Instancebul

A wordplay on "instance" + "Istanbul" + "bulmak" (Turkish: to find)

A lightweight Windows utility that lets you instantly switch to any application with a custom keyboard shortcut. If the app isn't running, it launches it automatically.

Features

• 🚀 Instant App Switching - Bring any app to focus with a single hotkey
• 🎯 Smart Launch - Automatically launches apps that aren't running
• 🪟 Window Management - Restores minimized windows and brings them to focus
• 🔄 Live Reload - Update config without restarting the app
• 🌟 Start on Boot - Optional auto-start with Windows
• 📦 Self-Contained - Single executable, no installation required
• 💡 System Tray - Runs quietly in the background
• 🔧 UWP Support - Works with both traditional Win32 apps and modern UWP apps

Quick Start

1. Download Instancebul.exe from the releases
2. Run it - a notification will appear confirming it's running
3. Right-click the system tray icon and select "Open Config"
4. Edit your shortcuts and save
5. Right-click the tray icon and select "Reload Config"
6. Use your hotkeys!

Default Configuration

The app comes pre-configured with these shortcuts:

Hotkey	App	Description
Alt+F9	VS Code	Microsoft Visual Studio Code
Alt+F10	Chrome	Google Chrome browser
Alt+F11	Apple Music	Apple Music app
Ctrl+Alt+T	Windows Terminal	Modern Windows Terminal

Configuration

Edit config.json to customize your shortcuts:

{
  "Shortcuts": [
    {
      "Hotkey": "Alt+F9",
      "ProcessName": "Code",
      "LaunchPath": "C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft VS Code\\Code.exe"
    },
    {
      "Hotkey": "Ctrl+Alt+T",
      "ProcessName": "WindowsTerminal",
      "LaunchPath": "finduwp:WindowsTerminal"
    },
    {
      "Hotkey": "Alt+N",
      "ProcessName": "notepad",
      "LaunchPath": "path:notepad"
    }
  ]
}

Configuration Fields

• Hotkey: The keyboard shortcut (see supported keys below)
• ProcessName: Process name without .exe (check Task Manager > Details)
• LaunchPath: How to launch the app. Supports multiple formats:
  • Auto-find UWP apps: finduwp:AppName - automatically finds UWP apps
  • Find in PATH: path:appname - finds executables in PATH environment variable
  • File paths: C:\\Program Files\\App\\app.exe
  • UWP apps manual: shell:AppsFolder\\PackageFamilyName!AppId
  • Environment variables: %PROGRAMFILES%\\App\\app.exe
  • Use double backslashes \\ in paths

Supported Hotkey Format

Modifiers (at least one required):

• Ctrl or Control
• Alt
• Shift
• Win or Windows

Keys:

• Letters: A-Z
• Numbers: 0-9
• Function keys: F1-F24
• Navigation: Home, End, PageUp, PageDown, Insert, Delete
• Arrows: Up, Down, Left, Right
• Special: Space, Enter, Tab, Escape, Backspace
• Media: PrintScreen, ScrollLock, Pause, NumLock, CapsLock
• Numpad: Numpad0-Numpad9, Multiply, Add, Subtract, Decimal, Divide
• Punctuation: ;, =, ,, -, ., /, `, [, \, ], '

Examples:

• Ctrl+Alt+V
• Win+Shift+T
• Alt+F9
• Ctrl+Shift+Home

System Tray Menu

Right-click the Instancebul icon in the system tray:

• Open Config - Opens config.json in your default editor
• Reload Config - Reloads shortcuts without restarting the app
• Start on Boot ☐ - Toggle auto-start with Windows
• Exit - Closes the app

Double-click the tray icon to quickly open the config file.

Start on Boot

Enable auto-start from the system tray:

1. Right-click the Instancebul tray icon
2. Click "Start on Boot"
3. A notification will confirm it's enabled

This adds Instancebul to Windows startup registry. You can disable it anytime from the same menu.

Finding Process Names

To find the correct process name for an app:

1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc)
2. Go to the Details tab
3. Find your application
4. Look at the Name column (without .exe)

Common Process Names

Application	ProcessName
VS Code	Code
Visual Studio	devenv
Chrome	chrome
Firefox	firefox
Edge	msedge
Windows Terminal	WindowsTerminal
Notepad++	notepad++
Spotify	Spotify
Discord	Discord
Slack	slack
Apple Music	AppleMusic
Notion	Notion
Obsidian	Obsidian

UWP/Store Apps

Instancebul has automatic UWP app discovery - just use finduwp:AppName and it finds the app for you!

Method 1: Auto-Discovery (Recommended) ✨

Simply use finduwp: followed by the app name:

{
  "Shortcuts": [
    {
      "Hotkey": "Ctrl+Alt+T",
      "ProcessName": "WindowsTerminal",
      "LaunchPath": "finduwp:WindowsTerminal"
    },
    {
      "Hotkey": "Alt+F11",
      "ProcessName": "AppleMusic",
      "LaunchPath": "finduwp:AppleMusic"
    },
    {
      "Hotkey": "Alt+S",
      "ProcessName": "Spotify",
      "LaunchPath": "finduwp:Spotify"
    }
  ]
}

How it works:

• Automatically finds the UWP app's executable path
• First launch: Searches installed apps and caches the result
• Subsequent launches: Uses cached path (instant)
• Works with both new and updated app versions

Tips:

• Use the package name or part of it (e.g., finduwp:Terminal, finduwp:Apple)
• Case insensitive
• Searches Microsoft Store apps only

Common UWP Apps with finduwp:

Just use these simple formats - no need to find complex paths!

