README

A universal search launcher for the Craft CMS admin panel that provides quick access to content, settings, and navigation throughout your Craft installation. Think of it as Spotlight for macOS or Command Palette for VS Code, but specifically designed for Craft CMS with intelligent usage tracking.

The launcher showing popular items with smart keyboard shortcuts and launch counts

Features

Core Search & Navigation

Universal Search: Quickly search across entries, users, categories, assets, globals, sections, entry types, and more
Browse Mode: Type * to explore all content types and drill down into specific areas
Smart Navigation: Jump to any section of the Craft control panel instantly
Keyboard Shortcuts: Navigate entirely with your keyboard for maximum efficiency
Theme Integration: Seamlessly matches your Craft admin panel theme and styling
Permission-Aware: Only shows content you have permission to access

Intelligent Usage Tracking

Launch History: Tracks which items you actually navigate to (not just search for)
Popular Items: Shows your most-used items when you first open the launcher
Launch Count Display: See how many times you've accessed each item
Individual Item Removal: Remove specific items from your history with a subtle X button
Privacy Controls: Enable/disable history tracking or clear all data

Commerce Integration

Customer Search: Find Commerce customers by name or email
Product Search: Search products and variants
Order Search: Find orders by reference number or customer details
Customer Name Fallbacks: Handles missing customer names gracefully

Advanced Content Types

Entry Types: Search and navigate to entry type configurations
Section Management: Quick access to section settings
Field Management: Navigate directly to field definitions
Plugin Settings: Access plugin configuration panels
User Management: Find users and access their profiles

Requirements

Craft CMS 5.0.0 or later
PHP 8.2 or later

Installation

Method 1: Via Composer (Recommended)

Navigate to your Craft project:
```
cd /path/to/your/craft/project
```

Install the plugin:

composer require brilliance/craft-launcher

Enable the plugin:
```
php craft plugin/install launcher
```

Method 2: Via Control Panel

Navigate to Settings → Plugins in your Craft admin panel
Click the "Plugin Store" button
Search for "Launcher"
Click "Install" next to the Craft Launcher plugin
Follow the on-screen installation instructions

Post-Installation

Set Permissions: Navigate to Settings → Users → User Groups and ensure your user groups have the "Access Launcher" permission
Configure Settings: Visit Settings → Launcher to customize keyboard shortcuts and search behavior
Test It Out: Press Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) anywhere in the admin panel

Usage Guide

Opening the Launcher

Keyboard Shortcut: Press Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) from anywhere in the Craft admin panel
Same Shortcut to Close: Press your keyboard shortcut again or Esc to close
Smart Initial Display: Shows your most popular items when first opened (based on actual usage)

Search Modes

Universal Search Mode (Default)

Just start typing to search across all enabled content types:

homepage - Finds entries, categories, assets with "homepage" in the title
john - Finds users, entries, or content authored by or mentioning "john"
products - Finds entries, categories, sections, Commerce products related to products

Browse Mode

Type * to enter browse mode and explore your content systematically:

Type * - Shows all available content types
Select a content type - Use arrow keys or number keys (1-9) to select
Browse all items - See all entries, users, categories, etc. of that type
Navigate normally - Use Enter or click to open items

Available browse categories:

Entries - All entry content
Categories - Category items
Assets - Media and files
Users - User accounts
Global Sets - Global content
Sections - Entry section settings
Entry Types - Entry type definitions
Category Groups - Category group settings
Asset Volumes - Asset volume settings
Fields - Field definitions
Plugins - Plugin settings
Settings - System settings and configuration pages

Launch History System

How It Works

The launcher tracks which items you actually navigate to (not just search for) and builds a personalized usage profile:

Recording: Every time you click or press Enter on a search result, it's recorded
Frequency Tracking: Items you use more often appear higher in the list
Intelligent Ranking: Combines frequency with recency for optimal relevance
Per-User: Each user has their own separate launch history

Managing Your History

Remove Individual Items: Hover over any popular item and click the X button
Clear All History: Use the "Clear History" utility in plugin settings
Disable Tracking: Turn off launch history in Settings → Launcher
Privacy: All data is stored locally in your Craft database

Commerce Integration

If Craft Commerce is installed, the launcher provides enhanced e-commerce search:

Customer Search

Search by customer name or email address
Graceful handling of customers without names
Direct links to customer management pages

