Free Mac apps
thriftmac
Links to 100% free Mac apps
Discover a curated selection of truly free software for your Mac — no subscriptions, no trials, no ads.
Categories
- A to Z Archive
- AI
- Animation
- Audio
- Automation
- Awake
- Backup
- Calculator
- Calendar
- Clipboard
- Clock
- Code Snippets
- Compression
- Converter
- Database
- Deletion
- Dictation
- Display
- Dock
- Drawing
- Education
- File Sharing
- Finance
- Finder
- FTP
- Functionality
- Graphics Tool
- Health
- Image Manager
- Journal
- Launcher
- Maintenance
- Markdown
- Media Hub
- Media Player
- Menu Bar
- Menu Bar Manager
- Messaging
- Miscellaneous
- Music
- News
- Notes
- Outliner
- Painting
- Photo Editing
- Playful
- Pomodoro
- Presentation
- Screen Capture
- Search
- Security
- Social Media
- Sync
- System Monitor
- Terminal
- Text Editor
- Text Tool
- Three Dimensional
- Timer
- To-Do
- Utilities Misc
- Video
- Wallpaper
- Weather
- Web Browsing
- Window Management
- Word Processor
- Workflow
- Writing
1Piece
Multi-functional app includes many options for display and management of windows, some of which are quite innovative.
Actions
Add over a hundred more actions to the Shortcuts app that comes with your Mac, making automation even more capable.
ActivityWatch
Keep track of how much time you spend doing different kinds of things on your computer — apps, windows titles, browser domains, categories, and more.
Adapter
Adapter promises to convert anything to anything — at least among image, audio and video formats. And they’ve got a long of file types to prove it. You can convert in batches, and do trims on audio or video.
Adium
A free instant messaging app that can connect to AIM, MSN, Jabber, Yahoo, and more.
Aerial
Screensaver plays videos from tvOS, including classics shot over locations, from orbit and underwater. Add your own or use shared videos.
AI Actions
Add AI-related actions to the Shortcuts app using an API key from OpenAI or Anthropic, which is securely stored in your keychain. Ollama and Groq are also supported.
Aiko
Drop in an audio or video file to get a text transcription, which can be exported for editing. It’s powered by Open AI’s Whisper, but everything runs locally on your Mac. Requires at least 16 GB of RAM.
Alice
Create 3D models and learn programming with an easy drag-and-drop method designed for students.
Allusion
Organize your images into a single library. Use folders, tag hierarchy and search to keep track of your collection.
AltTab
Switch focus to any open window — like command-tab for programs, but for windows. Once you’re in focus, you can minimize, close or full-screen the window. Customize the app’s appearance and trigger shortcuts.
Amazing AI
Describe the image you want, and have it created with the Stable Diffusion text-to-image model. Optimized to run on the Apple Neural Engine.
Amethyst
Automatically tiles windows for you as they are opened. Lots of options for how this is done, plus you can have different setups for different Spaces.
Amphetamine
This menu bar app overrides energy saver settings to keep your Mac awake with an on-off switch or automatically with configurable triggers. Has a boat load of features and is being actively developed.
Anki
Flashcards with free synchronization across all your devices. Embed audio clips, images, videos and scientific markup on your cards. Many add-ons available.
Any Text
Put whatever text you want in a widget — lists, notes, or the thing you decide needs your attention.
Apparency
Get a behind-the-scenes look at the security features that macOS checks when you open an app: gatekeeper, notarization, hardening, entitlements and more.
AppCleaner
Delete not only the app, but also all those pesky files that are associated with it.
Apple Notes Exporter
Bulk export notes from Apple Notes (including iCloud) to HTML, LaTeX, Markdown and other formats while preserving their folder structure.
Applite
Free and open source app has a graphical interface for those who prefer Homebrew for installing, updating, uninstalling and managing their Mac apps.
Audacity
Audacity records and edits sounds with aplomb, with tons of new features constantly being added.
Authorcize
Build a daily writing ritual. Select a time limit, check the prompt and go. Includes mandala mode (where saving is disabled), typewriter mode, and light and dark themes.
Aware
Keep track in the menu bar of the hours and minutes you are active on your Mac. The timer goes if you’re using the mouse or keyboard, and pauses if you’re not.
BackgroundMusic
Automatically pause your music when another audio source starts, set each app’s volumes individually, and record system audio.
Balance Lock
It’s weird, but I’ve seen it happen — your Mac’s sound balance drifts from the centre. This app stops that from happening.
