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