Meta

Notes

Open-Source Software means open source. click the icon to see the item’s repository; Freeware means free to use, or free personal license; App Store means App store hyperlink; Awesome List means hyperlink to a corresponding Awesome list for the item;

Reading and Writing Tools

Applications to edit text, I suggest the open-source editors

Text Editors

  • Aurora Editor - Lightweight Code Editor (IDE) for macOS. Open-Source Software
  • Bootstrap Studio - A powerful desktop app for creating responsive websites using the Bootstrap framework.
  • Brackets - A modern, open source text editor that understands web design. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • CodeEdit - A lightweight, natively-built editor. Open source. Free forever. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • CotEditor - Lightweight plain-text editor for macOS. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Emacs - Popular Unix-based text editor for programmers and system administrators. Open-Source Software Freeware Awesome List
  • Haystack Editor - Code editor with a canvas UI for better code understanding. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Helix - A post-modern modal text editor. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Lapce - Lightning-fast and powerful code editor. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • LightTable - The next generation code editor. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • micro - Modern and intuitive terminal-based text editor. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Neovim - Vim-fork focused on extensibility and usability. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Nova - The beautiful, fast, flexible, native Mac code editor from Panic.
  • Plain Text Editor - Simple distraction-free notepad. Freeware App Store
  • Sublime Text - A popular, clean, and sleek editor with a plugin management system. For more plugins, check Sublime Text Plugins. Awesome List
  • SubEthaEdit - Powerful editor for writing, coding, and collaboration anytime, anywhere! Open-Source Software
  • TextMate - Editor that brings Apple’s approach to operating systems into the world of text editors. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Tot - Tot is an elegant, simple way to collect & edit text. It’s your tiny text companion! Freeware App Store
  • Vim - An old terminal-based editor. For common plugins, check Vim Common Plugins. Open-Source Software Freeware Awesome List
  • Vimr - Refined Vim Experience for OS X. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Zed - A high-performance, multiplayer code editor from the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter. Open-Source Software Freeware

Office

Markdown Tools

Awesome List

Note-taking

  • Affine - Affine is the next-generation collaborative knowledge base for professionals. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Agenda - Date-focused note taking app for both planning and documenting your projects. App Store
  • AppFlowy - Open-source alternative to Notion. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Bear Writer - Beautiful, flexible writing app for crafting notes and prose. App Store
  • Boostnote - Note-taking app made for programmers. Open-Source Software
  • Craft - Notetaking and writing made beautiful. App Store
  • Dnote - A simple command line notebook with multi-device sync and a web interface. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Email Me - Email yourself and much more with just one tap, native on macOS, iOS and WatchOS. App Store
  • Evernote - Infamous note-taking app, available on many platforms. Freeware
  • FSNotes - File System Notes is a modern notes manager, native on macOS and iOS. Open-Source Software App Store
  • Gooba - Writing app and task manager with a simple and interactive design.
  • Inkdrop - Notebook app for Markdown lovers built on top of Electron.
  • Joplin - Cross-platform open-source notepad with markdown support and to-do list management. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Logseq - Privacy-first, open-source knowledge base. OSS Freeware
  • MarginNote 4 - In-depth PDF and EPUB reading, learning, managing and note taking app.
  • massCode - Cross-platform open-source code snippets manager with markdown and mermaid support. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • MiaoYan - Lightweight Markdown app to help you write great sentences.
  • Notable - The markdown-based note-taking app that doesn’t suck.
  • Notebook - Note-taking app. Freeware
  • Notes - Clean, simple note-taking app. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • NotePlan 3 - Your tasks, notes, and calendar, plain-text markdown files. App Store
  • Noteship - Turn notes into knowledge (spreadsheet view, heading summaries, etc.). Works offline, everything is saved locally. App Store
  • Notion - All-in-one workspace for notes, tasks, wikis, and databases.
  • OneNote - Note-taking app by Microsoft. Freeware
  • OutlineEdit 3 - Fully-featured outline editor, for everyone who loves great structured notes. App Store
  • Saber - Cross platform stylus and text notetaking app. Supports image and pdf imports, can sync. App StoreOpen-Source Software
  • SideNotes - Quick notes on the screen side with Markdown support.
  • Standard Notes - An end-to-end encrypted notes app for digitalists and professionals. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • QOwnNotes - Open-source notepad with markdown support and todo list manager. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Quick Note - Colorful sticky notes in the Menu bar. App Store
  • Quiver - Mix text, code, Markdown, and LaTeX in one note with live preview.
  • VNote - A Qt-based application designed to provide a pleasant note-taking platform with excellent editing experience. Open-Source Software Freeware

Journaling

Writing

Ebooks

RSS

Others

  • SwifDoo PDF - PDF editor/converter for editing, compressing, and password-protecting PDFs.
  • bindPDF - Combine multiple PDF files into a single PDF file using a friendly UI. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • CHM Reader - Read Compiled HTML (.chm) documents on your Mac. Freeware
  • Chmox - Read CHM documents on your Mac. Freeware
  • Highlights - The PDF Reader for Research on Mac, iPad & iPhone. Freeware
  • PDF Expert - Read, annotate and edit PDFs, change text and images.
  • PDF Pals - Chat with PDF app for Mac. No file size limits!
  • PDFgear - AI-integrated PDF editor. Freeware App Store
  • PDF Reader Pro - You Can view, create, sign, convert and compress any PDF documents. App Store
  • Skim - PDF reader and note-taker for OS X. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • SkyFonts - The simplest way to try, install, and manage fonts.
  • Spillo - Powerful, beautiful and amazingly fast Pinboard client for OS X.
  • Tad - Application for viewing and analyzing tabular data such as CSV files. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • texifier - Great LaTeX editor for Mac with auto-update PDF and autocomplete LaTeX commands.
  • UPDF - Free PDF editor for reading, annotating, and editing PDFs. Freeware App Store
  • Zotero - Free tool to collect, organize, annotate, cite, and share research. OSS Freeware
  • Collate - Free tool to collect, summarize and query PDFs with AI. All offline and free App Store Freeware

Developer Tools

IDEs

  • Android Studio - The official IDE for Android, based on Intellij IDEA. Open-Source Software Freeware Awesome List
  • CodeRunner - Lightweight, multi-language programming text editor and IDE.
  • Deco IDE - The best IDE for building React Native apps. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Eclipse - Popular open-source IDE for Java with plugin support for many languages. OSS Freeware
  • Espresso - The web editor for Mac is back. For people who make delightful, innovative and fast websites.
  • JetBrains Toolbox App - Manage installed JetBrains tools, download new ones and open recent projects. Freeware
  • AppCode - Smart IDE for iOS/macOS development
  • RustRover - A brand new JetBrains IDE for Rust Developers.
  • CLion - Powerful C and C++ IDE. (Free for Students)
  • DataGrip - Cross-Plaform IDE for Databases and SQL. FREE for Students, check here for more info.
  • DataSpell - The IDE for Professional Data Scientists
  • GoLand - Provides ergonomic environment for Go development.
  • IntelliJ IDEA - Powerful IDE for JVM languages. (Free for Students)
  • PHPStorm - The Lightning-Smart PHP IDE.
  • PyCharm - Powerful Python IDE, which has professional version and community version.
  • Rider - Cross-platform C# IDE with Resharper features.
  • WebStorm - The smartest JavaScript IDE by JetBrains. FREE for Students, check here for more info.
  • Haskell for Mac - A Modern Development Environment for Haskell. App Store
  • NetBeans IDE - Free, open-source IDE for Java and other languages. OSS Freeware
  • Nova - Beautiful, fast, flexible Mac code editor from Panic.
  • Visual Studio Code - Microsoft’s free & open-source editor, TypeScript friendly, VSCode Plugins. Open-Source Software Freeware Awesome List
  • Xcode - Essential IDE for iOS/macOS development. App Store
  • Zed - A high-performance, multiplayer code editor from the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Spyder - Powerful scientific environment written in Python, for Python.