Ball
Click the ball to take it out of the dock and play with it. Flick to bounce it off the bottom of the screen. Just, you know, have fun.
BarTranslate
Type and translate from the menu bar, using Google or DeepL. Includes a configurable hot key.
Battery Monitor
Keep an eye on the health and status of your Mac’s battery, with charge percentage and time in the menu bar. Also, you can see detailed information, set up a configurable alert, and choose a theme.
Bean
An open source word processor that does more than TextEdit and is much speedier than Office-style software. Still hanging in there after 15 years.
Beaver Notes
Markdown editor stores files on your device. It features note-linking, a command prompt and a tagging system. Notes can be searched or organized by tag or date.
Betterbird
This soft fork has a slew of features and bug fixes that may or may not ever make it to Thunderbird. If you’re not sure about switching, you can run it on the same profile.
Bitwarden
Open source password manager has a nice interface, easy search, and plenty of ways to organize your items.
Blankie
Choose from 14 ambient sounds to mix and adjust volumes. Save as presets, customize colours.
Blender
Open-source software for 3D modeling, animation, rendering, post-production, interactive creation and playback.
Blurred
Reduce distraction by blurring out your inactive apps. Use a slider in the menu bar to choose opacity.
Boop
Paste in some text, hit Command-B, and choose what you want done with it. Made for developers, but you can import your own scripts to extend its capabilities.
BorderMe
Keep an always-visible border around the active window in all apps, desktops and workspaces. Width, colour and opacity can all be adjusted.
Boring Notch
Put the notch in your MacBook to good use by having it display info about the song you’re listening to — including album art and controls.
Brackets
Open source code editor for the web from Adobe still in the early stages, but with the promise of lots of development. Built with HTML, CSS and javascript. Easily extensible.
Braindump
Jot down notes without having to think about how to organize them, then find them later with a fast, fuzzy search. Supports markdown and keyboard navigation.
Brave
Three times faster than Chrome, plus protection from Google, plus a secure crypto-wallet — that’s what they promise, but you know what they say about things that sound too good to be true.
BreakTimer
Set up customizable breaks with reminders. Decide how often and how long your breaks are, configure your work hours, opt for skip or snooze.
Bunch
Use plain text files to trigger automations from the menu bar or keyboard. Launch apps, load files, open websites, changes settings, and much more.
Burn
Burn data disks, audio disks (MP3, audio CD), video disks (VCD, SVCD, DVD-Video, DivX), images and disk copy — just about anything you can think of. And all with great ease.
Caesium
An image compressor with all the options up front. It keeps the original and has the option to resize.
Caffeine
The original awake app is back with new developers and an updated code base. It’s as simple as ever — click the coffee cup in the menu bar to turn it on from five minutes to indefinitely.
Calendr
Menu bar calendar incorporates both Apple Calendar and Reminders. Optionally shows time until next event.
Calibre
Manage e-book libraries, convert e-books in a huge number of formats, sync to readers (including iPad), view e-books with support for many features, and use a content server for online access to your book collection using a browser from any computer.
Camera Preview
See how look before going live on your web cam — from the the menu bar, the dock or a keyboard shortcut. You can also take a picture, or zoom in or out.
CandyBar
Change the system icons in Mac OS X, including the trash can, volumes, default folder, and more. Due to its uncertain future, CandyBar is now free but unsupported.
CapsLockNoDelay
The caps lock key won’t work unless you hold it down for about half a second. For some people, this is half a second too long. If you’re one of them, this app is for you.
Captin
Never again have any doubt about whether your caps lock is on. Turning it off or on gives you a customizable floating message, a sound, and a symbol of your choice in the menu bar — hatched egg, anyone?
Catapult
Set up folders with related files as projects that can be opened in the app of your choice from the menu bar.
Chrome
If you use and trust Google apps such as Gmail, Google Pay, and Google Assistant, then this is the browser for you. Just keep in mind that you pay with your data.
Clean Links
Avoid phishing risks or data leaks by previewing the real destination of QR codes, removing trackers from URLs and expanding short links. Works with share sheets and automation. Can be monitored in your clipboard.
Clementine
A multiplatform music player inspired by Amarok 1.4 that focuses on a fast and easy-to-use interface for searching and playing music.
Cling
Instantly fuzzy find any file, including those not indexed by Safari. Act on selected files from the keyboard. Exclude files and folders you don’t want Cling to index.
