrast background and use the same one for every image.
Where do people hear about an extension once it is in the Store?
Store search finds extensions by name, so the first users usually arrive from a link. These are the free places for one.
01 Raycast Store listing
Your extension’s page in the Store, with a shareable link.
- Link
- Open Manage Extensions in Raycast, search your extension and copy the link with the shortcut shown in the guide
- Updates
- Run the publish command again; the pull request process repeats
Use that link everywhere you announce it, because it opens straight into Raycast for people who already have it installed. A raw GitHub link makes them hunt for the install step.
Raycast’s own docs also describe a Teams route for private extensions, with separate pages on publishing and collaborating privately. If you are building for your own company first, read those before you open a public pull request.
02 Show HN
Hacker News’s section for things you made that readers can try.
- Fits when
- The extension does something novel with a developer workflow
- Caveat
- Readers need a Mac with Raycast to try it, so show it working in a short clip
The guidelines prefer projects people can run themselves with few barriers. An extension that needs a particular app and an API key is a high bar; explain the setup in your first comment and say what happens without a key.
Posts that explain how the extension talks to a service, or what you learned from Raycast’s API, read better than feature lists. See the Show HN launch playbook.
03 Raycast community spaces
Raycast’s own community channels, where extension authors and users talk.
- Mentioned in docs
- An #extensions channel is named in the prepare-for-store guide for icon help
- Our check
- We did not read the channel’s rules; read them before you post
The guide invites you to ask the community for help when icon design is not your strength, which tells you the channel exists for authors. Use it for questions first, announcements second.
Do not repeat a launch post in several channels. One message with the Store link and a one-line description is enough.
04 Post your build ideas (our board)
A free launch board with no account and no queue.
- Fits when
- You want a permanent page that is not tied to Raycast’s search
- Honest limit
- Few Raycast users browse it
Describe the job in one sentence, say it is a Raycast extension in the description and link the Store page. Wait until the pull request has settled the extension’s name before you press Publish, because a published launch is final and a rename afterwards goes through support@postyourbuildideas.com.
The productivity ideas category shows what else builders are looking for, which is a useful source of next extensions.
05 Product Hunt
A large daily launch site where software gets a ranked page.
- Cost
- Free to submit; sign-in required
- Our check
- Its pages could not be read by our automated check, so this is common knowledge only
A Raycast extension is a small product with a single clear promise, which suits a one-line tagline. The only readers who can use it are people who already run Raycast, so say that in the first line and do not expect a general crowd to install it.
Link the Store page rather than your repository, so that a click leads to an install. The Product Hunt alternatives for side projects list quieter places if you do not want a ranked day.
What should the first two weeks look like?
- Before the pull request: run
npm run buildlocally, open the extension with the distribution build, and check it in both light and dark themes. - Open the pull request with
npm run publish, then reply to review comments the same day, since each round of changes restarts the wait. - While it is in review, write the launch page and record a short clip of the main command.
- After the merge, copy the Store link from Manage Extensions and post it on the board and, if it fits, Show HN.
- A week later, read the comments, fix what people hit and push an update through the same pull request flow.
The Raycast extension playbook has the dated version of this, and the Mac app places to launch cover directories that list utilities for the Mac. If you want to learn from existing work first, Raycast’s docs include a page on contributing to an extension that already exists.
Frequently asked questions
Is it free to publish a Raycast extension?
Raycast’s publishing guide describes no fee: you run the publish command, authenticate with GitHub and open a pull request. It does require the extension’s license field to say MIT, so the code is open. We read nothing about charging users, so check Raycast’s current documentation if you plan a paid extension.
How long does Raycast take to review an extension?
The guide gives no review time. It says Raycast reviews the pull request and requests changes when required, and the extension is published automatically once the pull request is merged. Following the prepare-for-store guidelines closely is the best way to shorten the exchange, and replying to comments quickly helps.
What size should my Raycast screenshots be?
Raycast’s guide lists 2000x1250 pixels at a 16:10 aspect ratio, in PNG format, with a maximum of six screenshots and at least three recommended. Use the built-in Capture Window command in development mode and keep one consistent background across all of them. Check the guide again before you submit, because Raycast can change it.
Can I keep an extension private?
Raycast’s docs list a Teams section with pages for publishing a private extension and collaborating on private extensions. We did not read those pages in detail, so confirm the plan requirements there. For a public extension, the pull request to the open repository is the route.
Post your build ideas publishes this page and runs a free launch board that competes with some of the sites it names. Facts about other sites came from their own pages on the date shown above; terms, queues and prices change, so confirm on their sites before you decide. About the publisher.