Developer Utilities

  • BetterRename - The most powerful and complete Mac file renaming application on the market. App Store
  • Beyond Compare - Compare files and folders with powerful commands. Freeware
  • Bidbar - Manage bash commands from the menu bar and run them with keyboard shortcuts.
  • Cacher - Cloud-based code snippet manager with Gist sync and multi-platform support.
  • CodeKit - Web development tool for compiling and auto-refreshing.
  • CodeMenu - Advanced snippets manager with IDE integration, natural language search, and more.
  • Conduktor - Kafka desktop client. Freeware
  • CubicBezier - CubicBezier Generator for macOS. Open-Source Software Freeware App Store
  • Cutter - Powerful multi-platform reverse engineering tool. Open-Source Software
  • DevHub - Feature-rich offline app for developers. OSS App Store
  • Dash - Awesome API documentation browser and code snippet manager. Freeware
  • Deeplink Buddy - Deeplink managers, made by developer for developers.
  • DiffMerge - Application to visually compare and merge files. Freeware
  • EnvPane - OS X preference pane for environment variables. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • FinderGo - Open terminal quickly from Finder. Freeware Open-Source Software
  • Finicky - Set rules to decide which browser opens each link. OSS Freeware
  • Gas Mask - Simple hosts file manager for Mac OS X. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Gemini - Intelligent duplicate file finder.
  • Hex Fiend - Fast and clever open source hex editor. Open-Source Software Freeware App Store
  • Hosts.prefpane - System preference pane to manage your hosts file. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Icon Preview - Preview your app icon and menu bar icon. Freeware App Store
  • iHosts - The only /etc/hosts editor on Mac App Store. Freeware App Store
  • ILLA Cloud - Low-code internal tool builder. Open-Source Software
  • ImHex - Hex Editor for reverse engineers and programmers. OSS Freeware
  • Integrity - Free website link checker for Mac. Freeware
  • Kaleidoscope - Compare text, images, and folders.
  • Koala - GUI application for Less, Sass, Compass and CoffeeScript compilation. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Loca Studio - Analyze, review, and edit app translations. App Store
  • MacSystemColors - Mac app that shows all system colors in light and dark mode for Cocoa developers. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • MJML - Create responsive emails with a semantic syntax and rich components. OSS Freeware
  • PaintCode - Vector drawing app that generates Objective-C or Swift code in real time.
  • Pasteboard Viewer - Inspect the system pasteboards. Open-Source Software Freeware App Store
  • PPRows - Application to calculate how many lines of code you write. Freeware Open-Source Software
  • PushMate - Solves common push notification problems on macOS.
  • Responsively - A must-have devtool for web developers for quicker responsive web development. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • SCM Breeze - Set of shell scripts (for bash and zsh) that enhance your interaction with git. Freeware Open-Source Software
  • SecureCRT - Terminal emulation which supports SSH, Telnet or other protocols.
  • Site Sucker - Automatically downloads websites. App Store
  • SnippetsLab - Easy-to-use code snippets manager.
  • Solarized - Clean and beautiful color theme. Works well with iTerm, JetBrains products, Vim etc.
  • StarUML - Powerful UML app.
  • Swiftify - Objective-C to Swift code converter and Xcode & Finder extensions.
  • SwiftPlantUML - Generate and view class diagrams from Xcode for Swift code. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • SwitchHosts - Free and open-source app for hosts management & switching. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • SYM - GUI Application to symbolicate iOS crash log. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • TeXstudio - Integrated writing environment for creating LaTeX documents. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Timelane - Visually profile your asynchronous code. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Touch Bar Simulator - Use the Touch Bar on any Mac. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Visual Paradigm - All-in-one UML, SysML, BPMN modeling platform.
  • Woodpecker - View iOS app’s Sandbox files, UserDefaults, Keychain items on a Mac. App Store
  • WWDC - The Mac OS unofficial WWDC app. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Xcodes - Install and switch between multiple versions of Xcode. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • XCSnippetsApp - Explore, view, and edit Swift and iOS code snippets for Xcode. OSS Freeware
  • zeplin - Collaboration tool for work between designers and developers. Freeware
  • ZOC Terminal - Terminal emulator which supports SSH, telnet, connections and other protocols.
  • Nib Unlocker - .nib to .xib converter App Store
  • He3 - Free and Modern Developer Utilities Toolbox. Freeware

Regular Expression Editors

  • Patterns - Regular expression editor.
  • Regex - Regular expression testing tool with an emphasis on simplicity.
  • RegExRX - Development tool for regular expressions.

API Development and Analysis

Network Analysis

Command Line Tools

Awesome List

  • ack - A tool like grep, optimized for programmers. Freeware
  • Airlift - Upload & Merge Data with Attachments to Airtable. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • alacritty - A cross-platform, GPU-accelerated terminal emulator. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • archey-osx - An archey script for OS X. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • asciinema - Easily record terminal sessions and replay them in a terminal as well as in a web browser. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • autojump - Replace cd with intelligent autojump. OSS Freeware
  • bash-it - Shameless ripoff of oh-my-zsh for bash. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • bat - A cat(1) clone with syntax highlighting and Git integration. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • bclm - macOS command-line utility to limit max battery charge. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • ccat - The colorizing cat which works similar to cat but displays content with syntax highlighting. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • ClamAV - Cross-platform, open-source antivirus engine. OSS Freeware
  • cmatrix - Terminal screensaver inspired by “The Matrix” movie. OSS Freeware
  • cmus - Small, fast and powerful console music player for Unix-like operating systems. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • cool-retro-term - Good looking terminal emulator which mimics the old cathode display. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • CSV2Notion Neo - Upload & Merge CSV or JSON Data with Images to Notion Database. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • dark-mode - Control dark mode from the command-line. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • eureka - CLI tool to input and store your ideas without leaving the terminal. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Fish - Smart and user-friendly shell, which is similar with zsh. Awesome List
  • fselect - Find files with SQL-like queries. Open-Source Software
  • GitHub CLI - gh is GitHub on the command line. It brings pull requests, issues, and other GitHub concepts to the terminal next to where you are already working with git and your code. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Ghostty - A fast, feature-rich, and cross-platform terminal emulator that uses platform-native UI and GPU acceleration. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Glances - Glances is a cross-platform curses-based system monitoring tool. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Go2Shell - Go2Shell opens a terminal window to the current directory in Finder. Freeware App Store
  • htop - htop is an interactive text-mode process viewer for Unix systems. It aims to be a better ‘top’. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • httpie - Modern command line HTTP client. OSS Freeware
  • hyper - A terminal built on web technologies. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • iTerm2 - iTerm2 is an amazing terminal emulator for OS X. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • job - JOB, make your short-term command as a long-term job. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • kitty - A cross-platform, fast, feature full, GPU based terminal emulator. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • lnav - A log file navigator. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • m-cli - Swiss Army Knife for macOS. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Mac-CLI - The ultimate tool to manage your Mac. Automatize the usage of your OS X system. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Magic Wormhole - Get Things From One Computer To Another, Safely. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • MarkersExtractor - Marker metadata extraction and conversion tool and library for Final Cut Pro. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • mas - Simple command line interface for the Mac App Store. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Miller - Like awk, sed, cut, join, and sort for name-indexed data such as CSV, TSV, and tabular JSON. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • mycli - CLI for MySQL that can do auto-completion and syntax highlighting. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • ndm - Manage npm straight from the couch. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • nushell - nushell is a modern, GitHub-era shell written in Rust. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • nvm - POSIX-compliant bash script to manage multiple active node.js versions. OSS Freeware
  • pgcli - Pgcli is a command line interface for Postgres with auto-completion and syntax
  • OpenRecall - Access your digital history, enhance memory and productivity, while maintaining privacy. OSS Freeware highlighting. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Rebound - Instantly browse Stack Overflow results in your terminal when you get a compiler error. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • ripgrep (rg) - Very fast text searching tool similar to (but faster than) ack, ag or grep Freeware
  • Serial - Full-featured serial terminal for the Mac.
  • shallow-backup - Easily create text documentation of installed applications, dotfiles, and more. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • ShellHistory - Backup, sync and organize your shell history App Store
  • silver searcher (ag) - A code searching tool similar to ack, with a focus on speed. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • spaceship - A Zsh prompt for Astronauts. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Tabby (formerly Terminus) - Free terminal tool, built with TypeScript, heavily inspired by Hyper. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Taskbook - Tasks, boards & notes for the command-line habitat. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Termius - A beautiful SSH and SFTP client for Mac. It is also available for mobile. Freeware App Store
  • TextQL - Execute SQL against structured text like CSV or TSV. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • thefuck - A interesting software that corrects errors in previous console commands. Open-Source Software
  • tldr - Collaborative cheatsheets for console commands. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • tmux - Terminal multiplexer to manage multiple terminals from a single terminal. OSS
  • tmuxinator - Manage complex tmux sessions easily. Open-Source Software
  • trash - Move files and directories to the trash. Open-Source Software
  • VisiData - Terminal spreadsheet multitool for discovering and arranging data. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Warp - Warp is a blazingly fast, rust-based terminal reimagined from the ground up to work like a modern app.
  • Wave - An open-source terminal that combines traditional terminal features with graphical capabilities like file previews, web browsing, and AI assistance. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • WezTerm - A GPU-accelerated cross-platform terminal emulator and multiplexer implemented in Rust. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • xonsh - Python-powered, cross-platform, Unix-gazing shell language and command prompt. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Zsh - Zsh is a shell designed for interactive use, although it is also a powerful scripting language. Open-Source Software Freeware Awesome List
  • ohmyzsh - A delightful community-driven framework for managing your zsh configuration. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • xcodes - A command-line tool to install and switch between multiple versions of Xcode. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • xxh - Bring your favorite shell wherever you go through the SSH. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • x-cmd - x-cmd is a vast and interesting collection of tools guided by the Unix philosophy.Open-Source Software Freeware
  • zellij - A terminal workspace with batteries included (modern replacement for tmux and more).Open-Source Software Freeware