ClipGrab
Download from YouTube, Vimeo, Facebook and other video sites. Convert downloaded videos to MPEG4, MP3 or other formats in one step.
Clipy
One of the most full-featured of the free clipboard managers you’ll find. It stands out with lots of options in the preferences. Plus you can store and easily access snippets.
Clocker
Keep track of time zones in the menu bar with custom labels — say, the names of family, colleagues or friends. Also features a time scroller and upcoming events.
Clyde
Would-be thieves get blasted with a loud alarm if they close the lid on an unattended Mac.
Command X
Cut and paste files the Windows way. Highlight, hit Command-X, go to destination and use Command-V. The Mac way? Command-C, then Command-Option-V.
Confectionery
A web browser that shows the bare minimum — the address and the content — so you can have nice, clean screen captures.
Copi
A clipboard system that promises security because clips are not stored in the system — making it inaccessible to malware. An interesting option if you work with sensitive data.
CotEditor
Text editor features syntax colouring for 26 languages, powerful find and replace including regular expressions, outline menu, split views, macros and keybindings.
Countdown Timer Pro
Drag from the menu bar to create timer overlays. Displays time units from seconds to years. Visual options include fonts, backgrounds and colours. Themes can be saved for re-use.
Cronica
Organize movies and TV shows. Mark episodes as watched and get notifications about new ones. Discover new titles, and tap into The Movie Database.
Curiota
Take quick notes and collect files using standard file formats in an open file hierarchy, accessible by Spotlight. Supports services and scripting.
Cursorcerer
Hide your cursor at any time with a global hot key. Handy for those times it gets in the way when you’re watching a video.
CustomShortcuts
Create keyboard shortcuts for most Mac programs. Helps you navigate menu hierarchies and get the titles right. Works with KeyClu, which lists all active shortcuts of the current application.
Cyberduck
This Mac stalwart has a nice interface and can take on most jobs without any trouble. A free version of the app can be downloaded from the Cyberduck website using the link below. Donations are requested.
Daily
Keyboard-first to-do app sorts by date with sections for focus, next and done. New features coming soon.
DarkModeBuddy
Automatically switch between light and dark modes based on your Mac’s ambient light sensor, using values that you configure. Another setting prevents flickering.
darktable
This open source alternative to Adobe’s Lightroom manages your digital negatives in a database, lets you view them through a zoomable light table and enables you to develop raw images and enhance them.
DaVinci Resolve
The free version of this video editor has so much going for it that it might be all you ever need. Capabilities cover cutting, keyframing, color grading and audio tools.
Day Progress
How’s your day going? Keep track of how much time as passed with a customizable graphic in the menu bar. You decide what the day range should be, and which days of the week you want to keep track of.
Deeper
If you can’t get enough of tweaking your Mac, then go deeper and customize the Dock, Finder, Spotlight and login screen, plus make changes to Safari, Mail, QuickTime and iTunes. A personalized login screen might just be what you’re looking for.
DeskCover Pro
Dim your desktop or hide it completely so you can focus better on the front window where you’re working.
digiKam
Photo management app rivals Lightroom with ability to organize and optimize. Can handle libraries of more then 100,000 images. Processes raw files, edits JPEGs and publishes to social media
Disk Inventory X
Scan for a graphical representation of everything on your hard drive — and see what’s taking up the most space. Click for details and paths.
Displaperture
Now that macOS has rounded corners on the icons, windows and folders, why not also on your display?
DockAnchor
If you have a second screen, and your mouse strays too close to the bottom, the dock will move over. Now you can stop this irksome behaviour.
DockDoor
Get live previews of open app windows from the dock. Hover over an app icon in the dock for a thumbnail preview of its open windows. Previews include controls to quit, close, minimize, or toggle full-screen mode.
Dockey
Get a nice interface to advanced dock preferences. An integrated preview lets you see how things will look before you save the changes.
Downlink
Get a fresh image of the Earth on your desktop throughout the day, choosing from close-ups to full disk images — or where you live.
Dozer
Get your menu bar items under control by hiding the ones you don’t use often. Display them with a click of the Dozer icon.
draw.io
This online drawing tool can be downloaded and used as an app on your desktop. Plenty of sample charts and diagrams get you started. Easy and intuitive to use.
Droppy
A notch app that can replace several utilities, such as clipboard manager, mini music player and file shelf. Extensions include background removal, Spotify integration, window snapping, voice transcription, and more.
dupeGuru
Scan for duplicate files in the folders of your choosing. Options allow you to focus on music or pictures. Tweak it to find exactly the kind of duplicates you want. Copy or delete the dupes.
