Personal productivity tools
Create a focused tracker, dashboard, menu-bar utility, or one-off workflow that matches how you work.
Independent tool overview
Glaze at a glance
Glaze is Raycast's AI app builder for creating local-first Mac desktop apps through conversation and visual editing.
Visit the official Glaze site ↗
- Developer
- Raycast
- Product type
- Prompt-to-desktop-app builder
- Platform
- Mac initially
- Coding required
- No
- App model
- Local-first desktop apps
- Starting price
- Free tier; paid plans listed from $20/month
Overview
What Glaze is
Glaze lets people describe a tool in plain language and turn the idea into a desktop app that runs on their Mac. Unlike browser-first app builders, its output can use desktop capabilities such as files, keyboard shortcuts, menu-bar controls, background processes, and connected hardware.
The builder is aimed at personal utilities, internal tools, workflow automations, and small apps that would otherwise be too specific to justify a traditional software project. You can continue changing an app through chat or make targeted interface adjustments with the visual editor.
Glaze launched as a private beta in March 2026 and Raycast opened it to everyone in July 2026. Apps can be kept personal, shared through a private team store, or published to the public store for others to install and customize.
Use cases
Who Glaze is best for
The strongest fit depends on the job you need the product to complete, not the size of its feature list.
Internal team apps
Build small operational tools around company processes, then distribute them through a private team store.
Mac-native workflows
Build apps that need local files, keyboard shortcuts, background tasks, menus, hardware, or other operating-system access.
Rapid prototypes
Turn an idea into an installable desktop experience before investing in a conventional engineering project.
Capabilities
Core Glaze features
Conversational app creation
Describe the app and its behavior in plain language, then refine it by continuing the conversation.
Real desktop output
Glaze creates installable apps designed to live on the computer instead of publishing only a hosted website.
Visual editing
Adjust specific interface elements directly when a precise visual change is faster than another round of prompting.
Operating-system integration
Apps can work with local files, keyboard shortcuts, menus, background processes, hardware, and connected APIs.
Local-first operation
Built apps run on the user's machine and can support offline workflows when their own features do not require an external service.
Public and private distribution
Publish an app to the community store, install and customize public apps, or share internal tools privately with a team.
Process
How the Glaze workflow works
Step 1
Describe the job
Start with the user, inputs, output, and exact workflow rather than a vague request for a general-purpose app.
Step 2
Generate the first version
Let Glaze build an initial desktop app, then test its real behavior with representative local data.
Step 3
Refine by chat or visually
Ask for logic and workflow changes in conversation, and use the visual editor for focused layout adjustments.
Step 4
Connect services carefully
Add APIs, files, models, or hardware only after deciding what data the app needs and which permissions it should have.
Step 5
Keep it private or publish
Use the app yourself, share it through a team store, or release it publicly when it is safe and useful for a wider audience.
Cost
Glaze pricing and free plan
Glaze lists a free tier with daily build credits and paid plans starting at $20 per month. Paid plans include a larger monthly credit allowance, while teams can use a private store and users can buy extra credit packs.
Free
$0
Build initial apps with a daily credit allowance and explore or use apps from the public store.
- Daily build credits
- Access to the public app store
- Useful for trying the builder and smaller personal apps
Paid
From $20/month
A larger monthly credit bundle for people building and revising apps more frequently.
- More creation credits
- One-off credit top-ups available
- Exact limits should be confirmed in the product before subscribing
Teams
Plan-dependent
Team-oriented access with private distribution for internal apps.
- Private team store
- Share company-specific tools with colleagues
- Confirm current seat and credit terms with Glaze
Pricing checked . Check current pricing at the source ↗
Assessment
Glaze strengths and limitations
Where it stands out
- Builds desktop apps rather than limiting output to browser-based sites
- Makes operating-system capabilities accessible without requiring users to write the app from scratch
- Chat and visual editing provide two practical ways to refine an app
- Public and private stores support both community discovery and internal distribution
- Local-first execution can improve responsiveness and support offline use for suitable workflows
What to consider
- Glaze initially supports Mac; the product site says Windows and Linux are planned rather than currently available
- AI-generated software still needs testing for incorrect behavior, unsafe file operations, and unreliable integrations
- Local-first does not make every app fully offline: connected APIs, online data, and cloud AI services still require network access
- Apps with file-system, API, or hardware access can handle sensitive data, so permissions and credentials need careful review
- Usage is credit-based, and the public pricing copy does not publish every current allowance or team-plan detail
Compare
Glaze alternatives
The right alternative depends on the specific output, workflow, controls and budget your project requires.
Coding
Lovable
A strong option for generating full-stack web apps when browser delivery matters more than native desktop integration.
Explore Lovable →Coding
Replit Agent
Combines AI app building with a hosted development environment, code access, deployment, and broader web-software workflows.
Explore Replit Agent →Coding
Bolt.new
A browser-based prompt-to-app builder suited to quickly creating and publishing web applications.
Explore Bolt.new →Questions
Glaze FAQs
What is Glaze by Raycast?
Glaze is an AI builder that creates Mac desktop apps from plain-language descriptions. The resulting apps can use local files and desktop features, and users can refine them through chat or a visual editor.
Is Glaze available to everyone?
Yes. Glaze began as a private beta in March 2026, and Raycast announced in July 2026 that it was open to everyone.
Do I need to know how to code to use Glaze?
No. The main creation workflow uses natural-language prompts and visual edits. Technical knowledge can still help when defining APIs, reviewing permissions, testing edge cases, or diagnosing a generated app.
Are Glaze apps websites?
No. Glaze is designed to produce desktop apps that live and run on the computer. That allows integrations such as keyboard shortcuts, menu-bar controls, local files, background processes, and hardware access.
Can Glaze apps work offline?
The apps run locally and can work offline when their functionality uses local data and local capabilities. Features that depend on web APIs, live online data, or hosted AI models still need an internet connection.
How much does Glaze cost?
Glaze's product site lists a free tier with daily credits and paid plans beginning at $20 per month with larger credit bundles. Team distribution and extra credit packs are also offered; confirm the current allowances inside the product.
Can teams share private Glaze apps?
Yes. Glaze supports private team stores for internal tools, alongside a public store where community apps can be discovered, installed, and customized.
Bottom line
Our Glaze verdict
Glaze is one of the more distinctive AI app builders because it targets installable, OS-integrated desktop software instead of another hosted web app. It is most compelling for Mac users and teams with small, specific workflows, but generated apps should still be reviewed like software—especially when they can access files, credentials, hardware, or external services.
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