Radial

What is Radial?

Radial is a macOS radial menu for launching shortcuts and workflows from a single gesture. It lets you build “macros” from shortcuts, scripts, text snippets, and URLs, and then trigger them without switching away from your current app.

Its core purpose is to speed up repetitive actions—like inserting common text, renaming files, toggling system modes, or running development steps—by keeping frequently used actions accessible from where you’re already working.

Key Features

• Radial menus for shortcuts and workflows: Create a menu of actions you can trigger with one gesture.
• Insert text snippets: Save repeated text (addresses, code blocks, canned replies) and insert them in mail/messages and other apps from Radial.
• Open apps, files, folders, URLs, and deep links: Jump to destinations from your menu, including web pages and app targets.
• Simulate keyboard shortcuts: Trigger keyboard shortcuts visually from Radial instead of remembering key combos (e.g., screenshot region or locking).
• Run scripts and system actions: Execute AppleScript or shell commands directly from the menu.
• Chain actions into multi-step macros: Combine multiple actions into a single workflow that runs in sequence.
• Context-aware menus tailored to the active app: Build menus that work with the app you have in front of you.
• Built-in AI assistant for scripting support: The page describes an AI assistant that can help write scripts when you describe what you need.
• Community presets: Install ready-made menus for specific apps, and publish your own presets for others.

How to Use Radial

1. Install Radial and open the editor to start building your menu.
2. Add actions to a menu entry—such as text insertion, opening a URL, simulating a keyboard shortcut, or running a script.
3. (Optional) Chain actions to create multi-step workflows that run in sequence.
4. Use the preset store when helpful: install ready-made presets for particular apps, then refine by removing or adding actions.
5. Trigger your macro from a gesture while working, so you don’t need to switch apps or remember key combinations.

Use Cases

• One-gesture “morning workspace”: Open Mail, Safari, and Notes with a single gesture, then tile each window into position.
• Batch rename files in Finder: Select multiple files and rename them with a chosen prefix, suffix, date, or custom format from Radial.
• Quick email replies: Save commonly used replies as snippets and insert them instantly into mail or messages apps.
• Open Terminal at a specific folder: Browse a folder in Finder, then use a gesture to open Terminal at that exact path without dragging or using cd.
• Run a release workflow: Chain steps such as committing to Git, building a project, and drafting a changelog into one gesture.

FAQ

• What kinds of actions can Radial trigger? Radial can launch apps, open files/folders, insert text snippets, simulate keyboard shortcuts, run AppleScript or shell commands, open URLs/deep links, and execute multi-step workflows by chaining actions.

• Can I create menus for different apps? Yes. The page states menus can be tailored to the app in front of you (context-aware).

• How do I get started if I don’t want to build everything from scratch? The page describes “Ready-made presets” that can be installed with one click, and then refined to fit your own workflow.

• Does Radial support scripting? Yes. You can execute AppleScript or shell commands from a menu, and the page also mentions an AI assistant that can help write scripts based on a description.

• Is Radial a one-time purchase or subscription? The page says “Pay once, use forever” and shows a price and a 7-day free trial with full access. (Exact terms may be subject to change.)

Alternatives

• macOS Automator / Shortcuts apps: These can automate tasks and build workflows, but Radial focuses specifically on a gesture-driven radial menu experience and on integrating menus into the flow of the active app.
• Keyboard shortcut customization tools: Tools that remap or organize hotkeys can reduce friction, but Radial instead triggers actions visually via a gesture and supports menus, chained workflows, and context-aware destinations.
• Terminal-based workflow scripts: You can script repeated developer tasks directly in the command line, but Radial is positioned to invoke those scripts (and other actions like text insertion) from a unified menu.
• Browser bookmark managers with automation: Bookmark tools can help with quick access to websites, but Radial extends “quick access” to apps, files/folders, snippets, and scripted actions from one interface.