Easydict
Translate input, screenshots or selections from the menu bar. There are 18 translation services you can choose from. Some require a paid API, but you can disable them in the settings.
EasyFind
Finds files and folders by name or content using advanced Boolean operators, wildcards, and phrases. It does not require indexing, is fast, and uses very little memory. Also shows previews.
Economix
Simple program helps you keep track of expenses and your bank balance. Good idea if you’re wondering where all the money went. Site is in French, but an English version of the app is available.
Edenmath
A scientific calculator that does standard arithmetic, probability, and trigonometric functions.
Encrypto
Drop your file into Encrypto, give it a password, then send it securely on its way. Adds AES-256 encryption, allows optional password hints.
Ente Auth
With an app for every platform you can have 2FA authentication and end-to-end encrypted backups across all you devices.
Equinox
Create dynamic macOS wallpapers (a.k.a. desktop pictures) based on solar calculations, the time of day or system appearance — one for light and one for dark.
espanso
Type a keyword with a colon in front (or whatever you like!), and it expands. Includes special triggers for dates, emojis and shell commands, plus several expansion packages. Can also create templates.
Esse
Choose from dozens of pre-set text transformations, or combine and save your own.
eul
Stats for CPU, memory, network, battery, Bluetooth, disk and GPU in a nice dark-mode compatible interface.
F.lux
Adjusts the colour of your computer’s display to the time of day — warm at night and like sunlight during the day — automatically taking into account where you live and the type of lighting you have.
Fancy Folders
Set the colour for a folder and place an icon or image on it. Allows for more options than the built-in system in macOS Tahoe. Apple’s SF Symbols app is recommended for icons.
Fasa
Ingenious little app lets you right-click on an image, choose Copy Image, then save it into the folder of your choice as a PNG.
FastDMG
Mount DMGs the no-fuss, no-muss way. Doesn’t verify disk images, auto-accepts license agreements, doesn’t show in the dock, doesn’t display windows or menus.
Ferdium
Combine your web-based messaging services into a single interface. Create workspaces and use productivity tools such as a to-do panel.
File Find
Find your files with a multitude of filter options that can be saved and re-used. Searches can be saved and compared. Easily find duplicates.
FileZilla
Open source FTP program good for those who prefer access to local files in the same window as remote files.
FineTune
Set individual volume levels per app, route apps to different output devices, and apply EQ from your menu bar. Real-time VU meters and persistent settings.
Firefox
The non-profit open source effort from Mozilla, often updated, with a huge collection of add-ons. Fast, private and secure.
Flameshot
Customizable cross-platform app allows you to do in-app editing with built-in tools, and upload screenshots directly to the cloud to share with others.
Flashbang
Flash cards with several modes, including true/false and multiple choice. Supports importing from other apps, text to speech and 10 different themes.
Flowkeeper
Pomodoro for power users lets you take quick notes and create todos that you can estimate and execute later. Use it to learn your habits and improve your planning.
FlowVision
Browse images and videos with adaptive layout, Finder-like file management, high-quality scaling, playback support, and more.
Fluid
Create site-specific mini-web browsers for your web apps, so that they launch like desktop programs in your dock. Great for checking Gmail, for example.
Flycut
Open source fork of Jumpcut pops up a bezel containing recent items that you’ve copied. You can go through them with arrow keys to find the one you want and paste it. Default hotkey is Shift-Command-V.
Folder Peek
Your folders live as names in the menu bar. Click to access anything in them, including documents and apps. Customize it with things like icon, size, title and sorting.
foobar2000
Play one of the main music formats or choose from one of many decoder components, all with gapless playback. Tons of advanced options in the settings.
Free Ruler
Handy little utility for those times when you want to measure something on your screen. Over 20 years old!
FreeCAD
3D modeller for designing real-life objects of any size. Easily modify your design by going back into your model history and changing its parameters. Multiplatform and highly customizable.
FreeFileSync
Folder comparison and synchronization app creates and manages backup copies of your files. Instead of copying every file every time, it determines the differences between source and target folders, then transfers the minimum amount of data needed.
FreeMind
A mind-mapping software written in Java designed to be a high productivity tool. Useful for keeping track of projects, brainstorming, small databases, and more.
