Building a Raycast-style Minecraft Launcher (Keyboard-first UX)
Minecraft is a game of infinite possibilities, but the process of starting it often feels... slow.
Don't get me wrong—modern launchers like the Modrinth App are beautiful. But as a developer who spends most of my time in IDEs and tools like Raycast or Alfred, I found myself frustrated by the constant clicking and mouse movement required just to create a profile or launch the game.
That’s why our small team is building two new tools to streamline the Minecraft experience: Hikyou Launcher and Hikyou Server Manager.
- Hikyou Launcher: Speed through the Keyboard ⌨️
The core philosophy is simple: Less clicking, more playing.
Instead of navigating through multiple tabs and buttons, Hikyou Launcher uses an input-based UI. If you've used Raycast or a command palette, you’ll feel right at home.
Why a Command-line style?
With a simple shortcut (Cmd + E or Alt + E), you can summon the launcher, type the name of your instance, and hit Enter. No more chasing buttons with your cursor. It’s designed to bridge the gap between the efficiency of a CLI and the approachability of a GUI.
Security First
One thing that bothered us was how some popular launchers handle sensitive data. Many still store access tokens in plain text.
In Hikyou Launcher, we utilize OS-native secure storage (DPAPI on Windows and Keychain on macOS) to ensure your credentials stay protected from the ground up.
Smart JDK Management (The "Performance" bit)
Minecraft's performance heavily depends on the Java Development Kit (JDK) and JVM flags. We've automated the optimization process:
For Java 8/16 (Older versions): We use Zulu, known for stability and lower memory overhead, combined with tuned Aikar’s Flags.
For Java 17/21 (Modern versions): We ship with Liberica NIK (based on GraalVM). GraalVM’s advanced JIT compiler can significantly boost in-game FPS and reduce stuttering.
Resource Awareness: If the system has less than 4GB of RAM, the launcher automatically switches to a lighter profile to prevent swapping and crashes.
- Hikyou Server Manager: Visualizing the "Ritual" 🔗 Setting up a Minecraft server usually feels like a "ritual"—editing endless .properties files, managing ports, and handling secret keys in terminal windows.
We wanted to turn that ritual into a connection.
Node-based Configuration
We are developing a Node UI where you can manage your server architecture visually. Instead of hunting through config lines, you connect nodes with lines. It makes the network structure intuitive and reduces human error during setup.
Stateless by Design (Podman × itzg)
The backend leverages Podman and the well-known itzg/minecraft-server images.
By keeping the core application stateless and pushing the data into containers, the environment becomes highly portable and stable. Whether you use the GUI or our CLI (written in Rust), the behavior remains consistent across Linux, Mac, and Windows.
- The Tech Stack: Why Rust & Tauri? 🦀 We chose the RTRT stack (Rust, Tauri, React, TypeScript):
Rust: For the performance and memory safety required for low-level system interactions (like JDK management and process handling).
Tauri: To keep the executable size tiny and the resource usage low compared to traditional Electron apps.
React: To build a fluid, modern interface that feels responsive.
- Transparency and Open Source We believe tools like these shouldn't be "black boxes." We are planning to open-source these projects once the foundation is stable. To ensure transparency, we've already included a detailed debug screen that shows exactly what’s happening under the hood—which JVM flags are being injected, where files are being stored, and how the launcher is communicating with APIs.
Final Thoughts
We are a small team trying to build the tools we personally want to use. We want to move away from "managing the game" and get back to "playing the game" as quickly as possible.
We’re also exploring future features like P2P connectivity between clients to make playing with friends even more seamless.
Join the Journey
This is still a work in progress, and we would love to hear your thoughts. Is a keyboard-first launcher something you'd use? What’s your biggest pain point when managing Minecraft servers?
Follow us on Bluesky
Check out our progress on Zenn
Hikyou Team
Freedom in gaming through technology.
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