How to Use Rocket App

Co-authored by wikiHow Staff

Last Updated: October 13, 2021

Rocket is a free app that makes typing emojis quick and easy. It's a great addition to your keyboard if you use emojis regularly. All you need to do is type a colon and the name or description of your emoji and Rocket will autocomplete your emoji. The app works everywhere on your Mac, mimicking a Slack-style emoji search engine, and there’s even an upgraded version for the true emoji aficionados out there. In this article, we'll show you how you can use Rocket to access keyboard shortcuts for your favorite emojis.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:
Installing Rocket

1
Visit Rocket’s download site and click the green ‘Download Rocket for free’ button. This will begin the download process.
2
Navigate to your Downloads folder and click on the newly downloaded file. This will open a new window on your desktop prompting you to drag the Rocket app to your applications folder.
- You can find your Downloads folder by searching for "Downloads" in the Mac "Finder" which is the half blue, half white face on your application dock.
3
Drag the Rocket app to your applications folder. After you do this, you can open Rocket by clicking on the Rocket app.
- A warning will pop up asking if you want to open Rocket since it is an application downloaded from the internet. Confirm by clicking the blue ‘Open’ button.
- Rocket will now be active as a desktop application.
4
To fully use Rocket, you will need to enable Accessibility access. The Rocket app will guide you to your Accessibility settings on your Mac. Follow the on-screen instructions to give the app the necessary access to your computer so it can operate correctly.

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:
Enabling Accessibility for Rocket

1
Click on ‘Enable Accessibility’ in the Rocket pop-up window. This will take you to your Mac’s security & privacy settings. To make changes, click the lock symbol in the lower left-hand corner. Enter your Mac’s password.
2
Click on the Rocket app to select it for Accessibility. Clicking on apps will allow you to enable Accessibility tools for them.
3
Rocket will guide you through emoji search engine practice as soon as you enable Accessibility. Once you feel you understand the Rocket language and style, click the ‘Done’ button at the bottom of the box.
4
Choose if you want Rocket to enable Website Detection. Rocket does not activate on websites with their own emoji engine. Rocket uses Chrome, Firefox, and Safari to determine which websites it is not needed on, but you can decide to give Rocket access to that data.
- This is the only permission Rocket will ask for. Rocket never stores any data and even if you choose not to enable Website Detection, Rocket will continue to work.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:
Using Rocket

1
To type an emoji, start with a colon symbol in the text field. Then, type the name of the emoji you want to use. As you start typing an emoji descriptor, a small Rocket pop-up window will appear in the middle of your screen.
- You can scroll through a couple of options to chose the exact emoji you want.
- If you don't see the emoji you want in your first search, try troubleshooting by using a different descriptor or word for different results in Rocket.
2
Here are some examples of how to search for an emoji in Rocket and a list to give you some ideas for all the emojis you can use with Rocket.
- :wave → 👋
- :woman-yoga → 🧘‍♀️
- :sparkles: → ✨
- :man-dancing 🕺
- :cartwheel 🤸‍♀️
- :anatomical-heart 🫀
- :orange-heart 🧡
- :closed-lock-with-key 🔐
- :candle 🕯️
- :water-buffalo 🐃
- :heart-eyes-cat 😻

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:
Rocket Pro

1
The basic Rocket app is free to download, but you can upgrade to the Rocket Pro app to access premium features. Rocket Pro costs $10, and^{[1]
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2
Set custom emoji shortcuts and add your own emojis to the library. Rocket Pro allows you to upload your own custom emojis to use in any scenario.
3
Check out your emoji stats. See which emojis you use the most, least, and the percentage of emojis you’ve used.