FreeScaler
Use AI models to upscale low-resolution JPG or PNG photos. You can batch upscale of a folder of images.
Freeter
Organize your projects and workflows by gathering everything you need in one place — all with quick access. Features widgets for opening files, embedding web apps, searching the web, making to-do lists, and more.
FreeTube
Open source app lets you watch YouTube videos in a browser without tracking or ads. Subscribe to channels without an account.
Freewrite
Write about whatever is on your mind for 15 minutes non-stop. Can be helpful if you’re seeking clarity. You’re encouraged to go full-screen, and never backspace. Download from releases.
FreshBatch
Batch rename files and extensions — just tell it what folder you want to modify, what about the filename you need to change, and what you want to change it to.
Ghostty
A terminal emulator whose main claim to fame is speed — that and a platform-native user interface. There’s also a Linux version.
Gifski
Convert videos to high-quality GIFs.
GIMP
Have you ever wished there were a free version of Photoshop? GIMP does a good job of such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring. It’s is not exactly Photoshop, but it you may find it comes close enough.
Giphy Capture
Capture videos, or anything else that moves on your screen, as an animated gif with one-click stop and start. Allows for precision editing and sharing with friends.
Gladys
Set aside stuff on a shelf for use later on — links, text snippets, map locations, contacts, images, photos, emails, messages, and more.
GnuCash
Personal and small-business financial-accounting software, freely licensed under the GNU GPL. Allows you to track bank accounts, stocks, income and expenses. As quick and intuitive to use as a checkbook register, it is based on professional accounting principles to ensure balanced books and accurate reports.
Googly Eyes
A pair of eyes in the menu bar follows you cursor wherever it goes, because . . . why not?
Grab2Text
Capture and copy text from images, then paste it into a text editor. Keeps the history of your last 10 extracted texts. Can also extract QR codes.
Gramps
Open-source genealogical app created by and for genealogists. Aims to be both intuitive for hobbyists and feature-complete for professionals.
GrandPerspective
Scan your folders to get a colourful view of what is inside them. Then hover with your cursor to see what files are represented. It’s a great way to see what’s taking up all the space.
Grila
Use your keyboard to access and navigate a calendar that defaults to the current month plus the previous and next two-to-three weeks. Features include pinning, an hourly chime and the date in the menu bar. You can also see events and reminders. Lots of themes and colours.
Growly Calculator
A spreadsheet that specializes in crunching numbers. There are plenty of functions, similar to the ones in Excel, but not nearly as many. Supports DIF, CSV and RTF.
Growly Draw
Basic lines, shapes, freeform, eye dropper, zoom and letters.
Growly Write
A simple — but not too simple — app for people who want a word processor with the features they actually use. Everything is easy to find in a format panel that includes a multitude of features.
HacKit
A doorway to Hacker News, one of the few places on the Internet where it’s still possible to find an intelligent conversation.
Hammerspoon
Use Lua code to create automation that interacts with apps, windows, keyboard and mouse events, clipboards, wifi, and much more.
Handbrake
Multithreaded video transcoder supports most common multimedia files and any DVD or Bluray-like source that is not copy-protected. Outputs to several popular file formats, including the one for Apple TV.
Handy Calculator
Calculator with easy-to-see numbers fades from view when not in use. You can input complete formulas, including parentheses, before hitting the equal sign. Handles copy and paste.
HEIC Converter
Those pictures you take with your iPhone are in a format called HEIC. If you want to share them on the web or with non-Apple users, you need to convert them to JPG or PNG. That’s what this app does.
Heynote
A scratchpad for developers. Each note is a block with formatting or syntax highlighting for plain text, math, markdown or one of several programming languages. Math blocks do calculations.
Hidden Bar
Simple and effective way to hide the icons cluttering your menu bar. Decide which ones you want to hide, then use an arrow icon to reveal them when needed. They’ll hide themselves again after a time that you set.
HideSwitch
A super simple way to show and hide system files. Just use the toggle on a semi-transparent bezel.
HiDock
Set up different dock settings for different displays — hide or show; left, right or bottom; from tiny to huge.
Hocus Focus
Automatically hides application windows that have been inactive for a certain period of time (you decide how long), leaving only the apps you’re using visible. Keeps your screens clutter free and your mind focused.
HotKey
Get easy access to your apps and scripts from the menu bar. Or skip the mouse and use custom keyboard combinations.
Hovrly
Put times from various cities in your menu bar — 24-hour or AM/PM. Use a slider to show how the times compare through the day.
