Everyday Mac apps
The Mac apps that I use every day, updated regularly.
Updated 10/30/2021
- 1Password
- Audio Hijack
- Authy
- Bartender 4
- Better Blocker
- Calendar
- Contrast
- CotEditor
- Craft
- DaisyDisk
- Forecast
- GarageBand
- Google Chrome
- Google Drive for Desktop
- IntelliJ IDEA
- KeepingYouAwake
- Maps
- Meeter
- Messages
- Mozilla Firefox
- News+
- Notability
- Notes
- Overcast
- Photos
- Pixelmator Pro
- Postgres.app
- Postico
- Rectangle
- Reeder 5
- Safari
- Shortcuts
- Slack
- Spotify
- Things 3
- Tweetbot 6
- iTerm 2
A few words
1Password
My password manager. It’s the best designed password manager I’ve used and does everything I need it to.
Link: 1Password
Audio Hijack
An audio recording app I’ve only recently started using. I record all of my podcast epsidoes in Audio Hijack.
Link: Audio Hijack
Authy
My 2FA manager. I use this instead of stroing codes in 1Password because it’s faster to grab a code when I need it. Their Mac app is okay.
Link: Authy
Bartender 4
A tool to hide menu bar icons. Basically a must-have since the notch.
Link: Bartender 4
Better Blocker
An ad blocker and privacy tool by the Small Technology Foundation. I use it across iOS and MacOs. As they says on their website, it just works.
Link: Better Blocker
Calendar
I use the built-in Calendar app for iOS and MacOS. It works for me and it’s free.
Contrast
A small menu-bar utility to test the contrast between two colors. This helps me build accessible websites.
Link: Contrast
CotEditor
A few, open-source text editor that’s really fast. It checked all three boxes.
Link: CotEditor
Craft
Where I store my digital notes. It’s fast, Mac-assed, and supports backlinks.
Link: Craft
Daisy Disk
A tool to manage disk space. It’s my favorite tool to see and free disk space on my computers.
Link: Daisy Disk
Forecast
An mp3 chapter encoder built by Marco Arment. I sometimes use this to when editting podcasts.
Link: Forecast
GarageBand
What I use to edit podcasts. I don’t have complex needs and it gets the job done well.
Google Chrome
Not my primary browser but I have all the big ones installed to test webpages.
Link: Google Chrome
Google Drive for Desktop
My online backup tool. It works well and is cheap, I pay $3/month for 200 GBs.
Link: Google Drive for Desktop
IntelliJ IDEA
A must-have editor for Java development. For everything else I use Vim.
Link: IntelliJ IDEA
KeepingYouAwake
A tool to prevent the Mac from sleeping. it’s free and open-source. This is the best replacement for the O.G. app Caffine.
Link: KeepingYouAwake
I use the built-in Mail app. I used to use Hey but now I don’t.
Maps
I also use the built-in Maps app. I made the switch from Google Maps a few years ago in an attemp to de-google my life. I’ve sinced walked that back in some ways but not maps.
Meeter
A must-have menu bar utility for remote work. It finds Zoom or Google Meet links from your calendar and organizes them into a dropdown menu. Now it takes two clicks to join a meeting.
Link: Meeter
Messages
The primary way I communicate with people is through iMessage.
Mozilla Firefox
Also not my primary browser, I use it the same way I use Google Chrome.
Link: Mozilla Firefox
News+
I subscribe to Apple One Premium and occasionally check Apple News+.
Notability
I try to include a drawing with each post, those are drawn in Notability on my iPad and sync’d to all of my devices.
Link: Notability
Notes
Only the randomest of notes go in here, everything else lives in Craft.
Overcast
My podcast player of choice, now available on the Mac via Apple Silicon.
Link: Overcast
Photos
I don’t take many photos so don’t need anything more than what’s built-in.
Pixelmator Pro
My photo editor tool of choice. I don’t use it often but it gets the job done when I do. It’s not cheap but it’s also not a subscription.
Link: Pixelmator Pro
Postgres.app
The best way to run a Postgres database on a Mac.
Link: Postgres.app
Postico
The best way to query a Postgres database on a Mac.
Link: Postico
Rectangle
A free, open-source window manager. I mainly use it to put two windows side-by-side, not much else.
Link: Rectangle
Reeder 5
My RSS reader and Read-it-later app. I love RSS.
Link: Reeder 5
Safari
My primary browser. It’s fast and is the most power-efficient browser for Macs.
Shortcuts
I’ve only recently started using Shortcuts. I’ve built more automations in a couple of days with Shortcuts than I ever did with Automator.
Slack
I use Slack for work but not much else.
Link: Slack
Spotify
The best way to stream music, though I’m a little biased.
Link: Spotify
Things 3
My task manager. The most Mac-assed Mac app out there.
Link: Things 3
Tweetbot 6
A Twitter client I use on iOS and now also use on the Mac. It syncs my timeline progress and doesn’t reorder my feed randomly.
Link: Tweetbot 6
iTerm 2
My favorite terminal client. It’s better than what’s built-in by a wide margin.
Link: iTerm 2