Vehla

Vehla is a native macOS command center that brings a launcher, AI actions, window controls, clipboard history, dictation, temporary file storage, and writing spaces into one app. It sits behind a system-wide shortcut, so a person can open apps, find files, manipulate selected text, search things copied earlier, move windows, or start a workflow without leaving the app in front of them. The aim isn't to replace macOS. It's to reduce the number of small utilities needed to operate it and give those functions one consistent interface.

The command palette is the main entry point, but Vehla also places controls closer to the current task. QuickGlass appears next to selected content and offers actions such as summarizing, rewriting, explaining, drafting a reply, or asking an AI model a question. SnapWheel puts actions and window controls around the pointer, including screenshot, snap left, snap right, fullscreen, clipboard, and Shelf commands. Island provides a lightweight system surface for status, controls, shortcuts, and contextual actions. These different surfaces matter when a keyboard palette isn't the most natural way to finish the job.

Shelf acts as temporary working memory for the desktop. A user can drop in files, text, images, folders, or links, then use them elsewhere later without arranging permanent storage first. The clipboard can retrieve material copied hours earlier, while Flow turns speech into text inside the currently focused app. Vehla also includes workspaces for notes, Kanban boards, a drawing canvas, Draw.io diagrams, and locally indexed knowledge. That gives it more depth than a launcher whose work ends after opening an application or running a short command.

AI can run on the Mac through the built-in MLX runtime and catalog models, or connect to local tools such as Ollama and LM Studio. People who prefer cloud models can bring their own keys for providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, and OpenRouter. Vehla says those requests go directly from the Mac to the chosen provider, while provider keys are stored in macOS Keychain. The surrounding workflow stays the same when the underlying model changes. Core native commands, local text actions, clipboard OCR, local retrieval, and on-device dictation can work without an internet connection once the required local model is available.

It fits Mac users who rely on several focused utilities and would rather learn one system. Writers can apply AI to selected text or dictate into an existing editor. Developers can keep commands and snippets nearby, use local models, and add MCP servers or custom AI actions. Anyone moving material between apps can use Shelf and clipboard history, while people with crowded desktops can use window controls and menu-bar cleanup from the same app. Vehla also supports native Swift extensions, browser and Finder actions, dock widgets, and workflows, so its scope can grow without forcing every addition into a separate standalone tool.

The local-first posture applies to the operating-system layer as well as the model choice. Vehla can index knowledge locally for Recall, keep native commands on the machine, and route cloud requests straight to a provider chosen by the user. Internet access is still needed for cloud providers, web search, vision actions, license checks, and updates, so it isn't an entirely offline product in every configuration. Extensions can add commands, custom AI actions, MCP servers, Finder actions, browser connections, and dock widgets to the same interface. This gives technical users several ways to adapt the command center while allowing someone else to stay with the built-in tools.

Vehla is specifically built for Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 15.0 or later, so Intel hardware and earlier system versions aren't supported. Its free tier doesn't require a card and includes app and file search, basic window management, a rolling 50-item clipboard history, five notes, three snippets, up to 50 successful AI sessions or actions per month, smaller local catalog models, and bring-your-own cloud keys. Pro costs $29.99 once for two Macs and includes a seven-day trial with no card. It unlocks all workspaces, advanced AI actions, Recall, Flow, MCP, larger models, custom MLX imports, expanded limits, integrations, automations, workflows, personas, and memory. It's a broad toolkit, which means some people will need time to choose the surfaces they actually want, but the free edition makes that evaluation practical.