Hugin
Assemble a mosaic of photographs into a complete immersive panorama, stitch any series of overlapping pictures and much more.
Hyper
A beautiful and extensible command-line interface, built on open web standards. Lots of potential for innovative additions.
Hyperkey
Remap the caps lock key to shift, control, option and command — all combined — to create a new modifier key. Great for those who never use caps lock for its intended purpose.
iCanHazShortcut
Set up shortcuts for virtually any Terminal command. You may find it more convenient and flexible than Apple’s Automator.
Ice
Hide menu bar items, then show them again by hovering, clicking, scrolling or swiping. Includes an always-hidden section and ability to automatically hide. Can also hide application menus when there is overlap, customize menu bar appearance, and set up hot keys.
IceCubes
Enter the fediverse via any instance of Mastodon. Browse your timeline, interact with other users, and post updates and media. Works on iOS, macOS, iPadOS, and visionOS.
IINA
Open source video player built from the ground up for modern versions of macOS. Supports common media types and outputs high-quality video optimized for retina screens.
ImageOptim
Drag and drop .jpeg, .png and .gif images and see them instantly slim down. This open source app works by finding the best compression parameters and removing unnecessary comments and colour profiles. Which is just what you want to make websites load faster.
Inkscape
If only there were a free version of Illustrator … or FreeHand … or CorelDraw. Inkscape aspires to be all these things and has lots of support.
Integrity
Quickly scan websites for broken or bad links. Results can be exported to various visualization formats.
iTerm2
Imagine Terminal with a slick interface — including split panes, autocomplete, instant replay and Growl support — and you’ve got iTerm2. It is a successor to iTerm.
Itsycal
Easy access from the menu bar to a calendar for the current month and a listing of appointments and events imported from the Calendar app that comes with your Mac. Unpinning allows you to move it around the screen.
iZip
Wizard takes you step by step through the archiving process, including naming, option for extra compression, password protection, level of encryption, and ability to store and share online at files.com.
Joplin
Open-source, cross-platform note-taking and to-do app organizes into notebooks. It supports markdown and can be synced with one of several cloud services. You can import from Evernote.
Jumpcut
Save up multiple snippets of text and paste them at will from the menu bar or from a translucent display invoked by a keyboard shortcut.
JuxtaText
Highlights show differences between two versions of the same text. Easily combine the best parts into a new file. Can also be used for code.
Kaomoji
Shruggy guy, table-tosser guy and hundreds of other Japanese emoticons — now available from your menu bar.
Kap
Open source screen capture with good options for sizing, and plenty of opportunity for added features.
Karabiner-Elements
Customize your Mac keyboard — simply change normal keys to other keys or set up complex rules.
Kdenlive
Open source video editor features multi-track editing, configurable interface and shortcuts, titler, dozens of effects and transitions, audio and video scopes, proxy editing, keyframeable effects — and more.
KeePassXC
Cross-platform software saves user names, passwords, URLs, attachments and more in a single encrypted database. Entries are sorted in customizable groups, and there is an integrated search function. A browser extension is available.
Keeping You Awake
A coffee cup icon that keeps your Mac awake when you click it. You can also set the duration. Can disable itself when the battery level is low.
Keka
Excellent file archiver compresses 7z, Zip, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2, DMG, ISO. It extracts RAR, 7z, Lzma, Zip, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2, ISO, EXE, CAB, PAX, ACE (PPC). Main compression core is p7zip (7-zip port).
Keyboard Cowboy
Use your keyboard to automate repetitive actions, launch applications and scripts, control system settings, manipulate files and folders, and much more.
KeyboardCleanTool
Many is the time I’ve tried to clean my keyboard, only to have multiple accidental key presses play havoc on the screen. This app does just one job — turn off your keyboard.
Keycastr
Share your keystrokes in screencasts and presentations, or while collaborating with others. Can also show mouse clicks.
KeyClu
Tap your Mac’s command key twice, then hold, and see a display of the app you’re currently using. In some cases, the list is enormous!
Kid3
Easily tag multiple audio files without having to re-type the same information. Supported files include MP3, Ogg/Vorbis, FLAC, Monkey’s Audio, MPC, MP4/AAC, MP2, Opus, Speex, TrueAudio, WavPack, WMA/WMV, WAV and AIFF.
KnockKnock
Uncover persistently installed software to make sure it isn’t malware that automatically executes when a computer is started.
