diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b1c9f5b..3a6cfb3 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -95,6 +95,30 @@ or at all:
   overlay on Wayland (layer-shell) and X11. Auto-detects your
   environment.
 
+## Install
+
+See [docs/guides/install.md](docs/guides/install.md) for full details.
+The short version:
+
+```sh
+cargo install pikl
+```
+
+Or from source:
+
+```sh
+git clone https://github.com/maplecool/pikl-menu.git
+cd pikl-menu
+cargo install --path .
+```
+
+## Guides
+
+- **[Install](docs/guides/install.md):** cargo install, building from source
+- **[App Launcher](docs/guides/app-launcher.md):** set up pikl as a
+  keyboard-driven app launcher on Hyprland, i3, macOS (Raycast), or
+  in a terminal
+
 ## Building
 
 ```sh
diff --git a/docs/DEVPLAN.md b/docs/DEVPLAN.md
index c077ffa..5b6bb9e 100644
--- a/docs/DEVPLAN.md
+++ b/docs/DEVPLAN.md
@@ -275,6 +275,36 @@ navigate directories without spawning new processes.
   query, or the viewport to do a lookup after each filter
   pass.
 
+- **Confirm-with-arguments (Shift+Enter).** Select an item
+  and also pass free-text arguments alongside it. Primary
+  use case: app launcher where you select `ls` and want to
+  pass `-la` to it. The output would include both the
+  selected item and the user-supplied arguments.
+
+  Open questions:
+  - UX flow: does the filter text become the args on
+    Shift+Enter? Or does Shift+Enter open a second input
+    field for args after selection? The filter-as-args
+    approach is simpler but conflates filtering and
+    argument input. A two-step flow (select, then type
+    args) is cleaner but adds a mode.
+  - Output format: separate field in the JSON output
+    (`"args": "-la"`)? Second line on stdout? Appended to
+    the label? Needs to be unambiguous for scripts.
+  - Should regular Enter with a non-empty filter that
+    matches exactly one item just confirm that item (current
+    behaviour), or should it also treat any "extra" text
+    as args? Probably not, too implicit.
+  - Keybind: Shift+Enter is natural, but some terminals
+    don't distinguish it from Enter. May need a fallback
+    like Ctrl+Enter or a normal-mode keybind.
+
+  This is a core feature (new keybind, new output field),
+  not just a launcher script concern. Fits naturally after
+  phase 4 (multi-select) since it's another selection
+  mode variant. The launcher script would assemble
+  `{selected} {args}` for execution.
+
 ## Future Ideas (Unscheduled)
 
 These are things we've talked about or thought of. No
@@ -306,3 +336,11 @@ commitment, no order.
   (optionally into a tmux session). Needs GUI frontend
   (phase 8) and frecency sorting.
   See `docs/use-cases/app-launcher.md`.
+  Setup guides: `docs/guides/app-launcher.md`.
+- App description indexing: a tool or subcommand that
+  builds a local cache of binary descriptions from man
+  pages (`whatis`), .desktop file Comment fields, and
+  macOS Info.plist data. Solves the "whatis is too slow
+  to run per-keystroke" problem for the app launcher.
+  Could be a `pikl index` subcommand or a standalone
+  helper script.
diff --git a/docs/guides/app-launcher.md b/docs/guides/app-launcher.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..350c143
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/guides/app-launcher.md
@@ -0,0 +1,286 @@
+# App Launcher Setup
+
+Use pikl as a keyboard-driven application launcher. Bind
+a hotkey, type a few characters, hit Enter, and your app
+launches. This guide covers terminal, Hyprland, i3, and
+macOS setups.
+
+For the design rationale and feature roadmap, see
+[the app launcher use case](../use-cases/app-launcher.md).
+
+## Quick start: terminal
+
+The simplest version. No GUI, no hotkeys, just an alias:
+
+```sh
+# ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
+alias launch='compgen -c | sort -u | pikl | xargs -I{} sh -c "{} &"'
+```
+
+Run `launch`, type to filter, Enter to run the selection
+in the background. That's it.
+
+### With descriptions (experimental)
+
+You can pull one-line descriptions from man pages using
+`whatis`. This is noticeably slow on systems with
+thousands of binaries (it shells out per binary), so treat
+it as a nice-to-have rather than the default:
+
+```sh
+launch-rich() {
+  compgen -c | sort -u | while IFS= read -r cmd; do
+    desc=$(whatis "$cmd" 2>/dev/null | head -1 | sed 's/.*- //')
+    printf '{"label":"%s","sublabel":"%s"}\n' "$cmd" "$desc"
+  done | pikl --format '{label} <dim>{sublabel}</dim>' \
+       | jq -r '.label' \
+       | xargs -I{} sh -c '{} &'
+}
+```
+
+This works, but it's slow. Caching the output of the
+`whatis` loop to a file and refreshing it periodically
+would make it usable day-to-day. A built-in indexing
+solution is on the roadmap but not built yet.