Frameworks For Hybrid Applications

Version Control

Virtualization

Databases

  • Apache Directory Studio - LDAP browser and Active Directory client. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Azure Data Studio - Cross-platform database tool for Microsoft data platforms. Freeware
  • Another Redis Desktop Manager - A faster, better and more stable redis desktop manager.Open-Source SoftwareFreeware
  • Base 2 - Application for creating, designing, editing and browsing SQLite 3 database files.
  • Beekeeper Studio - Smooth SQL editor and database manager Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Bdash - Modern SQL client application, supports MySQL, PostgreSQL (Redshift) and BigQuery. Open-Source SoftwareFreeware
  • Chrome MySQL Admin - Powerful Chrome app to manage your MySQL. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Core Data Editor - Core Data Editor lets you easily view, edit and analyze applications‘ data. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Dataflare - Simple database client supporting Postgres, MySQL, DuckDB, libSQL, Cloudflare D1, and more.
  • DB Browser for SQLite - Official home of the DB Browser for SQLite. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • DBeaver - Universal SQL Client.
  • ElectroCRUD - Modern MySQL CRUD application. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • FastoNoSQL - Cross-platform GUI client for various key-value databases. OSS Freeware
  • FastoRedis - Cross-platform professional GUI management tool for Redis. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • JackDB - Secure, collaborative environment for your queries and data-driven insights. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Keylord - Desktop GUI client for Redis, Bolt, LevelDB and Memcached key-value databases.
  • MDB Explorer - MDB tool to open, read, export your MDB files to other formats and databases.
  • Medis - GUI Manager for Redis. Open-Source Software
  • Mingo - Easy to use MongoDB GUI with mind-blowing features.
  • mongoDB.app - The easiest way to get started with mongoDB on the Mac. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • MongoDB - Scalable, flexible document database with querying and indexing. OSS Freeware Awesome List
  • MySQL Workbench - The official MySQL GUI.
  • Navicat Data Modeler - Cost-effective database design tool for high-quality data models.
  • neo4j - The leading graph database! Open-Source Software Freeware
  • pgMagic🪄 - Chat to Postgres in natural language or SQL.
  • pgModeler - pgModeler is an open source data modeling tool designed for PostgreSQL. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Postgres.app - The easiest way to get started with PostgreSQL on the Mac. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Postico - Modern PostgreSQL client for Mac.
  • PSequel - PostgreSQL GUI tool for Mac OS X. Freeware
  • RedisClient - Redis client application on mac, windows and linux. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • RedisDesktopManager - Cross-platform GUI management tool for Redis. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Sequel Pro - MySQL database management for Mac OS X. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Sequel Ace - The maintained “sequel” to the longtime macOS tool Sequel Pro. Open-Source Software
  • SQLight - SQLite database manager tool. Freeware
  • SQLPro Studio - Simple, powerful database manager for macOS.
  • Studio 3T - the Ultimate GUI for MongoDB. Freeware
  • SurrealDB - A scalable, distributed, collaborative, document-graph database, for the realtime web. Open-Source Software
  • Tableau Public - Free data-visualization software. Freeware
  • TablePlus - Supports: PostgreSQL, MySQL, RedShift, MariaDB… High-end security ensured. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • redis-pro - Small, easy to use Redis management, written with SwiftUI, support Dark mode. Open-Source Software Freeware

Design and Product

Design Tools

  • Acorn - Great Mac OS X picture and photo editor, built for humans.
  • Affinity Designer - Professional graphic design software for Mac.
  • Affinity Photo - Professional image editing software for Mac.
  • Alchemy - Experimental, open-source drawing application with an emphasis on creating conceptual art. Open-Source Software
  • Amadine - Vector drawing app with an intuitive interface for graphic designers.
  • Art Text 3 - Graphic design software for lettering, typography, and text effects.
  • Blender - Free and open 3D creation software. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Colorpicker - Colorpicker is a complete open-source colors manipulation tool with picking! Open-Source Software Freeware
  • darktable - darktable is an open source photography workflow application and raw developer. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Draw.io Drawio is a diagramming and whiteboarding desktop app Open-Source Software
  • Figma - The collaborative interface design tool, for vector graphics and UI prototyping. Freeware
  • FontForge - Free, open-source font editor. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program. Open-Source Software
  • inklet - Turn your Mac trackpad into drawing board.
  • Inkscape - Professional vector graphics editor. Open-Source Software
  • Krita - Open-source digital painting software for concept artists, digital painters, and illustrators. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • macSVG - Designing HTML5 SVG art and animation. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • MagicaVoxel - Free, lightweight 8-bit voxel editor and interactive path tracing renderer.
  • MakeHuman - Powerful and free 3D human modeler. Freeware
  • Monodraw - Powerful ASCII art editor designed for the Mac. App Store
  • Nik Collection - Nik Collection by DxO.
  • Paintbrush - Bitmap image editor. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Pencil2D - A easy, intuitive tool to make 2D hand-drawn animations. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Pixelmator - Full-featured image editor for Mac.
  • Pixen - Native pixel art and animation editor for Mac.
  • Principle - Application for designing animated and interactive user interfaces.
  • RawTherapee - A powerful cross-platform raw photo processing program! Freeware Open-Source Software
  • ScreenToLayers - Easily export your screen into a layered PSD file. Open-Source Software Freeware App Store
  • Sketch - Professional digital design for mac.
  • SketchBook - Drawing software for concept design, comic art, and digital sketching. Freeware
  • Sparkle - Pro visual web design.
  • System Color Picker - The macOS color picker as an app with more features. Open-Source Software Freeware App Store
  • Tayasui Sketches - Professional drawing software.
  • Vectornator: Design Software - The Most Intuitive and Precise Illustration Software in the Galaxy. App Store
  • Vectr - Free graphics editor used to create vector graphics easily and intuitively. Freeware

Prototyping and Mind-Mapping Tools

  • Adobe XD - Tool for designing and prototyping websites and mobile apps.
  • Axure RP 8 - Prototypes, specifications and diagrams in one tool.
  • Balsamiq Mockups - Wire-framing tool that helps you work faster and smarter.
  • Flinto - Quickly create interactive prototypes of mobile, desktop, or web apps.
  • Framer - Tool for interactive prototyping.
  • Justinmind - Prototyping platform for web and mobile apps.
  • Kite - Powerful animation and prototyping application for Mac & iOS.
  • Lighten - The best way to clarify thinking, boost productivity, brainstorm, and visualize concepts.
  • Marvel - Simple design, prototyping and collaboration.Freeware
  • MindNode - Mind-mapping software with an emphasis on simplicity and ease-of-use.
  • MockFlow - Online prototyping suite for web-design and usability testing.
  • Mockplus - Prototype faster, smarter and easier.
  • OmniGraffle - Diagramming and graphic design for Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
  • Origami Studio - Tool for designing modern interfaces, built and used by designers at Facebook.
  • pencil - Free, open-source tool for making diagrams and GUI prototyping. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • ProtoPie - Create the most advanced prototypes as easy as Pie.
  • QuikFlow - Create flowcharts with a mind-mapping workflow.
  • Scapple - Practical mind-mapping software with free whiteboard-like layout.
  • SimpleMind - The world leader in cross platform Mind Mapping tools.
  • WriteMapper - Get from idea to final draft in no time.
  • XMind - The most popular mind-mapping tool on the planet.
  • Simple Diagrams - A desktop app for creating hand-drawn-like, fast, clear sketches of problems, processes, workflows, ideas and more!
  • yGraph Editor - High quality diagrams made easy.