Kodi
Media player and entertainment hub with an interface for TV and remote controls. Play and view most videos, music, podcasts, and other digital media files from local and network storage media and the internet.
Krita
Digital painting tool developed by artists who “want to see affordable art tools for everyone.” Aimed concept artists, illustrators, matte and texture artists, and the VFX industry. But designed so that amateurs also find it useful.
Last Window Quits
Close the last window in a app, and the app will quit. Might seem weird for long-time Mac users, but it’s something people switching from Windows are used to.
Later
Hide all the windows in a session and bring them back when you need them, either manually or with a timer. Great for when you need to clear the decks before a video call.
Latest
Handy little utility scans your apps for updates. It even finds tiny updates that don’t show up in the Mac App Store.
Launchie
If you miss Launchpad in Tahoe, here’s a replacement that promises drag and drop reordering, custom folders, flexible organization and customizable hotkeys.
Launchpad-Customizer
Easily change the number of rows and columns in your launchpad, letting you place more or fewer icons in a single page.
LeaderKey
Layered launching with letters. Choose a key to launch with — the leader key — then use type a two-letter combination to open an app, URL or folder. Or just one letter for the important stuff.
Left
Distraction-free editor allows you to place markers in your text, which show up in a side panel. Comes with an inline thesaurus.
Lenscape
View and manage your photos and videos in gallery mode, full screen mode or with thumbnails. Select to apply actions: move, copy, trash or open in Finder. Compare photos with split screen.
Leomard
Third-party Reddit apps may no longer be working, but they’re starting to appear for the alternatives. Leomard — a Mac client for Lemmy — is in the early stages, but quite functional.
Lepton
A well-organized collection of snippets is incredibly handy for coders, and Lepton does this nicely. It’s basically a front end to whatever you have stored at github, so it’s synced wherever you go.
Let It Snow
Smooth and seamless snowfall for you desktop, with settings for speed, size and quantity.
LibreOffice
Developers unhappy with the turn taken by OpenOffice.org when it was acquired by Oracle set off to create their own open source office suite — and the result is LibreOffice. The About Us section notes that it is based on the principle of developers “sharing their work with the world in a non-restrictive way.”
Licensed
Your Mac’s Passwords app doesn’t have a good way to store software licences, so why not get an app that specializes in doing just that?
Lickable Menu Bar
“We made the buttons on the screen look so good you’ll want to lick them.” — Steve Jobs in 2000. Customize the lick of your menu bar in matte (Mavericks), flat (Catalina) or glossy (Tiger).
Lightweight PDF
Compress PDFs by up to 90 per cent with a drag-and-drop interface that promises a balance between file size and quality. Protect your privacy by avoiding websites with similar functionality.
Linear
Use a ruler to measure stuff on your screen in pixels or ems. Make as many rulers as you like. Great for web designers.
LinearMouse
Set up scrolling direction, pointer acceleration, pointer speed and modifier keys — separately for each device. Your mouse and trackpad can be customized differently.
linked
A nice calendar based journal. It has a built-in search, files saved in your Documents folder, and text styling that includes to-do, list and code blocks.
LiveQuartz
A free image editor based on layers and CoreImage filters. You have the layers on the left and the filters on the right of the window. To edit an image, just drag it into the layers’ list and it will be added as a new layer.
LMMS
Create melodies and beats, synthesizing and mixing sounds, arranging samples and much more. The playback with a typing or MIDI keyboard. Bundled with ready-to-use content.
LocalSend
Share files with nearby devices, including Windows, Linux, Android and iOS. File transfer is peer-to-peer with end-to-end encryption. Easy discovery of other devices.
Logseq
Knowledge base works with local plain-text markdown and org-mode files to write, organize and share your thoughts, create to-do lists, and much more.
Loop
Trigger a radial menu and use it to position your windows. Customize the loop’s thickness and corners, or turn it off and use keyboard shortcuts.
LosslessCut
Losslessly trim or cut out parts of video/audio, merge or concatenate arbitrary files, extract all tracks from a file — and much more.
Lulu
Keep track of apps, or even malware, on your Mac that are communicating with a remote server. Block anything that looks suspicious or unnecessary.
Lyric Fever
Keep an eye on a song’s lyrics in real-time in the menu bar while it plays on Apple Music or Spotify. Can customize to make sure it fits.
Macarte
Switch apps from the menu bar. You can also enable tooltips showing information about the running apps. Hidden apps are dimmed in the menu.
