Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?

Raycast

- Replaces Spotlight for opening applications

- Replaces Magnet for window management, same features but don’t have to run a separate app now.

- keeps a clipboard history

- allows me to convert colours and units

- integrates with my calendar to show me upcoming meetings, shows them in my menu bar and lets me join them with one click

- allows me to prevent my Mac from sleeping (for certain durations) with caffeinate command

- has a variety of plugins available

Probably forgetting a lot of things I use it for, but even without the premium features I use it all the time.

danpalmer · 2 years ago

I was a big Quicksilver user. I was a big Alfred user (from literal day 1). I’m now a big Raycast user. In fact Raycast is the only one where I’ve developed my own extensions (beyond basic toy scripts), the extension model is very good (even if distribution is iffy).

TheRealWatson · 2 years ago

I wish the Pro version wasn't subscription based. I'd pay a one time cost even if they dropped the stuff that needs server support (AI, Sync, whatever).

CharlesW · 2 years ago

Please send them that feedback! I did, and I hope they don’t mind me sharing their response:

  Thanks for reaching out and for the feedback.

  Pricing, like everything else at Raycast, is something we will continuously evaluate and try to balance between what is best for our users and also for us as a company. And on this subject we are indeed looking into the possibility of offering a cheaper Pro Plan (lite version) subscription without AI for example or even offering a lifetime license with additional benefits outside the app. So more on this subject to come soon.

  Best,

  —
  Daniel Sequeira
  Engineering Manager at Raycast

danpalmer · 2 years ago

I wish the Pro separated AI and everything else. I can’t use the AI stuff at work for contractual reasons, but it’s also clear that most of the cost goes into that. I’m not paying $10/m for longer clipboard history, but I’d probably pay $50 one off for all the local-only bits.

Problem is that they’re VC backed and you don’t get SaaS valuations on selling a ton of single-purchase software.

jamil7 · 2 years ago

It's good but VC backed. Also the actual file search is really bad.

SebastianKra · 2 years ago

Also, it has by far the best plugin system I've ever seen. It combines all the best practices from Web-Development with their own custom React-reconciler.

You can write fairly sophisticated UIs with less effort than for a shell script. If a FOSS version of this ever takes off, it could have the potential to replace terminal-UIs outright.

FractalHQ · 2 years ago

I came here to scream Raycast… but this is a great breakdown. Raycast replaces _so many_ apps (and even web browser functionality) for me, and I’m not even on the Pro tier.

To your list, I would add app shortcuts / key commands / quick links / snippets / code image generators (optically from selection) to name a few.

aosaigh · 2 years ago

Is Raycast better than Alfred? Or mostly the same?

lycopodiopsida · 2 years ago

IMO No. Raycast:

- Took VC money and pushes for subscription instead of a clear payment model.

- Rides the AI Hype train.

- Is still not able to handle file workflows properly.

- Alfred workflows are easier to write and to debug due to workflow editor, you have to be a web developer to find the proposition of writing what is basically a small react app a good one.

- Also, IMO, not very fast, consumes a lot of resources and has a clumsy UX due to using stateful multistep apps.

I would always prefer Alfred to Raycast, but I am stuck with Launchbar which is still the Launcher with most smooth workflow for me. The whole <Object><Action> paradigm is just so fast - select something, tab, match an app with 2 keystrokes-enter -> Opens in app. Works on text, files, whatever.

wlonkly · 2 years ago

Tough question. Alfred never really clicked for me, Raycast clicked right away, but I can't put my finger on why.

pmarreck · 2 years ago

Link?

bigsweatshirt · 2 years ago

raycast.com

- LittleSnitch per-application firewall, mostly for selectively granting outbound access but also controls inbound access (In general, you also need the built-in firewall setup and running correctly too.)

- BlockBlock, KnockKnock, and RansomWhere, but not LuLu because it caused TCP connections to drop nondeterministically

- ScrollReverser to fix standalone mouse scrolling behavior because macOS only has one mouse and trackpad reverse setting

- KarabinerElements for key remapping

- BusyCalendar

- Dash for dev docs

- MacDown for markdown

- Bodega for checking the latest versions of all Sparkle apps (While the main app was discontinued years ago causing an error message on launch, the Sparkle update checking continues to work)

- DaisyDisk to check disk usage

- HardwareGrowler + Growl for hardware and network monitoring (Yes, it's old and nothing else uses Growl notifications anymore, but noticing when the Ethernet adapter is being temperamental is handy)

- A fork of Breakaway for the rare times when I used my headphone jack to auto mute volume if it were to become disconnected unexpectedly

