Here at CLS we use skype like the plague... err... bad analogy, but we use skype a LOT! I'm also a fan of the app-launcher, Alfred. Alfred (somewhat) recently came out with the ability to create and add extensions. There has already been a flurry of Alfred extensions. So, I decided to wing it and create an Alfred extension for Skype—especially since Skype on Mac's new user interface is not super easy to find the people to want to skype quickly.

The Setup

1. You have to buy the Alfred PowerPack to upload or create any extensions. (If £12 is too much for you, you can use a much more complicated—but free—trick to Skype with Quicksilver.)

2.  Download the Skype Chat with Alfred extension.

3. Add Skype usernames to your address book contacts. Click edit, add phone number, make a custom label 'skype' and for the number, put in your skype username.

Game Time

1. Open Alfred.

2. Type "- , message" — can be a few letters of the person's name. "jose" for "Joseph", for example. It will pick the first match in your address book and look for a skype username phone entry and send "message" to them.  Complete with growl notifications.

2.a We have a Nathan and a Jonathan on our team so when I'm trying to skype Nathan, it selects Jonathan instead. So I made it where you can use first and last name when necessary. Now, "- nathan t, message" will skype Nathan. Or faster yet, "- an t, message" will find Nathan too.

2.b Awesome feature = typing "- message" will send "message" to your most recent chat. So if someone skypes you, you can reply with a "- reply here" and it will skype them back. It's nice to have growl notifications to see exactly who your message goes to. It also shows an error message if it doesn't go through for whatever reason.

Enjoy.