Maccy
This clipboard distinguishes itself with a search input for when the number of items you’ve copied gets unwieldy. Keyboard-first. Secure and private.
MacDown 3000
Open source markdown editor for OS X, released under the MIT license, influenced by Chen Luo’s Mou and Tzu-ping Chung’s MacDown. Features highly customisable markdown rendering, syntax highlighting in fenced code blocks, sophisticated auto-completion.
MacDropAny
Sync any folder on your Mac with a cloud service — including Dropbox, iCloud Drive, Copy, MediaFire, Hightail, hubiC, Google Drive, Box, OneDrive, Mega and Creative Cloud. Just two steps.
MacJournal
Keep a personal journal with a calendar and time line. You can also group entries, and use it as a notes app. Started out free in 2002, went paid, and now it’s free again.
MacPacker
Preview your archives without extracting them. Supports zip, tar, and lz4, with more to come.
MacsyZones
Create a layout for your windows with zones in your choice of size and position. Grab between zones to adjust them.
MacTracker
A database of information on every Mac ever made — even those made by companies other than Apple. No detail is too obscure. You can even play startup chimes.
MacZip
Zip is just the beginning, with support for more than 20 archive formats. Supports encryption and decryption, including bulk encryption.
Maestral
Dropbox client with extra features such as command line tools, excluding local files from syncing, and allowing syncing of multiple Dropbox accounts.
Magicbrake
Do with one click that thing you would mostly likely want from Handbrake — convert a video to a small, fast and compatible MP4.
MagicQuit
Have your apps quit after a certain amount of time that can be customized in the settings. You can uncheck the ones you don’t want to quit. They won’t quit if there is unsaved data.
MailTrackerBlocker
Strip out the spy pixels that come in your email from marketers, and find out who is tracking you.
Manila
Change the colour of your folders with this Finder extension using a context menu.
MarkEdit
A simple and lightweight open source markdown editor with support for Shortcuts.
Marta
Dual-pane file manager allows you to copy files by dragging them from one pane to another. An actions panel gives you access to a huge number of actions and their hotkeys.
Media Converter
Convert avi, wmv, mkv, rm, mov and more using several presents, including iPod/iPhone. You can also create your own presets or download others. Smart settings keep your video in the correct aspect ratio.
MediaHuman Lyrics Finder
Find and add missing lyrics to songs in your music library. Won’t overwrite current lyrics. Drag and drop tracks from your favorite music player (e.g. iTunes) and the app does the rest.
MeetingBar
Keep track of upcoming meetings in the menu bar — integrated with 20+ meeting services, so you never forget and can quickly join. Download and support Ukraine.
Megawords
Nirvana for word nerds — search for anagrams, rhymes, crossword solutions, allowable Scrabble words — plus the usual definitions and synonyms.
Meme Generator
Have mindless fun taking bizarre photos that have been circulating around the Internet — annoying Facebook girl, for example — and applying your own slogans to them. Or, as the website version puts it: “Bluntly offensive statements and careless advice with animal icons.”
Menu Bar Spacing
Use a slider to decide on the spacing between menu bar items. A shortcuts action enables automated spacing adjustments for various scenarios.
Menu Bar Splitter
Organize your menu bar by adding dividers. Add as many as you want and rearrange them as you please. Choose from four built-in icons or any image on your Mac.
Menupedia
Have Wikipedia always handy in your menu bar. Search for a subject or roll the dice for something random. Also supports, French, Spanish and German.
Meteorologist
View the current weather for multiple locations, along with radar, hourly forecast and long-range forecast. Choose from several weather sources for each location.
Microsoft To Do
Nice animations and a selection of backgrounds combine with a feature set that includes the ability to make and search multiple lists, check off each item, and sync everything between your Mac and other devices.
MiddleDrag
Use three-finger gestures for middle-click and middle-drag on your Mac trackpad. Handy for CAD and 3D modelling, web browsing, and coding.
Miro
Open source music and video player works with your current music library, converts and syncs to Android, allows you to buy from Amazon, downloads, plays and converts almost any video, shares media over a network, and features fast torrent downloads.
Mixxx
The DJ tools you need to perform creative live mixes with digital music files. Features key detection, controller support, effects, and vinyl record control.
Mochi Diffusion
Use this open-source AI model to create images with a text prompt, modify existing images, or fill in missing parts of an image.
Money Manager Ex
Keep track of where, when and to who the money goes. Get a bird’s eye view of your financial worth. