{"id":588016,"date":"2026-08-09T14:28:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-09T14:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/588016\/"},"modified":"2026-08-09T14:28:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-09T14:28:12","slug":"i-made-my-galaxy-watch-open-my-favorite-desktop-apps-without-touching-the-keyboard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/588016\/","title":{"rendered":"I made my Galaxy Watch open my favorite desktop apps without touching the keyboard"},"content":{"rendered":"

We typically think of a smartwatch as an extension to a phone, but there\u2019s no reason it can\u2019t be a useful companion for a computer, too. I was able to set up a simple automation to launch apps on my desktop from my Galaxy Watch\u2014and I did it with two apps I already had installed.<\/p>\n

You may have heard of people remotely turning on<\/a> or powering off a PC from their phone. I took a somewhat similar approach to launching apps from my Galaxy Watch. The two apps I used to do this were KDE Connect and MacroDroid, both of which are apps I recommend for other purposes as well.<\/p>\n

Part 1: Create executable commands on your PC<\/p>\n

The actions to trigger from your watch<\/p>\n

The first part of the process starts with an app called KDE Connect<\/a>. If you\u2019re not familiar, it\u2019s essentially an open-source alternative to Microsoft Phone Link that\u2019s available on Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, and iPhone. The app can sync notifications, share clipboards, remotely control the mouse, and so much more. It\u2019s become an essential app for me<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n \"Pixel<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tI run terminal commands on my Linux PC from my Android home screen\u2014here’s how
\n\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

What if shutting down your Linux PC, launching apps, or locking your screen were as easy as tapping your phone? I did exactly that using a free, open-source app that turns any terminal command into a one-tap Android shortcut.<\/p>\n

The first thing I did was take advantage of a plugin in KDE Connect called \u201cExecute remote commands.\u201d After setting up KDE Connect on your PC and Android phone, you need to make sure to enable this plugin from the \u201cPlugin Settings\u201d menu on both devices.<\/p>\n

On your computer, click the settings icon next to the \u201cExecute remote commands” plugin. Now, click \u201cAdd Command\u201d and give it a name like \u201cOpen Plex.\u201d There are a bunch of cool commands<\/a> to use here, but for launching a specific app, you\u2019ll use one of the following:<\/p>\n

Windows: start [app name]<\/p>\n

Mac: open \u2013 a \u201c[app name]\u201d<\/p>\n

Linux: [app name]<\/p>\n

Use the format for your operating system and replace [app name] with the exact name of the app as it appears on your computer. So, for example, I wanted to open the Plex app on my Mac\u2014the command I used was open -a \u201cPlex\u201d. Create commands for any apps you\u2019d like to launch.<\/p>\n

Part 2: Run the commands from your Galaxy Watch<\/p>\n

Where the magic happens<\/p>\n

With the commands in place, we simply need to find a way to run them from your Galaxy Watch. This is where MacroDroid<\/a> makes things extremely easy. All we have to do is create a very basic macro that opens a URL\u2014it will make sense in a bit.<\/p>\n

First, open the KDE Connect app on your Android phone and tap the \u201cRun Command\u201d plugin\u2014you should see the commands you made on the desktop. Long-press a command, then tap \u201cCopy URL to clipboard.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next, open MacroDroid and tap \u201cAdd Macro.\u201d For the trigger, we want Android Wear > Android Wear App. Choose a color and icon for the shortcut that will appear on your Galaxy Watch.<\/p>\n

For the action, choose \u201cOpen Website\u201d and paste the URL you copied earlier. Tap \u201cOK.\u201d Give the macro a name and save it. Repeat this process for every command you\u2019d like to run from your watch.<\/p>\n

Now, when you installed MacroDroid on your phone, it should have automatically installed on your watch, too. If not, you can manually install it from the Play Store. Open the app, and you\u2019ll see the macros with the names and icons you chose. Tap the macro, and the command will be executed on your PC. That\u2019s it!<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot_20260807_121639_macrodroid\"<\/p>\n

A surprisingly simple automation<\/p>\n

Even if I hadn\u2019t already been a KDE Connect and MacroDroid user, this is a shockingly simple setup process when you consider the end result. All you need is a URL to execute commands remotely on your computer. How cool is that? Launching apps is just one small thing you can do. Go forth and get more creative with it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We typically think of a smartwatch as an extension to a phone, but there\u2019s no reason it can\u2019t…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":588017,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[203,61,60,80],"class_list":["post-588016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-gadgets","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588016"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588016\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/588017"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}