+
+## Hyprland
+
+Hyprland is a first-class target. pikl uses
+`iced_layershell` to render as a Wayland layer-shell
+overlay, so it floats above your desktop like rofi does.
+
+### The launcher script
+
+Save this somewhere in your PATH (e.g.
+`~/.local/bin/pikl-launch`):
+
+```sh
+#!/bin/sh
+# pikl-launch: open pikl as a GUI app launcher
+
+compgen -c | sort -u \
+  | pikl --mode gui \
+  | xargs -I{} sh -c '{} &'
+```
+
+```sh
+chmod +x ~/.local/bin/pikl-launch
+```
+
+### Keybinding
+
+Add to `~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf`:
+
+```
+bind = SUPER, SPACE, exec, pikl-launch
+```
+
+Reload with `hyprctl reload` or restart Hyprland.
+
+### With .desktop files (future)
+
+When pikl gains .desktop file parsing (or a helper
+script emits structured JSON from XDG desktop entries),
+you'll get proper app names, descriptions, and categories
+instead of raw binary names. The keybinding and workflow
+stay the same, only the input to pikl changes.
+
+## i3
+
+i3 runs on X11, so pikl opens as an override-redirect
+window rather than a layer-shell overlay. Same launcher
+script, different keybinding syntax.
+
+### The launcher script
+
+Same `pikl-launch` script as Hyprland above. pikl
+auto-detects X11 vs Wayland, so no changes needed.
+
+### Keybinding
+
+Add to `~/.config/i3/config`:
+
+```
+bindsym $mod+space exec --no-startup-id pikl-launch
+```
+
+Reload with `$mod+Shift+r`.
+
+### Notes
+
+- `--no-startup-id` prevents the i3 startup notification
+  cursor from spinning while pikl is open.
+- If pikl doesn't grab focus automatically, you may need
+  to add an i3 rule:
+  ```
+  for_window [class="pikl"] focus
+  ```
+
+## macOS with Raycast
+
+Raycast is the best way to bind a global hotkey to pikl
+on macOS. You create a script command that Raycast can
+trigger from its search bar or a direct hotkey.
+
+### Prerequisites
+
+- [Raycast](https://raycast.com) installed
+- pikl installed (`cargo install pikl`)
+- pikl in your PATH (cargo's bin directory is usually
+  `~/.cargo/bin`, make sure it's in your shell PATH)
+
+### Create the script command
+
+Raycast script commands are shell scripts with a special
+header. Create this file in your Raycast script commands
+directory (usually `~/.config/raycast/scripts/` or
+wherever you've configured it):
+
+**`pikl-launch.sh`:**
+
+```bash
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Required parameters:
+# @raycast.schemaVersion 1
+# @raycast.title App Launcher (pikl)
+# @raycast.mode silent
+# @raycast.packageName pikl
+
+# Optional parameters:
+# @raycast.icon :rocket:
+
+# Scan /Applications for .app bundles, pipe to pikl, open the result
+find /Applications ~/Applications -maxdepth 2 -name '*.app' 2>/dev/null \
+  | sed 's|.*/||; s|\.app$||' \
+  | sort -u \
+  | pikl --mode gui \
+  | xargs -I{} open -a "{}"
+```
+
+```sh
+chmod +x pikl-launch.sh
+```
+
+The `silent` mode tells Raycast not to show any output
+window. pikl handles its own GUI.
+
+### Assign a hotkey
+
+1. Open Raycast preferences (Cmd+,)
+2. Go to Extensions
+3. Find "App Launcher (pikl)" under Script Commands
+4. Click the hotkey field and press your preferred combo
+   (e.g. Ctrl+Space, Opt+Space, etc.)
+
+### With structured JSON input
+
+For a richer experience with app metadata, you can parse
+the `Info.plist` files inside .app bundles:
+
+```bash
+#!/bin/bash
+
+# Required parameters:
+# @raycast.schemaVersion 1
+# @raycast.title App Launcher (pikl)
+# @raycast.mode silent
+# @raycast.packageName pikl
+
+for app in /Applications/*.app ~/Applications/*.app; do
+  [ -d "$app" ] || continue
+  name=$(basename "$app" .app)
+  # Pull the bundle identifier for metadata
+  bundle_id=$(/usr/libexec/PlistBuddy -c "Print :CFBundleIdentifier" \
+    "$app/Contents/Info.plist" 2>/dev/null)
+  printf '{"label":"%s","meta":{"bundle":"%s","path":"%s"}}\n' \
+    "$name" "$bundle_id" "$app"
+done \
+  | pikl --mode gui \
+  | jq -r '.meta.path' \
+  | xargs -I{} open "{}"
+```
+
+This version gives pikl structured data to work with.