Screencapturing Software

Other Tools

  • Amazing AI - Generate images from text using Stable Diffusion. Freeware App Store
  • APNGb - PNG image assembler/disassembler app. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Aspect - Photo organization app with peer-to-peer sync. Freeware
  • Assetizr - Resizing images and optimising them for web and mobile applications. Freeware
  • Couleurs - Simple app for grabbing and tweaking the colors you see on your screen. Freeware
  • Diffusion Bee - The easiest way to generate AI art on your computer with Stable Diffusion. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Eagle App - Simple and intuitive file manager with tag and annotaion for all your design files. Supports all major source, image, RAW, video, 3D, audio, font, and office files.
  • ExifCleaner - Remove exif metadata from images and videos with drag and drop. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • FlowVision - RWaterfall-style Image Viewer for macOS. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • HEIC Converter - Convert HEIC images to JPEG or PNG. Freeware App Store
  • Iconset - Free, cross-platform and fast SVG icon organizer and manager for Mac and Windows.
  • Iconjar - Icon management tool to organize or search your icons.
  • IconKit - App icon generator. App Store
  • Image2icon - Create and personalize icons from your pictures. Freeware
  • ImageAlpha - Compress images with PNG format and remove transparency. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • ImageOptim - Compress images and remove EXIF information. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • iPic - Easily upload images with Markdown supported. Freeware App Store
  • JPEGmini - Reduce image size by up to 80%, without compromising quality.
  • Mark Man - Measure & Spec Fast.
  • Nucleo - Icon manager. Import, export, customize and convert icon libraries.
  • Preset Brewery - Tool to convert Lightroom presets to Adobe Camera Raw.
  • qView - qView is an image viewer designed with minimalism and usability in mind. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Resize Master - Batch resize and watermark your images fast and easy. App Store
  • RightFont - Preview, sync, install and manage fonts on Mac, Dropbox or Google Drive.
  • Sip - The best way to collect, organize & share your colors.
  • Snagit - Simple, Powerful Screen Capture Software and Screen Recorder.
  • svgus - Organize, clean and transform your SVGs. App Store
  • TinyPNG4Mac - Open-source tool to compress images. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Tropy - Research Photo Management. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • PicGo - Support for common cdn image hosting tool. Open-Source Software
  • AppIconBuilder - Export icons for multi-platformApp Store
  • uPic - macOS native app, powerful terse image hosting client. Open-Source Software Freeware

Communication

Collaboration and Team Tools

  • Adium - Free instant messaging application for Mac OS X. Connect to AIM, MSN, SMPP, Yahoo and more. Freeware
  • BlurScreen App - Blur sensitive data instantly anywhere on screen, while recording or screen sharing. No post editing required.
  • Caprine - Third-party privacy-focused Facebook Messenger app. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • DingTalk - Free, powerful and professional office tool used by over 5 million enterprises and organizations globally. Freeware
  • Discord - All-in-one voice and text chat for gamers that’s free, secure, and works on both your desktop and phone.
  • Element - Create, share communicate. Chat and call securely. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Ferdium - Desktop app that helps you organize how you use your favourite apps by combining them into one application. It is based on Franz with the difference that Ferdium gives you many additional features and doesn’t restrict its usage. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Franz - Electron based, multi-protocol wrapper for web-based chat. One application, 23 messenger services. Freeware
  • Gitter - Instant messaging and chat room system for developers as well as GitHub users. Developer friendly with Markdown syntax support.
  • Keybase - Secure groups, files, and chat for everyone! Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Krisp - An AI-powered noise cancelling app that mutes background noise during calls.
  • Lark - The Next-Gen Collaboration Suite. All your chats, meetings, calendars, docs, and emails in one place. Freeware
  • LimeChat - Open-source IRC client for Mac OS X. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Mastodon - Your self-hosted, globally interconnected microblogging community Freeware Open-Source Software
  • Matrix - An open network for secure, decentralised communication! Freeware Open-Source Software
  • Mattermost - Mattermost is an open source platform for secure collaboration across the entire software development lifecycle. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Misskey - 🌎 A completely free and open interplanetary microblogging platform 🚀 Open-Source Software
  • Muzzle - A simple mac app to silence embarrassing notifications while screensharing.
  • Presentify - A mac app to draw on your screen while on calls, highlight your cursor, and more. App Store
  • Rambox - Messaging and emailing app that combines common web applications into one. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Signal Desktop - Fast, simple, secure. Privacy that fits in your pocket. Open-Source Software
  • Skype - Cross-platform application that provides video chat and voice call services. Users can exchange images, text, video and any other digital documents.
  • Slack - Awesome tool for team collaboration and communication. Freeware
  • Stack - Open, organize and use multiple web apps on a single screen. Stack your apps by categories or projects.
  • Teambition - Team collaboration tool, including many features like task plan, schedule, file sharing, instant discussion and everything you need when collaborating with other team members. Freeware
  • Telegram - Messaging app with a focus on speed and security. Open-Source Software App Store
  • Textual - Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client. Open-Source Software App Store
  • Unite - The only native GroupMe app for Mac.
  • Wavebox - A revolutionary and feature-rich Chromium browser that’s built for productive working across Google Workspaces, Microsoft Teams, ClickUp, Monday, Atlassian, Asana, AirTable, Slack, and every other web app you use to get work done.
  • WeChat - Official WeChat app for Mac. Freeware App Store
  • WeeChat - The extensible command-line chat client. Freeware
  • WhatsApp Desktop - Available in the Mac App Store, Whatsapp for Desktop. App Store

Email Clients

  • Airmail - Fast email client. For both Mac OS and iOS.
  • CanaryMail - Secure email app for Mac and iPhone with built-in PGP Support and AI assistance. Freeware App Store
  • ElectronMail - An Electron-based unofficial desktop client for ProtonMail. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Foxmail - Fast email client. Freeware
  • MailTags - Use tags to organize email and schedule.
  • Mailspring - A beautiful, fast, and fully open source mail client. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • N1 - Extensible, open-source mail app, free for developers and $7/month for Pro. Open-Source Software
  • Nylas Mail - Extensible desktop mail app built on the modern web. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Polymail - Simple, beautiful and powerful email client. Freeware
  • Postbox - Powerful, simple and beautiful email client, need to pay for a license.
  • Spark - Fast email client. For both Mac OS and iOS.Freeware
  • ThunderBird - Software that makes email easier. Freeware
  • Tutanota - Encrypted email focused on security and privacy. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Edison Mail - A customisable, simple, and beautiful email client. Freeware
  • Skiff Mail - Encrypted & Decentralized Email — available on web, iOS/Android, and macOS. Freeware Open-Source Software

File Sharing

  • Cyberduck - Free FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, S3, Backblaze B2, Azure and OpenStack Swift browser. Freeware
  • Dropshare - Powerful menu bar application for sharing screen shots, screen recordings and all other files with over 27 storage providers.
  • Flow - Award-winning, beautiful, fast, and reliable FTP + SFTP client.
  • LocalSend - An open-source cross-platform alternative to AirDrop. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • NearDrop - An unofficial Google Nearby Share/Quick Share app for macOS. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Transmit - Highly flexible and intuitive FTP client, supports SFTP, S3 and iDisk/WebDAV.

Data Recovery Tools

  • Data Rescue - Comprehensive and professional data recovery tool for most cases.
  • DiskWarrior - The world’s most advanced repair and recovery tool for Mac.
  • R-Studio for Mac - Powerful tool for recovering data on disks, even if their partitions are formatted, damaged or deleted.
  • SuperDuper! - Painless fully bootable disk backups.
  • Disk Drill - Free data recovery tool. Also has a PRO version. App Store

Audio and Video Tools

  • Adapter - Free audio, video and image conversion software. Freeware
  • Aegisub - Free, cross-platform open source tool for creating and modifying subtitles. Aegisub makes it quick and easy to time subtitles to audio, and features many powerful tools for styling them, including a built-in real-time video preview. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Audio Profile Manager - Allows you to pin input/output devices for each particular combination of connected devices. May suppress HDMI displays from being chosen. App Store
  • Aiko - High-quality on-device transcription. Freeware App Store
  • Ardour - Cross-platform audio software for multi-track recording and editing. Open-Source Software
  • Audacity - Free, open-source, cross-platform audio software for multi-track recording and editing. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Audio Hijack - Record any application’s audio, including VoIP calls from Skype, web streams from Safari, and much more.
  • BeMyEars - Free for hearing impaired, System wide on-device live caption, multi language support, just like you have YouTube subtitles everywhere.
  • BlackHole - Freemium, open-source virtual output/input audio driver for recording/routing internal audio. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • buzz - Transcribes and translates audio offline on your personal computer. Powered by OpenAI’s Whisper. Open-Source Software
  • Camera Preview - Preview your webcam, take photos, and use it as a mirror. Freeware App Store
  • Carol - A minimal and beautiful lyrics app for macOS. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Cog - Free, open-source audio player. Open-Source Software Freeware App Store
  • DaVinci Resolve - Free, cross-platform video editing, color grading, video effects and audio editing software.
  • Elmedia Player - This media player is a super versatile app for any file format you probably may think of: FLV, MP4, AVI, MOV, DAT, MKV, MP3, FLAC, M4V are all supported as well as many others.
  • FreeTube - Open source desktop YouTube client built with privacy in mind. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Gifski - Convert videos to high-quality GIFs. Open-Source Software Freeware App Store
  • HandBrake - Tool for converting video from nearly any format to a selection of modern, widely supported codecs. Open-Source Software
  • Hydrogen - Professional yet simple and intuitive pattern-based drum programming for GNU/Linux. Open-Source Software
  • ffWorks - Comprehensive Media Tool for macOS. Making High Quality Video Encoding Accessible for Everyone.
  • IINA - The modern video player for macOS. Based on mpv, the powerful media player project. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Jellyfin - The Free Software Media System. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Kodi - Award-winning free and open-source (GPL) software media center for playing videos, music, pictures, games, and more. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • LMMS - Formerly “Linux MultiMedia Studio”, LMMS is a powerful Digital Audio Workstation designed like FL Studio (formerly Fruity Loops). Open-Source Software Freeware
  • LosslessCut - Cross platform tool for quick and lossless video and audio trimming using ffmpeg. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • LyricsX - Lyrics for iTunes, Spotify and Vox. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • MacYTDL - A macOS GUI front-end for the youtube-dl video downloader. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Marker Data - The avant-garde Marker extraction application crafted for Final Cut Pro. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Metadatics - Advanced Audio Metadata Editor. App Store
  • Mp3tag - A powerful and easy-to-use tool to edit metadata of audio files. App Store
  • Mixxx - The most advanced free DJ software. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Movie Catcher - Movie movie and online viewing offline download software, with Baidu cloud to make offline download and online playback. Open-Source Software
  • mpv - Free, open-source, and cross-platform media player. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • MuseScore - Free, open-source music notation software. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Museeks - A simple, clean and cross-platform music player. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Natron - Open-source compositing software. Node-graph based. Similar in functionality to Adobe After Effects and Nuke by The Foundry. Open-Source Software
  • Nuclear - Streaming music player that finds free music for you. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Perian - (No longer under active development) Let QuickTime play all the common formats of free plug-ins. Open-Source Software
  • MusicBrainz Picard - Cross-platform music tagger written in Python. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Playback - Experimental video player. Freeware Open-Source Software
  • Plug - Discover and listen to music from Hype Machine. Open-Source Software Freeware App Store
  • Popcorn Time - Watch torrent movies instantly, This Popcorn Time service will never be taken down. Download and enjoy.Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Potplayer X- a Video Audio Player. Freeware App Store
  • Pulp - Audio sample manager. Freeware Open-Source Software
  • ScreenFlow - Screencasting and video editing software.
  • Shotcut - Free open-source video editor. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Sonora - Minimal, beautifully designed music player. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • SpotMenu - Spotify and iTunes in your menu bar. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Stremio - Movies, TV shows, series, live television or web channels like YouTube and Twitch.tv - you can find all this on Stremio. Freeware
  • Stringed 2 - Music practice software designed to help users learn how to play their favorite songs.
  • Synfig Studio - Synfig Studio is free, open-source 2D animation software. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • trax - Free, open-source music library management tool with audio conversion and tag management functionalities. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Tiny Player - As the name suggests, a tiny player. Freeware
  • VLC - Free, open-source, cross-platform multimedia player and framework that plays most multimedia files, DVDs, Audio CDs, VCDs, and various streaming protocols. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • VOX Player - High-definition audio player for Mac and iPhone. Music just sounds better! Freeware
  • XLD - Tool to decode, convert and play various ‘lossless’ audio files. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Recordia - Record audio directly from the menu bar or with a global keyboard shortcut. App Store
  • Omniplayer - Best media player on Mac, support almost all format. App Store
  • YouTube Music - YouTube Music Desktop App bundled with custom plugins (and built-in ad blocker / downloader). Open-Source Software Freeware
  • YouTube Music Desktop - Free cross platform Desktop Player for YouTube Music. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • YPlayer - A multifunctional app capable of live caption on-device, converting audio and video files into text and subtitle, transforming recordings into text, and translating subtitles.

Audio Record and Process

Download Management Tools

  • aria2 - Lightweight multi-protocol & multi-source command-line download utility. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Downie - Video downloader for macOS with support for YouTube and other 1200 sites.
  • Deluge - Deluge is a lightweight, Free Software, cross-platform BitTorrent client. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • FOLX - Free download manager for Mac OS X with a true Mac-style interface. Freeware
  • JDownloader - Free, open-source download management tool with a huge community of developers that makes downloading as easy and fast as it should be. Freeware Open-Source Software
  • Motrix - Motrix is a full-featured download manager that supports downloading HTTP, FTP, BitTorrent, Magnet, Baidu Net Disk, etc. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Neat Download Manager - Neat Download Manager is a simple and lightweight GUI wrapped around a powerful and optimized Download-Engine. Freeware
  • qBittorrent - A project aims to provide an open-source software alternative to µTorrent. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Shuttle - Easy Download Manager for any links.
  • Transmission - Fast, easy, free BitTorrent Client. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • You-Get - Tiny command-line utility to download media contents (videos, audios, images) from the web. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • youtube-dl - Command-line program to download videos from YouTube.com and other video sites Open-Source Software Freeware

Cloud Storage

I recommend using online storage with Mac clients

Input Methods

Browsers

  • Arc - Arc is your space to breathe on the internet. A browser equipped for the way we use the internet in 2024, and foundational for how we hope to use it in the future. Freeware
  • Brave - Web browser with an emphasis on privacy and speed. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Chrome - Chrome, developed by Google Freeware
  • Chromium - Open-source, free web browser project by Google, to provide the source code for Google Chrome. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Firefox - A free and open-source web browser developed by Mozilla. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Microsoft Edge - Microsoft Edge, based on Chromium, but built by MS Freeware
  • Min - Fast, minimal browser that protects your privacy. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Opera - Experience faster, distraction-free browsing with Ad blocking, and browse privately. Freeware
  • Orion - Lightweight WebKit-based browser with support for Chrome and Firefox extensions. Freeware
  • qutebrowser - A keyboard-driven, vim-like browser based on Python and Qt. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Safari - Native browser for Macs. Freeware Awesome List
  • Station - An open-source browser providing a single place for all of your web applications. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Tor Browser - Anonymity Online. Protect your privacy. Defend against network surveillance and traffic analysis. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Vivaldi - The browser that puts you in control. Freeware
  • Yandex - The quick and secure browser from Yandex for computers. Freeware
  • Zen - A beautifully designed, privacy-focused, and feature-rich browser Freeware Open-Source Software

Translation Tools

(Or you could just use the Mac OS built-in dictionary)

Education

  • Wokabulary - Collect, practice, and organize your individual foreign language vocabulary. App Store

Finance

  • SubManager - Track your subscriptions in one place and get notified when a subscription is due for renewal. Available for macOS, iOS and visionOS and syncs across all your devices. App Store

Encryption

Security Tools

Proxy and VPN Tools

  • Algo - Personal IPSEC VPN in the cloud. Open-Source Software
  • Cloudflare WARP - Replaces the connection between your device and the Internet with a modern, optimized, protocol. Freeware
  • Hiddify - Multi-platform auto-proxy client, supporting Sing-box, X-ray, TUIC, Hysteria, Reality, Trojan, SSH etc.Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Lantern - Free application that delivers fast, reliable and secure access to the open internet. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Mullvad VPN - Privacy focused VPN that requires no personal information for use, keeps no logs, and allows payments with Bitcoin Cash, Monero and more. Open-Source Software
  • Outline - Outline makes it easy to create a VPN server, giving anyone access to the free and open internet. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • RerouteMe - An easy one-click macOS Proxy Configuration app. Freeware
  • ShadowsocksX-NG - Next generation of ShadowsocksX. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • ShadowsocksX - Secure socks5 proxy, designed to protect your internet traffic. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Shimo - VPN Client for Mac.
  • SpechtLite - Rule-based proxy app for macOS. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Surge - Web developer tool and proxy utility for iOS 9.
  • tinc - Secure mesh VPN software. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Tunnelbear - Really simple VPN to browse the web privately & securely. Unblock websites around the world with applications for Mac, PC, iOS, Android & Chrome.
  • Tunnelblick - Free, open-source graphic user interface for OpenVPN on OS X. Freeware
  • Windscribe - Gives 10GB free bandwidth monthly on the spot and gives limited server location options (for users on free plan). Connection also takes very less time.

Utilities

Clipboard Tools

  • Anvil - Anvil is a beautiful menubar app for managing local websites. Serve up static sites and Rack apps with simple URLs and zero configuration. Freeware
  • Bartender - Organize or hide menu bar icons on your Mac.
  • BeardedSpice - Allows you to control web based media players (SoundCloud, YouTube, etc) and some native apps with the media keys on Mac keyboards. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • DayBar - An application that can display the local date and reminder events in the menu bar. App Store
  • Dato - A better menu bar clock with calendar, events, and time zones. App Store
  • Dozer - Hide MacOS menubar items. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Eye Timer - Take Breaks to prevent Eye Strain timer for Mac. App Store
  • Fishing Funds - Display real-time trends of Chinese funds in the menubar. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Folder Peek - Quickly access documents, files, folders, and apps from the menu bar. Freeware App Store
  • Hidden - A ultra-light MacOS utility that helps hide menu bar icons. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Hue in the Menu - Philips Hue light management in the menu bar with multi-room support. App Store Freeware
  • Ice - A free, open source, alternative to Bartender. Helps to hide menu items and gives options for different layouts. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • iGlance - macOS System Monitor for the Status Bar. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Itsycal - Tiny calendar for your Mac’s menu bar. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Jiffy - Discover and share the best GIFs on GIPHY. Freeware App Store
  • Later - Save all your Mac apps for later with one click. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • MeetingBar - Menu bar app for your calendar meetings Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Menu Bar Calendar - A monthly calendar right in your menu bar. Freeware App Store
  • MenubarX - A powerful Mac menu bar browser, pin webpage like an App. App Store Freeware
  • MonitorControl - Control your display’s brightness & volume on your Mac as if it was a native Apple Display. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • NotchNook - Customizes your Mac’s menu bar to seamlessly integrate with the notch design.
  • One Thing - Put a single task or goal in your menu bar. Freeware App Store
  • One Switch - Mac menu bar app that adds various switches to the Mac’s menu bar.
  • OnlySwitch - ⚙️ All-in-One menu bar app, hide 💻MacBook Pro’s notch, dark mode, AirPods, ShortcutsOpen-Source Software Freeware
  • Pandan - Time awareness in your menu bar. Freeware App Store
  • Peninsula - Dynamic Peninsula for macOS, focusing on window switching, notifications, and file storage. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • PowerMeister - Conserve energy and improve Battery-Life on your MacBook.
  • Reminders MenuBar - Simple macOS menu bar app to view and interact with reminders. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • RewriteBar - A macOS menu bar app that helps you write your text with the assistance of AI.
  • Second Clock - Show a second clock for a different time zone in your menu bar. Freeware App Store
  • SketchyBar - A highly customizable macOS status bar replacement. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Spaced - Organize your menu bar items into groups. Freeware App Store
  • Streaker - GitHub contribution streak tracking menubar app. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • SwiftBar - Powerful macOS menu bar customization tool. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • TextSniper - Simple yet powerful OCR app in your Menu Bar. Instantly copy and paste text from anywhere. App Store
  • Today - View today’s schedule right from the menu bar. The perfect companion to the built-in Calendar app. Freeware App Store
  • TomatoBar - World’s neatest Pomodoro timer for macOS menu bar. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • UTC Time - Show the time in UTC in the menu bar or a widget. Freeware App Store
  • Vanilla - Hide menu bar icons on your Mac. Freeware
  • Week Number - The current week number in your menu bar. Freeware App Store
  • Work Hours - Simple app that tracks your work hours from the menu bar. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Xbar - Put the output from any script or program into your macOS Menu Bar (the BitBar reboot). Open-Source Software Freeware
  • FunKey-Mechanical Keyboard App - FunKey is a Mac app that offers the ability to add artificial mechanical keyboard sounds to your MacBook. App Store

File Organization Tools

  • BetterZip - Archive tool supports ZIP, TAR, TGZ, TBZ, TXZ (new), 7-ZIP, RAR.
  • eZip - An easy to use, feature-rich archiver for macOS. Supports popular formats such as RAR, ZIP, 7Z, BZ2, GZ etc. Works great with Mojave dark-mode and QuickLook. Freeware
  • Fileside - A modern, tiling file manager with unlimited panes.
  • Folders File Manager - A file manager with an expandable folder tree, similar to that of Windows Explorer.
  • Hazel - Automated file organization for your Mac. Responsibly and beautifully designed.
  • Keka - File archiver for macOS. Compression: 7Z, ZIP, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, XZ LZIP, DMG, ISO. Extraction: 7Z, ZIP, RAR, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, XZ, LZIP, DMG, ISO, LZMA, EXE, CAB, WIM, PAX, JAR, APK, APPX, CPGZ, CPIO. Freeware App Store
  • muCommander - Lightweight file manager with a dual-pane interface. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Modal File Manager - A lightweight, minimal dual-pane file manager with Vim style hotkeys. It can be customized with themes and extensions that are downloaded from GitHub using a built in interface. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • PDF Archiver - Nice tool for tagging and archiving tasks. Open-Source Software App Store
  • Rapidmg 1-Click extracting apps from DMG images to the “Applications” folder. App Store
  • The Unarchiver - Unarchive many different kinds of archive files. Freeware App Store
  • Unarchive One - Quickly decompress multiple different types of compressed files/compressed files to various scene compression formats. Freeware App Store
  • Marta - File Manager for macOS written entirely in Swift Freeware