- AppZapper to really nuke apps, their data, and their config (Also, old but it still works)

- Pacifist to sneak a peak inside .pkg's

- OmniGraffle of course, the "Visio" for Mac

- Ascension .nfo viewer

- WineSkin for running some Windows apps on Mac when you know exactly what runtimes they need (I ran Altera Quartus Pro/II with it fine once upon a time™ for an overseas cloned FPGA devkit)

- Probably already mentioned: iStat Menus, Bartender, ForecastBar, Paste, Postgres, MacTracker, iTerm2

- Don't use anymore: CoconutBattery, TotalFinder, QuickSilver, Axure RP, Reveal, Reinteract, VMware Fusion, EndNote, Papers, Bookends

- I wish I had or could afford: a full-featured license of IDA Pro

drcongo · 2 years ago

Just in case you missed the news, Bartender has been bought by a shady seeming app mill. I switched to Ice the other day, it's very good.

carl_dr · 2 years ago

Thanks for the Ice recommendation, just moved over from Bartender.

orhanerday · 2 years ago

Freeware replacement for AppZapper: https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/

jshier · 2 years ago

Latest is a modern, OSS replacement for Bodega (IIUC). https://github.com/mangerlahn/latest

Deleted Comment

yen223 · 2 years ago

I highly recommend reading this list of built-in macOS terminal commands: https://ss64.com/mac/

Some commands I use often:

- `pbcopy` and `pbpaste` to copy and paste data via the clipboard

- `date -u` to give the date in UTC

- `networkQuality` is speedtest but built-in to macOS

- `caffeinate` prevents your computer from going to sleep (it's the same as the old Caffeinate program, but built-in now)

- `open ...` to open a file, as if you double-clicked it in Finder

- `security` gives you command-line access to the Keychain.

theedwood · 2 years ago

> caffeinate

TIL there is a built in utility. I switched from Caffeinate to Amphetamine a while back and never bothered to look for a built-in solution. Great to know!

TillE · 2 years ago

`xattr -cr` is a wonderfully quick way to bypass the security quarantine of unsigned binaries.

kstrauser · 2 years ago

So is “right-click => Open” in a Finder window.

MuffinFlavored · 2 years ago

https://keepingyouawake.app/ I use this for a "GUI" version

m463 · 2 years ago

on most systems (macos + linux)

  TZ=UTC date

thank you for "security" (lots to read now)

afloatboat · 2 years ago

hi-v-rocknroll · 2 years ago

schmeichel · 2 years ago

If your into the tiling window manager experience, I would highly recommend looking into yabai + skhd + Sketchybar

- https://github.com/koekeishiya/yabai - https://github.com/koekeishiya/skhd - https://github.com/FelixKratz/SketchyBar

Some honorable mentions: Hammerspoon - Unlock insane levels of configuration/automation (https://github.com/Hammerspoon/hammerspoon) Raycast - Spotlight search replacement (https://www.raycast.com/) LuLu Firewall - An amazing FOSS firewall (https://github.com/objective-see/LuLu)

mystickphoenix · 2 years ago

I use Amethyst https://github.com/ianyh/Amethyst in my day to day. Slightly different management philosophy but one that works well for me.

salzig · 2 years ago

yabal requires quite some privileges. Did you check out https://github.com/nikitabobko/AeroSpace ?

gedy · 2 years ago

FYI AeroSpace is nice but can't handle apps with tabs, like Finder. This is a non-starter issue for me at least.

tra3 · 2 years ago

Elevated privileges for yabai are optional, it works just fine without disabling SIP.

archagon · 2 years ago

Git Fork: a git client with a similar level of polish to Tower, but as a one-time purchase instead of a subscription product.

https://git-fork.com/

muzani · 2 years ago

Proud purchase of this one after using it for almost half a decade. I've used Sourcetree, GitKraken, Github desktop for a while. But Fork is just really smooth, not bloated, and talks to me when I'm high on nootropics.

russelg · 2 years ago

Love Fork, been using it on both Windows and macOS. I think it's a great example of native cross-platform software.

thijsvandien · 2 years ago

Yes, Fork is a very welcome spiritual successor.

erellsworth · 2 years ago

I love Fork. I only wish it ran on Linux.

Justsignedup · 2 years ago

Can't use Mac without rectangle. You don't need magnet.

Owly is my fav for anti sleeping at certain times. Though critical to disable the ads via startup features. I haven't found abetter one. Though it has quirks.