Product Search

Find products and product variants
Search by product name or SKU
Quick access to product edit pages

Order Search

Search orders by reference number
Find orders by customer name or email
Multiple search strategies for comprehensive results

Keyboard Navigation

Key	Action
Type anything	Start searching
*``**	Enter browse mode
`↑` `↓`	Navigate through results
`Enter`	Open first result (selected result)
`Cmd+1` to `Cmd+9`	Jump to numbered results (configurable modifier)
`Esc`	Close launcher
`Cmd+K` / `Ctrl+K`	Close launcher (same as open)
`Hover + Click X`	Remove item from history

Note: Result navigation uses modifier keys (default: Cmd+1 through Cmd+9) to avoid conflicts when typing numbers in search queries. The modifier key can be customized in Settings → Launcher.

Front-end Launcher

The launcher can also be enabled on the front-end of your website, providing quick access to admin functions while browsing your live site.

Enabling Front-end Access

Navigate to your account preferences: Go to My Account → Launcher in the admin panel
Enable the front-end launcher: Toggle on "Enable Front-end Launcher"
Configure link behavior (optional): Toggle on "Open Front-end Links in New Tab" to keep your current page open when navigating

User account preferences showing front-end launcher options

Using the Front-end Launcher

Once enabled, the launcher works the same way on your front-end as it does in the admin panel:

Same keyboard shortcut: Press Cmd+K (Mac) or Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) while browsing your website
Context-aware search: When viewing an entry page, search for "edit" to quickly jump to editing that specific page
Full admin access: Search all content types, settings, and admin areas you have permission to access
Recent items: Access your frequently used admin pages from anywhere on your site

Front-end Features

Context-aware Search: When viewing an entry page, search for 'edit' to quickly edit the current page
Smart Page Filtering: Current page edit links are filtered out of popular items (no need to see "edit this page" when you're already on it)
History Tracking: Context actions like "Edit this page" are now tracked in your personal history for better productivity
Full Search Access: Search all content types you have permission to access
Admin Navigation: Quick access to settings pages and control panel areas
Recent Items: Access your recently used items from any page

Security & Privacy

The front-end launcher includes several security measures:

Authentication required: Only visible when you are logged in with launcher permissions
Rate limited: Prevents abuse with a limit of 30 searches per minute
Bot detection: Automatically disabled for bots and suspicious requests
Permission validation: Context validation ensures you can only edit entries you have permission for
Selective loading: Only loads on legitimate user requests, not for crawlers or automated tools

Link Behavior Options

Open Front-end Links in New Tab: When enabled, clicking on entries and pages from the launcher will open them in a new tab, keeping the current page open. This is particularly useful when:

Browsing your live site and wanting to edit content without losing your place
Comparing live content with admin interface
Quick content reviews while maintaining your browsing context

Pro Tips

Popular vs Recent: The launcher shows popular items (based on usage) rather than just recent items for better productivity
Usage Tracking: The more you use an item, the higher it appears in your popular items list
Privacy Control: You can disable history tracking or clear all data anytime in settings
Commerce Orders: Search for orders using partial reference numbers for quick access
Entry Types: Quickly navigate to entry type configurations for content modeling work
Front-end editing: Use the context-aware search to quickly edit the page you're currently viewing

Configuration

Navigate to Settings → Launcher to customize your experience:

Comprehensive settings interface for customizing search behavior and content types

General Settings

Setting	Description	Default
Keyboard Shortcut	Hotkey to open/close launcher	`Cmd+K` / `Ctrl+K`
Search Debounce Delay	Delay before search executes (milliseconds)	`300`
Maximum Results	Number of results to show per content type	`10`

Result Navigation Shortcuts

Setting	Description	Default
Modifier Key	Key used with numbers for result selection	`Command (⌘)`

Configure how to activate search results:

First Result: Always uses Return/Enter key
Numbered Results: Use modifier key + number (1-9)
Available Modifiers: Command (⌘), Control (Ctrl), Alt/Option (⌥), or Shift (⇧)
Example: With "Command" selected, press Cmd+1 for first numbered result, Cmd+2 for second, etc.

