Synapse is up and running again, PPA available

The demise of Synapse was quite a loss for the community. Though there are plenty of launcher alternatives in Linux, nothing came close to the accuracy, speed or versatility of Synapse. But there is good news. Synapse launcher is alive and kicking again!

synapse launcher ubuntu ppa

Install Synapse in Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 15.04
After a brief hiatus, Synapse is back and is as good as ever. In our eOS Freya review, we had only high praises for the nimble implementation of its default Launcher. Even that can't match the speed and functionality of Synapse by a long stretch. Synapse to me is one of the most reliable and quickest of Launchers available for Linux. And I prefer it over Unity Launcher any day. Not only does it gets the work done with zero fuss, Synapse actually looks pretty cool too.

Let's see how we can install Synapse in Ubuntu using PPA. A bleeding edge version of Synapse is available for Ubuntu 14.04, Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 15.04 via launchpad. Note that the steps following will work with derivatory OSes like elementary Freya and Linux Mint as well.
  • Open Terminal and copy-paste the following commands.
sudo apt-add-repository ppa:synapse-core/testing
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install synapse
  • Done. Synapse is installed and ready to go.
  • Launch Synapse once from your default Launcher and from then on Synapse will reside in your system tray. Start up on Login option also available.
  • You can activate Synapse anytime using the keyboard shortcut CTRL + Space Bar.
Although this bleeding edge version on Synapse is working great in my laptop running Freya, I would still recommend you to use it with caution, especially on critical production machines.