Also some commands in the cli for like key repeat. Like wtf why can't I turn off accent hold when I want to repeat letters.

ziml77 · 2 years ago

I like Amphetamine for keeping the system awake. I use the option to quickly set a time to stay awake until a lot. I like that I can choose whether it allows sleep or not when the laptop lid is closed. I know it also lets you create schedules and some other basic triggers for automatically starting sessions.

kcplate · 2 years ago

I second that. Rectangle is a must have app for me. Perhaps a few others, but that one stands out as one I don’t want to use my Mac without

glial · 2 years ago

You can also type 'caffeinate' in the terminal and it'll turn off sleeping.

jlokier · 2 years ago

Unfortunately, 'caffeinate' doesn't have an option to keep the Macbook awake with the lid closed and no attached monitor or power.

I use Amphetamine instead, so that I can continue Zoom calls after putting my laptop in my backpack to walk around.

nyantaro1 · 2 years ago

- I cannot use my mac without rectangle.

- Karabiner-elements will disable the keyboard automatically when I connect my external bluetooth keyboard.

- github.com/exelban/stats is an excellent macOS system monitor in your menu bar

lathiat · 2 years ago

Like most mac power user tools there are a few versions of most. I'm currently preferring Multitouch.app as it combines: - Letting me assign 3-finger click to middle-click for opening tabs in chrome (in Safari you can use force touch but I never really liked it, and Chrome doesn't seem to have it) - Window snapping to half/half, third, etc.. either by dragging to the edge or with keyboard shortcuts. I use keyboard shortcuts for both window splits and thirds on my 34" Ultrawide.

swah · 2 years ago

Next MacOS version got some tiling window management built in ...

anVlad11 · 2 years ago

Choosy - is a must for me. It lets you select the browser/profile after clicking on any link or define the rules for opening them. For example, if a link contains a certain domain or it's source application is Slack, it will be opened in Work profile of your browser.

Obsidian - note taking, making presentations for work-related stuff.

iTerm 2 - it's better than default terminal emulator, but i consider moving to Alacritty to see what's so hype about it.

Scroll Reverser - macOS still doesn't know the difference between mouse scrolling and trackpad scrolling.

While i can't recommend Arc browser, i still use it daily. I don't believe it will exist in it's current form in two years, but now it's much more usable than other Chromium-based browsers for me.

I also have a simple shortcut in Siri Shortcuts that calls m1ddc tool to change the external monitor current input between HDMI and DisplayPort.

ijustwanttovote · 2 years ago

> Choosy

Wow, this would be pretty useful. Drives me crazy when my meetings open up in my personal chrome.

w10-1 · 2 years ago

> I don't believe it will exist in it's current form in two years,

Why?

Arc Browser does not have a public monetization plan. The Browser Company is a for-profit company, and they'll need to give something to their investors. Their market share now is abysmal to make a meaningful amount of profit from just selling user data.

At some point, they will need to introduce some kind of subscription for some of their browser features - I assume that current Arc Max is going to be part of it. This would lead to making new features available only to the paying users.

I have really pessimistic views on software development (for-profit or not) in general now, so I'd be really happy to be wrong here.

Shottr - someone on HN recommended it, and I use it several times a day at work (FE here). It screenshots to clipboard quickly, and you can paste these right into Slack or Facebook or ChatGPT etc. It also does text & QR recognition, so you can copy text from images and such.

BetterSnapTool - lets me move windows into other screens easily, the main feature that I miss from windows.

BetterTouchTool - mostly just mapping my 4th & 5th mouse buttons to copy & paste

You can also take a screenshot and save it to the clipboard with ctrl+cmd+shift+4 (for a selection) or ctrl+cmd+shift+3 (for the entire screen). The same keys but without the 'ctrl' key will save them to file.

It seems like a ridiculous keyboard shortcut but I use it so much, it's motor memory now.

noahtallen · 2 years ago

The great thing about Shottr vs system screenshots is the annotations you can put up very quickly. E.g.

1. $hotkey for screenshot 3. Hit enter to edit 4. Press A to draw an arrow with the mouse 5. Cmd-c to dismiss the edit window and copy & paste wherever.

So it basically only takes as long as you take to click down an arrow with your mouse

cmd-shift-5 lets you choose between all the screen capture options, plus it also allows you to do screen recordings.

BetterSnapTool isn't needed anymore since the functionality is built into BetterTouchTool. The dev of those programs recommends only using BTT to avoid conflicts between the two.

Thank you, didn't realize this!

There's also https://www.snipaste.com with very similar functionality. I dont understand how it's free.