General Tools

  • AirServer - Most advanced screen mirroring software receiver for Mac, PC and Xbox One.
  • ChatGPT - ChatGPT on your desktop. Chat about email, screenshots, files, and anything on your screen. Download. Available now on macOS.
  • Claude - Your AI partner on desktop. Fast, focused, and designed for deep work.
  • Clean-Me - A macOS system analyser and cleaner [Open-Source Software]
  • CleanMyMac - Delete megatons of junk, malware, and make your Mac faster & more organized App Store
  • DNS Heaven - Unifies macOS DNS so applications using glibc can resolve DNS with the native stack. Mainly for use with VPNs. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • DevToysMac - Offline toolbox that helps developers in daily tasks. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • DevUtils.app - All-in-one Toolbox for Developers. Format/Validate JSON, encode/decode Base64, convert timestamps, debug JWT… with just one click! Native macOS app and works offline. Open-Source Software Freeware App Store
  • Etcher - Flash OS images to SD cards & USB drives, safely and easily. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Equinox - Create dynamic wallpapers for macOS. Open-Source Software Freeware App Store
  • HTTrack - Useful tool for downloading a whole website and offline browsing. Freeware
  • Latest - A tiny app that checks if all your apps from any source are up to date. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Lungo - Prevent your Mac from going to sleep. App Store
  • lo-rain - Create a customizable rain over your desktop and apps, with splash over the dock.
  • Mac Cache Cleaner - Cache cleaner for Mac Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Memo - Simple and elegant app. Unlock memos even more quickly using Touch ID. Freeware App Store
  • Numi - Beautiful calculator app for Mac. Freeware
  • NextDNS - The new firewall for the modern Internet. Freeware App Store
  • Plash - Make any website your desktop wallpaper. Open-Source Software Freeware App Store
  • rem - An open source approach to locally record and enable searching everything you view on your Mac. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Rewind - Rewind is an application designed for macOS that records and indexes all user activities on the Mac, including screen content and audio. Users can rewind and search past activities, essentially adding a “rewind button” to the Mac.
  • SlowQuitApps - An OS X app that adds a global delay of 1 second to the Cmd-Q shortcut. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Speediness - Check your internet speed. Freeware App Store
  • Ultra TabSaver - The Open Source Tab Manager for Safari Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Upscayl - Free and open-source AI image upscaling tool. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • CapsLockNoDelay - Removes caps-lock key activation delay for fast typers. Open-Source Software Freeware

To-Do Lists

Productivity

  • 1440 Minutes Left Today - Keep a track of how many minutes you have left until the day is over, right in your menu bar. Freeware App Store
  • ActivityWatch - Cross-platform, extensible, and privacy-focused time-tracker. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Alfred - Award-winning app which boosts efficiency with hotkeys, keywords, text expansion and more. Search your Mac and the web, and be more productive with custom actions to control your Mac. Awesome List
  • Atomic - A habit tracker app to build good habits, break bad ones, and stay on top of your daily routines.
  • BetterMouse - Smooth scroll, cursor acceleration prohibition, and powerful button/gesture remapping in one utility for 3rd-party mice. Aims for replacing those bulky and intrusive official drivers.
  • BetterTouchTool - Great, feature-packed app that allows you to configure many gestures for your Magic Mouse, Macbook Trackpad, Magic Trackpad and also Mouse Gestures for normal mice.
  • BoltAI - A beautiful & powerful ChatGPT app for Mac. Stay ahead by integrating AI into your workflow today.
  • Cerebro - Open-source productivity booster with a brain. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Choosy - UI, URL API and a browser extension set for managing rules where and how to open links.
  • CursorSense - Mouse & trackpad driver that lets you tweak the acceleration curve and more.
  • Day Progress - Time remaining today in your menu bar. Freeware App Store
  • Dropzone - Create a popup grid of customizable actions. Scriptable in Ruby & Python.
  • escrcpy -📱 Graphical Scrcpy to display and control Android, devices powered by Electron.Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Focalboard - Open source, self-hosted alternative to Trello, Notion, and Asana. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Freeter - Open-source app that allows you to gather everything you need for work in one place, organized by projects and workflows, and have a quick access to them. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Hammerspoon - Tool for powerful OSX automation with the Lua scripting engine. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • HapticKey - A simple utility application for MacBook with Touch Bar that triggers a haptic feedback when tapping Touch Bar. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • HazeOver - App that dims your background app windows so you can focus more on your main task! App Store
  • Hook for Mac - Hook files together fast and easily, enabling you to find anything related with a simple keyboard shortcut.
  • Hungrymark - Useful app to bookmark your files, folders, and webs, quick access your bookmarks through menu bar App Store
  • Hyperkey - Lets you convert the caps lock key or any modifier key to the hyper key, all four modifiers combined: ⌃⌥⌘⇧. Freeware
  • iCMD - Fuzzy menubar search and vim/easymotion emulation which works globally for every native MacOS app.
  • Journey Navigation - A powerful route planning app with weather along your route, traffic alerts, turn by turn directions, and more. App Store
  • Karabiner - Powerful and stable keyboard customizer for OS X. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Keyboard Cowboy - The missing keyboard shortcut utility for macOS. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Keyboard Maestro - Automate routine actions based on triggers from keyboard, menu, location, added devices, and more.
  • Keytty - App to keep your hands on the keyboard. Move, click, scroll, drag and more with a few strokes.
  • Lazy - Keyboard-driven commands to manage your surroundings directly from your mac.
  • Linear Mouse - Full control of mouse. Change the speed, scrolling direction, pointer type and much more. Open-Source Software
  • Macaify - Fast use of ChatGPT, lightweight, clean, keyboard-first. Freeware
  • Memo Widget - Sticky notes on your desktop. Freeware App Store
  • MindMac - Feature-rich & privacy-first native ChatGPT app to use OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, OpenRouter all in one place.
  • Mos - Simple tool can offer the smooth scrolling and reverse the mouse scrolling direction on your Mac. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • nnScreenshots - A super easy way to keep a visual record of your productivity to make it easier to fill out timesheets or just to help you review the day. Built in timesheet editor.
  • OmniPlan - The best way to visualize, maintain, and simplify your projects. Project Management made easy.
  • OpenIn - Take control of installed apps on your Mac App Store
  • PaletteBrain - Access the power of ChatGPT across all your Mac applications with the press of a shortcut.
  • Pie Menu – Control your tools with a radial menu customized for your active app.
  • Perplexity - Search and discovery with AI.
  • Pomodoro Cycle - Pomodoro tracker
  • Qbserve - Time tracking automation: freelance project tracking, timesheets, invoicing & real-time productivity feedback.
  • Raycast - Raycast lets you control your tools with a few keystrokes. It’s designed to keep you focused.
  • RecurseChat - RecurseChat is a personal, local-first and private AI Chat App. Features a simple interface, powerful customizations and blazingly-fast speed.
  • RescueTime - Personal analytics service that shows you how you spend your time and provides tools to help you be more productive.
  • Rize - A.I. powered time tracker that automatically improves your focus and helps you build better work habits.
  • RightMenu Master - An excellent Finder right-click menu enhancement tool to make your right-click menu more powerful. App Store
  • Selectric - Private personal search engine for your emails, documents and messages. Search across Gmail, Outlook, Drive, Dropbox, Teams, Slack and more applications right from your computer.
  • SensibleSideButtons - Use the side buttons on your mouse to move forward and backward in many apps, like in Windows. Open-Source Software
  • nnScreenshots - A super easy way to keep a visual record of your productivity to make it easier to fill out timesheets or just to help you review the day. Built in timesheet editor.
  • skhd - Simple hotkey daemon for macOS. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Strategr - No-fuss time management app. Stategr helps you maximize your productivity, giving you the quickest and most effective way to time-box your day. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Time Out - Easy break reminders, with micro-break and flexible customization if you want it. Freeware App Store
  • Timing - Automatic time and productivity tracking for Mac. Helps you stay on track with your work and ensures no billable hours get lost if you are billing hourly.
  • Trello - A collaboration tool that organizes your projects into Kanban boards.FreewareApp Store
  • Ukelele - Unicode Keyboard Layout Editor.
  • Velja - Browser picker that lets you open links in a specific browser or a desktop app. Freeware App Store
  • xScope - Powerful set of tools that are ideal for measuring, inspecting & testing on-screen graphics and layouts.
  • Z - Powerful way to navigate easily by typing only a string of directory name in terminal instead of typing exact location of director.