Launch History Settings

Setting	Description	Default
Track Launch History	Enable intelligent usage tracking	`Enabled`
Max Popular Items	Maximum number of popular items to show	`10`

Control your privacy and usage tracking:

Enable/Disable: Turn launch history tracking on or off
Clear History: Remove all stored usage data
Per-User Storage: Each user maintains separate history data

Content Types

Control which types of content appear in search results:

Entries - Blog posts, pages, and other entry content
Categories - Category taxonomies
Assets - Images, documents, and media files
Users - User accounts and profiles
Global Sets - Site-wide content and settings
Sections - Entry section configurations
Entry Types - Entry type definitions
Category Groups - Category group settings
Asset Volumes - Asset storage configurations
Fields - Custom field definitions
Plugins - Installed plugin settings
Settings - System settings and configuration pages

Commerce Settings

If Craft Commerce is installed:

Search Commerce Customers - Include customer accounts in search
Search Commerce Products - Include products and variants
Search Commerce Orders - Include order search functionality

Content Filtering

Fine-tune which content appears in results:

Search Drafts: Include draft entries in search results
Search Revisions: Include entry revisions in search results
Search Disabled Items: Include disabled entries, users, etc.
Search Entries by Author: Find entries by author name
Searchable Sections: Limit entry search to specific sections
Searchable Entry Types: Limit entry search to specific types
Searchable Category Groups: Limit category search to specific groups
Searchable Asset Volumes: Limit asset search to specific volumes

Permissions

The launcher respects all existing Craft permissions:

Users only see content they can access
The "Access Launcher" permission controls who can use the plugin
All element-level permissions are automatically enforced
Launch history is stored per-user and private

Recent Improvements

Version 1.1.0 Features

Enhanced History Tracking

Proper Item IDs: All search results now include proper item IDs for accurate history tracking
Settings Handles: Static settings pages now use meaningful handles (e.g., "categories", "fields") instead of NULL values
SHA-256 Support: Updated database schema to support full SHA-256 hashes (64 characters) for better uniqueness
Database Migrations: Automatic migration to fix existing installations with incorrect column sizes

Improved Front-end Experience

Context Action History: "Edit this page" and similar context actions are now tracked in personal history
Smart Filtering: Current page edit links are filtered out of history results when viewing that page
Better UX: No redundant "edit this page" suggestions when you're already on the page

Browse Mode Enhancements

Settings Browse: Type * and select "Settings" to browse all system configuration pages
Complete Coverage: Browse mode now includes all 15+ settings areas (General, Email, Categories, etc.)
Consistent Navigation: All settings pages properly tracked with meaningful identifiers

Utility Improvements

Table Management: New "Launcher" utility in Utilities menu for database table diagnostics
Success Reporting: Fixed utility feedback to properly report table creation success/failure
Schema Validation: Automatic validation of table structure and column sizes

Developer Experience

Better Debugging: Improved error handling and logging for troubleshooting
Migration Safety: Safe database migrations that handle missing tables gracefully
API Consistency: All search results now have consistent data structures

Advanced Features

Custom Search Providers

Developers can extend the launcher with custom search providers:

use brilliance\launcher\events\RegisterSearchProvidersEvent;
use brilliance\launcher\services\SearchService;
use yii\base\Event;

Event::on(
    SearchService::class,
    SearchService::EVENT_REGISTER_SEARCH_PROVIDERS,
    function(RegisterSearchProvidersEvent $event) {
        $event->providers[] = new MyCustomSearchProvider();
    }
);

Custom Actions

use brilliance\launcher\events\RegisterActionsEvent;
use brilliance\launcher\services\ActionService;
use yii\base\Event;

Event::on(
    ActionService::class,
    ActionService::EVENT_REGISTER_ACTIONS,
    function(RegisterActionsEvent $event) {
        $event->actions[] = new MyCustomAction();
    }
);

Launch History API

Programmatically interact with launch history:

// Get popular items for current user
$popularItems = Launcher::$plugin->history->getPopularItems(10);

// Clear user's history
$success = Launcher::$plugin->history->clearUserHistory();

// Get usage statistics
$stats = Launcher::$plugin->history->getUserStats();

Database Schema

The plugin creates one additional table for launch history tracking:

`launcher_user_history`

Stores per-user launch history data:

userId: References the user who performed the launch
itemType: Type of item (Entry, Section, User, Settings, etc.)
itemId: Unique identifier for the specific item (entry ID, section ID, settings handle, etc.)
itemTitle: Display name of the item
itemUrl: Admin URL that was accessed
itemHash: SHA-256 hash for uniqueness and deduplication (64 characters)
launchCount: Number of times the user has launched this item
lastLaunchedAt: Timestamp of most recent launch
firstLaunchedAt: Timestamp when first launched