+When pikl gains frecency sorting, your most-launched apps
+will float to the top automatically.
+
+### Alternative: skhd
+
+If you don't use Raycast, [skhd](https://github.com/koekeishiya/skhd)
+is a standalone hotkey daemon:
+
+```
+# ~/.config/skhd/skhdrc
+ctrl + space : pikl-launch-mac.sh
+```
+
+Where `pikl-launch-mac.sh` is the same script as above,
+minus the Raycast header comments.
+
+## Customizing the launcher
+
+These tips apply to all platforms.
+
+### Filter fields
+
+If your input includes structured JSON with metadata,
+tell pikl which fields to search:
+
+```sh
+# Search both label and sublabel when filtering
+pikl --filter-fields label,sublabel
+```
+
+### Hooks
+
+Run something when the launcher opens or when an item
+is selected:
+
+```sh
+pikl --mode gui \
+  --on-select-exec 'jq -r .label >> ~/.local/state/pikl-launch-history'
+```
+
+This logs every launch to a history file, which could
+feed into frecency sorting later.
+
+### Starting in normal mode
+
+If you prefer to land in vim normal mode (navigate first,
+then `/` to filter):
+
+```sh
+pikl --mode gui --start-mode normal
+```
+
+## What's not built yet
+
+A few things mentioned in this guide depend on features
+that are still in development:
+
+- **GUI frontend** (phase 8): the `--mode gui` flag and
+  layer-shell/X11 rendering. Until this ships, you can use
+  the TUI versions in a drop-down terminal (like tdrop,
+  kitty's `--single-instance`, or a quake-mode terminal).
+- **Frecency sorting:** tracking launch frequency and
+  boosting common picks. On the roadmap.
+- **.desktop file parsing:** structured input from XDG
+  desktop entries with proper names, icons, and categories.
+  On the roadmap.
+- **Description caching/indexing:** a way to build and
+  maintain a local index of binary descriptions so the
+  launcher can show what each app does without the slow
+  `whatis` loop. On the roadmap.
+
+## GNOME, KDE, and other desktops
+
+These aren't supported as app launcher environments right
+now. Hyprland, i3, and macOS are the environments the dev
+team uses daily, so that's where the effort goes. The
+main blocker for GNOME on Wayland is the lack of
+layer-shell support, which means pikl can't render as an
+overlay the same way it does on wlroots-based compositors.
+
+If you use one of these environments and want to help,
+PRs and discussion are welcome.
diff --git a/docs/guides/install.md b/docs/guides/install.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f561c17
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/guides/install.md
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+# Installing pikl
+
+## From crates.io (recommended)
+
+```sh
+cargo install pikl
+```
+
+This builds the unified `pikl` binary with both TUI and
+GUI frontends. You'll need a working Rust toolchain. If
+you don't have one, [rustup](https://rustup.rs) is the
+way to go.
+
+### TUI only
+
+If you only want the terminal interface and don't want to
+pull in GUI dependencies:
+
+```sh
+cargo install pikl --no-default-features --features tui
+```
+
+## From source
+
+```sh
+git clone https://github.com/maplecool/pikl-menu.git
+cd pikl-menu
+cargo install --path .
+```
+
+This builds and installs the `pikl` binary into your
+cargo bin directory (usually `~/.cargo/bin/`).
+
+## Package managers
+
+We'd like pikl to be available in package managers like
+the AUR and Homebrew, but honestly haven't set that up
+before and aren't sure when we'll get to it. TBD.
+
+If you package pikl for a distro or package manager, open
+an issue and we'll link it here.
+
+## Verify it works
+
+```sh
+echo -e "hello\nworld\ngoodbye" | pikl
+```
+
+You should see a filterable list in insert mode. Type to
+filter, use arrow keys to navigate, Enter to select,
+Escape to quit. The selected item prints to stdout.
+
+pikl starts in insert mode by default (type to filter
+immediately). Press Ctrl+N to switch to normal mode for
+vim-style navigation (j/k, gg, G, Ctrl+D/U). Ctrl+E
+switches back to insert mode. You can also start in
+normal mode with `--start-mode normal`.
+
+Note: Ctrl+I is not the same as Tab. pikl treats these
+as distinct inputs.