App	LaunchPath
Windows Terminal	finduwp:WindowsTerminal
Apple Music	finduwp:AppleMusic
Spotify	finduwp:Spotify
Windows Photos	finduwp:Photos
Calculator	finduwp:Calculator
Microsoft To Do	finduwp:Todo
WhatsApp	finduwp:WhatsApp

Troubleshooting:

• If finduwp:AppName doesn't work, try a more specific name (e.g., finduwp:MicrosoftTodo)
• Check the app is installed from Microsoft Store
• Restart Instancebul after installing new UWP apps

Note on UWP App Updates

When UWP apps update, their version numbers change in the installation path. The finduwp: feature handles this automatically by always finding the current executable location, so you never need to update your config when apps are updated.

Apps in PATH Environment Variable

For command-line tools and apps in your PATH, use the path: syntax:

{
  "Shortcuts": [
    {
      "Hotkey": "Alt+N",
      "ProcessName": "notepad",
      "LaunchPath": "path:notepad"
    },
    {
      "Hotkey": "Alt+P",
      "ProcessName": "python",
      "LaunchPath": "path:python"
    },
    {
      "Hotkey": "Ctrl+Alt+G",
      "ProcessName": "git",
      "LaunchPath": "path:git"
    }
  ]
}

How it works:

• Searches all directories in your PATH environment variable
• Automatically adds .exe extension if not present
• Shows an error if the app isn't found in PATH

Common use cases:

• Command-line tools (git, python, node, npm)
• System utilities (notepad, calc, mspaint)
• Development tools in PATH

Example: Instead of:

"LaunchPath": "C:\\Windows\\System32\\notepad.exe"

Use:

"LaunchPath": "path:notepad"

Building from Source

Requirements

• Windows 10/11
• .NET 8 SDK

Quick Build

Use the included build script to create both versions at once:

build.bat

This creates both the small (169KB) and self-contained (147MB) versions.

Manual Build Options

There are two build types available:

Option 1: Small Build (Recommended - 169KB)

Framework-dependent - Requires .NET 8 runtime on target machine

dotnet publish -c Release --no-self-contained -o bin/Release/net8.0-windows/publish-small

Output: bin/Release/net8.0-windows/publish-small/Instancebul.exe (~169KB)

Pros: Tiny executable size Cons: Requires .NET 8 Desktop Runtime installed

Option 2: Self-Contained Build (147MB)

Self-contained - No runtime needed, works on any Windows machine

dotnet publish -c Release

Output: bin/Release/net8.0-windows/win-x64/publish/Instancebul.exe (~147MB)

Pros: Works without any dependencies Cons: Large file size (includes entire .NET runtime)

Which Build Should You Use?

• Use the small build (169KB) if you have .NET 8 runtime installed or don't mind installing it
• Use the self-contained build (147MB) if you want a portable version that works anywhere

Most modern Windows machines either have .NET runtime or can easily install it, so the small build is recommended.

Troubleshooting

"Failed to register hotkey"

The keyboard shortcut is already in use by another application or Windows. Try a different combination. Avoid common Windows shortcuts like:

• Win+L (Lock screen)
• Ctrl+Alt+Delete (Security screen)
• Win+D (Show desktop)

App doesn't come to focus

• Verify the process name is correct (check Task Manager → Details)
• Some apps may use multiple processes - you may need to try different process names
• Try launching the app manually first, then use the hotkey

Hotkey not working at all

• Make sure Instancebul is running (check system tray)
• Right-click tray icon → "Reload Config" to refresh
• Check for error messages in the notification area
• Ensure the hotkey format is correct (e.g., Ctrl+Alt+V, not Ctrl-Alt-V)

UWP app path stops working

If you're using full file paths for UWP apps, they include version numbers that change with updates.

Solution: Use finduwp: instead, which never breaks:

1. Update your config.json: "LaunchPath": "finduwp:AppName"
2. Right-click tray icon → "Reload Config"

Example: Change from C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\... to finduwp:Terminal

See the UWP/Store Apps section for details.

Application launches but doesn't come to focus

This can happen with some apps that handle their windows specially. The app works best with standard Win32 applications.

How It Works

1. Hotkey Registration: Uses Windows RegisterHotKey API to register global keyboard shortcuts
2. Window Detection: Finds windows by process name using the Win32 API
3. Focus Management: Brings windows to focus using thread input attachment
4. Smart Launch: If no window is found, launches the app using the configured path
5. Background Operation: Runs as a system tray application with minimal resource usage

Requirements

• Windows 10 or Windows 11
• No .NET runtime needed (self-contained build)
• ~60KB memory usage when idle

License

MIT License - Feel free to use, modify, and distribute.