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Launcher Won't Open

Check plugin status: Ensure the plugin is installed and enabled in Settings → Plugins
Verify permissions: Make sure your user has the "Access Launcher" permission
Keyboard conflicts: Try changing the shortcut if it conflicts with browser/OS shortcuts
Clear caches: Run php craft clear-caches/all

No Search Results

Permission check: Verify you can access the content you're searching for
Content type settings: Check that the content types are enabled in Settings → Launcher
Rebuild indexes: Run php craft resave/entries to rebuild search indexes
Check filters: Review content filtering settings (drafts, disabled items, etc.)

Commerce Search Not Working

Commerce not installed: Verify Craft Commerce is properly installed and enabled
Class loading issues: Clear all caches and restart your web server
Permission issues: Ensure you have permission to access Commerce data

Browse Mode Not Working

Clear storage: Delete the storage/ folder contents and reload
JavaScript errors: Check browser console for any error messages
Browser cache: Clear your browser cache completely

Styling Problems

Clear CP resources: Run php craft clear-caches/cp-resources
Browser cache: Perform a hard refresh (Cmd+Shift+R / Ctrl+Shift+F5)
Theme conflicts: Check if other plugins are overriding CSS

Debug Mode

To enable detailed logging, add this to your config/general.php:

'devMode' => true,
'enableTemplateCaching' => false,

Check storage/logs/web-[date].log for launcher-specific log entries.

Contributing

We love contributions! Here's how you can help make Craft Launcher even better:

Bug Reports

Found a bug? Please create an issue with:

Clear description of the problem
Steps to reproduce the issue
Your Craft CMS version and PHP version
Screenshots or videos if helpful

Feature Requests

Have an idea for a new feature? Open a feature request and tell us:

What problem it would solve
How you envision it working
Any examples from other tools

Pull Requests

Ready to contribute code? We'd love your help!

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Make your changes with clear, descriptive commits
Test thoroughly (include new tests if applicable)
Submit a pull request with a clear description

Development Guidelines

Follow Craft CMS coding standards
Write clear commit messages
Include tests for new functionality
Update documentation for any user-facing changes

Discussion

Join the conversation in GitHub Discussions
Share your use cases, tips, and workflows
Help other users with questions

Support & Community

Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
General Discussion: GitHub Discussions
Documentation: This README and inline code comments
Help: Tag us in the Craft CMS Discord #help channel

License

This plugin is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details.

Credits

Developed by Brilliance

Special thanks to:

The Craft CMS team for creating an incredible platform
The Craft community for inspiration and feedback
All contributors who help make this plugin better

Made with care for the Craft CMS community

brilliance / craft-launcher

Maintainers

Details

README

Features

Core Search & Navigation

Intelligent Usage Tracking

Commerce Integration

Advanced Content Types

Requirements

Installation

Method 1: Via Composer (Recommended)

Method 2: Via Control Panel

Post-Installation

Usage Guide

Opening the Launcher

Search Modes

Universal Search Mode (Default)

Browse Mode

Launch History System

How It Works

Popular Items Display

Managing Your History

Commerce Integration

Customer Search

Product Search

Order Search

Keyboard Navigation

Front-end Launcher

Enabling Front-end Access

Using the Front-end Launcher

Front-end Features

Security & Privacy

Link Behavior Options

Pro Tips

Configuration

General Settings

Result Navigation Shortcuts

Launch History Settings

Content Types

Commerce Settings

Content Filtering

Permissions

Recent Improvements

Version 1.1.0 Features

Enhanced History Tracking

Improved Front-end Experience

Browse Mode Enhancements

Utility Improvements

Developer Experience

Advanced Features

Custom Search Providers

Custom Actions

Launch History API

Database Schema

launcher_user_history

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Launcher Won't Open

No Search Results

Popular Items Not Showing

Commerce Search Not Working

Browse Mode Not Working

Styling Problems

Debug Mode

Contributing

Bug Reports

Feature Requests

Pull Requests

Development Guidelines

Discussion

Support & Community

License

Credits

`launcher_user_history`