Everyday Mac apps
The Mac apps that I use every day, updated regularly.
Updated 10/15/2022
- 1Password
- 1Blocker
- AirBuddy
- Audio Hijack
- Authy
- Bartender 4
- CotEditor
- Craft
- DaisyDisk
- Fantastical
- Forecast
- GarageBand
- Google Drive for Desktop
- Hand Mirror
- iTerm 2
- KeepingYouAwake
- Mimestream
- Mullvad VPN
- Overcast
- Pixelmator Pro
- Postico
- Rectangle
- Reeder 5
- Remote Desktop
- Screens 4
- Spotify
- Things 3
- Tweetbot 6
A few words
1Blocker
The best ad blocker I’ve found. I used to use Better, but it was discontinued. 1Blocker is the next best option
Link: 1Blocker
1Password
My password manager. It’s the best designed password manager I’ve used and does everything I need it to.
Link: 1Password
AirBuddy
A small tool to improve the AirPods experience on a Mac.
Link: AirBuddy
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
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
Fantastical
My calendar app of choice. I used to use the built-in Calendar app but managing work calendars became a pain, it’s easy with Fantastical. I’m now a happy Flexibits Premium subscriber.
Link: Fantastical
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 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
Hand Mirror
A menu-bar app to quickly get a view of your camera, it only takes one click.
Link: Hand Mirror
iTerm 2
My favorite terminal client. It’s better than what’s built-in by a wide margin.
Link: iTerm 2
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
Mimestream
The best native Gmail experience on a Mac. The app is in beta right now, though works wonderfully, and I’ll happily pay for it once it leaves beta.
Link: Mimestream
Mullvad VPN
I don’t use a VPN often but when I do I use Mullvad. What I want from a VPN is privacy and security, Mullvad does both better than anybody else.
Link: Mullvad VPN
Overcast
My podcast player of choice, now available on the Mac via Apple Silicon.
Link: Overcast
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
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
Remote Desktop
I have a few different home servers and Remote Desktop is the best “remote” management tool I’ve found. I say “remote because I’ve only gotten it to work at home, so “remote” as in not plugged into directly not as in a remote location.
Link: Remote Desktop
Screens 4
When I’m away from home I used Screens 4 to remotely management my home servers (see above for what I use at home). It’s not a great tool but I’ve used it reliabily without complaints.
Link: Screens 4
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