Window Management

  • AltTab - Open source window switcher with window previews. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Amethyst - Tiling window manager. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Assignee - Simple, instant app switcher. App Store
  • contexts - Provides more power than the native Mac Dock. Especially when you have multiple screens, it can help you switch more quickly.
  • Dissolv - Hide and close inactive apps. App Store
  • Divvy - Window management at its finest with its amazing Divvy Grid system.
  • Hummingbird - Easily move and resize windows without mouse clicks, from anywhere within a window. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • IntelliDock - Hides the Dock, Automatically.
  • JankyBorders - A lightweight window border system for macOS. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Loop - Window management made elegant. Freeware Open-Source Software
  • Lasso - Intuitive and easy to use grid-based window manager.
  • Magnet - Window manager that keeps your workspace organized. App Store
  • MakeItHome - Extends your macOS’ UI allowing you to access with the pointer in the “over screen”, an extension of the interface for accessing quick actions, mainly fast switch of the most used running applications. Open-Source Software App Store
  • Moom - Allows you to easily move and zoom windows, or to another display—using either the mouse or the keyboard.
  • rcmd - Use the ⌘ Right Command key to switch applications based on their name. App Store
  • Rectangle-app - Rectangle is a window management app based on Spectacle, written in Swift: Move and resize windows on macOS with keyboard shortcuts and snap areas. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • ShiftIt - Managing window size and position in OSX. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Sidebar - The modern Dock replacement for your Mac.
  • SizeUp - Powerful, keyboard-centric window management.
  • Slate - Window management application similar to Divvy and SizeUp (except better and free!). (Needs config file) Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Swift Shift - Use your mouse with a keyboard shortcut to move and resize your windows quickly. It offers options to customize the draggable areas and mouse behavior. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Tiles - Easily reorganize windows by either dragging them to the edges of the screen, using keyboard shortcuts, or the menu bar. Freeware
  • Topit - Pin any window to the top of your screen Open-Source Software Freeware(https://github.com/lihaoyun6/Topit)
  • Total Spaces - Provides window management much like ubuntu. Creates hotkeys for workspaces which allows you to easily move around.
  • yabai - Tiling window manager for macOS. A rewrite of chunkwm, it provides a more seamless integration with the operating system. Open-Source Software Freeware

Password Management

Finder Tools

Quality of Life Improvements

  • AlDente - Charge limiter app for MacBooks to keep your battery healthy even longer. Open-Source Software
  • Amphetamine - Override your energy saver settings and keep your Mac awake. Freeware App Store
  • AdBlock One - Your New Favorite Free Ad Blocker for macOS and iOS: Stop seeing annoying ads in Safari. Open websites faster. Browse the web more safely.Freeware App Store
  • AppCleaner - Small application which allows you to thoroughly uninstall unwanted apps. Freeware
  • Apple Silicon App Test - Browser-based tool for checking Apple Silicon app compatibility before you buy an M1 Mac. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Background Music - Automatically pause your music, set individual apps’ volumes and record system audio. Open-Source Software
  • Cleaner One - All-in-one Disk Cleaning Manager: Clean up your Mac and optimize its performance. Run a quick scan now to verify what’s taking up your storage. Freeware App Store
  • Cleaner for Xcode - Helps make your Xcode faster by removing unwanted and deprecated files. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • coconutBattery - Shows live information about the battery in your Mac. Includes: manufacture date, capacity, cycle count, battery status, temperature, discharging power.
  • DaisyDisk - Gives a great overview of disk usage. Can also make more disk-space available by cleaning up your disk.
  • gfxCardStatus - Unobtrusive menu bar app for OS X that allows MacBook Pro users to see which apps are affecting their battery life by using the more power-hungry graphics. Freeware
  • GrandPerspective - A small utility that visualizes disk usage by way of tree maps. It lets you quickly spot which files and folders take up the most space. Open-Source Software Freeware App Store
  • Gray - Pick between the light appearance and the dark appearance on a per-app basis with the click of a button. Freeware Open-Source Software
  • HandShaker - Mac on the management of Android mobile phone content. Freeware
  • iStat Menus - Advanced Mac system monitor on the menubar.
  • iStats - Command-line tool that allows you to easily grab the CPU temperature, fan speeds and battery information on OSX. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Juice - Make your battery information a bit more interesting. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • KeepingYouAwake - Alternative to Caffeine with better support for dark mode in Mac. Open-Source Software
  • MagicQuit - Automatically closes unused apps on macOS to free memory, declutter the desktop, and improve battery life. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Monity - System monitoring widget for OS X.
  • Mounty - Tiny tool to re-mount write-protected NTFS volumes under Mac OS X 10.9+ in read-write mode. Freeware
  • NitroShare - Cross-platform network file transfer utility. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Noti - Receive Android notifications on your Mac (with Pushbullet). Open-Source Software Freeware
  • OmniDiskSweeper - Shows you the files on your drive, ordered by size. It can be used to find and remove unused files. Freeware
  • OnyX - Multifunction utility to verify disks and files, run cleaning and system maintenance tasks, configure hidden options and more. Freeware
  • Pearcleaner - A free, source-available and fair-code licensed mac app cleaner. Freeware Open-Source Software
  • Paragon NTFS - Read/write access to NTFS in macOS Sierra.
  • stats - free Mac system monitor for the menubar. Open-Source Software
  • Sensei - Sensei is a multi-tool for Mac performance, with features spanning across both hardware and software.
  • Sleepr - Sleepr brings back sleep timer on macOS. App Store
  • Sloth - Shows all open files, directories, sockets, pipes and devices in use by all running processes. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • SwiftQuit - Enables automatic quitting of macOS apps when closing their windows. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Core Tunnel - Application for managing SSH connections. App Store
  • TG Pro - Temperature monitoring, fan control & hardware diagnostics to help keep your Mac cool and healthy.
  • Time Machine Inspector - Find out what’s hogging up your Time Machine backups. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Tuxera NTFS - Full read-write compatibility with NTFS-formatted drives on a Mac.
  • Overkill - Stop iTunes from opening when you connect your iPhone.

Gaming Software

Remote Login Software

  • AnyDesk - Provides remote access across multiple machines.
  • Moonlight - GameStream client for PCs (Windows, Mac, Linux, and Steam Link). Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Parsec - Parsec offers a seamless 4k experience at up to 60 frames per second with near-zero latency. Secure, flexible, effortless access to whatever you do, at any time, from wherever you go.
  • RealVNC - The original and best software for remote access across desktop and mobile.
  • RoyalTSX - Royal TSX is an ideal tool for system engineers and other IT professionals who need remote access to systems with different protocols. Freeware
  • RustDesk - Yet another remote desktop software. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • Steam Link - The Steam Link app allows you to play your Steam games across all your computers. Freeware
  • Sunshine - Self-hosted game stream host for Moonlight. Open-Source Software Freeware
  • TeamViewer - Proprietary computer software package for remote control, desktop sharing, online meetings, web conferencing, and file transfer between computers. Freeware
  • Windows App - Connect to a remote PC or virtual apps and desktops made available by your admin. Freeware

QuickLook Plugins

Awesome List

Third Party App Markets

If you come across websites offering pirated software or cracks, please post HERE. We love apps, but only authentic ones. :)

  • Setapp - The best apps for Mac in one suite.

Package Managers

Here are some of the major software download sites, there are a number of OSX Mac software sites

Mac App Download Sites

Here are some of the major software download sites, there are a number of OSX Mac software sites

Genuine Sites

  • alternativeTo - Also a very nice community. If you are looking for some alternative apps FOR Windows or another platform, check this site.
  • Slant - I personally recommend this. This is a platform where you can compare apps side-by-side, you might get an idea by seeing other users recommendations. Please contribute if you find an application from this list!
  • Also, Quora, Reddit, you know the drill.
  • App Shopper:http://appshopper.com/
  • Buy software, once - The place to find all the software you can buy one time, and own for a lifetime.
  • Open Alternative - Discover Open Source Alternatives to Popular Software. A curated collection of the best open source alternatives to everyday SaaS products. Save money with reliable tools hand-picked for you.
  • MacUpdate:https://www.macupdate.com/
  • Other sites like MacStories, LifeHacker, ProductHunt are great resources.

Pirated software download site blocklist

Refuse piracy from me. Software vendors can go to these places rights.

  • AppKed:http://www.macbed.com
  • Softasm:https://softasm.com/
  • Appstorrent:http://appstorrent.ru/

Podcasts

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Contributors

This project exists thanks to all the people who contribute.

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.