After many months of development and beta testing, Alfred v2 has now officially landed!

You can download Alfred v2 from our website to start using the new v2 features, as well as the many improved ones you'll recognise and love from v1.

What's new?

Alfred v2 is re-written from the ground up to be faster, more efficient and easier to use. Overall, less than 15% of Alfred v1's code was reused, and every feature was carefully improved and given the love it needs.

Workflows

Some of the highlights of v2 include the new Workflows framework, which we sneak peeked for you during the beta and replaces the Extensions from v1. Alfred users have created amazing workflows, some of which you can find on the new Alfred forum.

To get you started, we've included a few examples, which you can find by clicking the + button at the bottom of the Workflows sidebar. You'll also find a wide range of templates when clicking the same + button, to quick-start your workflow.

You'll find templates for:

• Essentials to connect hotkeys and keywords to script and AppleScript actions
• Show Alfred with pre-filled content
• Launch files and apps with hotkeys or keywords
• Web and URL templates to launch your favourite websites
• System Commands
• Clipboard templates
• iTunes Commands

From simply connecting a hotkey to a single file, to creating a complex script workflow with multiple steps and notifications, you'll be able to bend workflows to your will.

You can even present your results back in Alfred's search window:

The possibilities with workflows are nearly endless, and you'll no doubt have a lot of fun discovering them over the coming weeks. :)

Themes

You asked and we delivered. Themes are now more flexible to allow you to make Alfred as big or small as you need. Create a new theme, then choose the fonts, sizes, colours, corner shape and spacing you prefer. Make your theme as beautiful (or as wacky!) as you want.

You can share themes and download others on the Alfred forum.

Contacts

In Alfred v1, we relied on the OS X metadata to present your Contacts in search results. Occasionally, this meant that contacts would not appear in search results, as the metadata had become corrupted. We now use the Contacts API instead, which is far more reliable and robust.

This is an improvement you won't notice, as your contacts will just work beautifully well :)

Discovering the new features

There's much more to Alfred v2 than I can cover in this launch post.

Over the coming weeks, we'll be publishing many tutorials on the new v2 features, which will help you discover what you can do. We'll also be launching an Extras gallery for our favourite workflows and themes. In the meantime, here's a v2 primer for users who are upgrading from Alfred v1.

And finally, thank you to the Mega Supporters who took the time to help us test the beta over the past two months; we are so lucky to have such a wonderful community of Alfred supporters!

Cheers and enjoy v2,
Vero

With Alfred v2 now available for everyone to download, you might wonder where to start. This primer is your guided tour to version 2.

Where can I download v2?

If you can't wait to get your mitts on v2, you can now grab Alfred v2 from our homepage, so go ahead and install it.

To activate the Powerpack features, you'll need to have your v2 license. Mega Supporters received their licenses yesterday and Single Users who have purchased their license after 1st December '12 are receiving their licenses as we speak. If you haven't received yours, email us on from your registered email address and we'll reissue it for you.

Can I upgrade my v1 settings?

You'll need to set up a few of your settings in v2, like your hotkey and location, which gives you the chance to review some of your old settings at the same time.

David Ferguson has created a workflow to allow you to import your custom searches and snippets from Alfred v1. (This script is no longer suitable as v2 has evolved significantly since.)

Extensions from v1 can't be directly imported into v2. As Alfred v2's workflows are so much more flexible than Alfred v1's extensions, and every extension has been created differently, these require human intelligence to make the most of the workflows. Having said that, many v1 extensions have already been migrated to v2 by their respective developers, so check their website for more information.

Where can I find workflows and themes to import?

Workflows and themes are the two biggest changes in v2. During the beta, our amazing testers created numerous workflows and themes, which you can find on the Alfred forum. David also created many super useful workflows on dferg.us.

Over the coming weeks, we'll feature some of our favourite workflows and themes so keep an eye on the blog for many more great workflows.

I'm excited! How can I find out more about the v2 features?

We're so thrilled that v2 is now available for everyone to download. You'll find some additional information on the Support Site. We'll be posting tutorials and guides to the v2 features over the next few weeks.

Join us on the forum for more chatter about v2, and enjoy the power of Alfred v2 :)

Get the balloons, the cake and the candles out - it's Alfred's third birthday today!

Some days, it feels like Alfred's been around forever; When your muscle memory kicks in to try to Cmd + Space even on someone else's computer. Other days, it seems it was only yesterday we launched the first v.0.4 beta.

Three years from launch, Alfred v2 is just around the corner. We are currently polishing and adding final touches to your new and significantly improved personal butler. It's with great excitement that we can say we are now hoping to have Alfred v2 in your hands within 3 weeks from today! :)

Don't forget that if you buy the Powerpack now, you miss the queues and get a free v2 upgrade. Existing single license users can upgrade to a Mega Supporter, with other upgrade types coming soon.

If you are a Mega Supporter (or you upgrade now), you can help test the v2 beta to get an early look at the amazing new v2 features!

Thank you to all our v2 beta testers, and to everyone who has adopted Alfred since 2010!

Apple released iTunes 11.0.2 today, making a few changes to its AppleScript support. As a result, some users experienced issues with Alfred's Mini Player in version 1.3.2.

To fix these hotkey issues, we've released v1.3.3 (non-Mac App Store version). You can download it from our website or through the auto-updater.

As many of you know, the v2 beta is in full swing. Many Mega Supporters have already started creating their own workflows, tinkering with new appearance themes and enjoying the new features.

Needless to say, all this enthusiasm leads to lots of questions, suggestions and ideas, so we've roped in the help of long-time friend of Alfred and amazing extension/workflow developer David Ferguson. Also known as jdfwarrior, David was one of the earliest and keenest extension developers, and has since become an authority on developing extensions and workflows. You'll find some of his v1 extensions and v2 workflows on his website.

He joins the team to help us manage the buzzing forum and give a hand to developers who are creating their own workflows. Those who have joined our forum will have seen how helpful he is already, but for those who don't know David yet, you'll most likely come across him in the Alfred forum over the coming months.

It's also worth noting that David helps us in his spare time, evenings and weekends, so please be patient when asking questions on the forum.

Join us in welcoming David to the team! :)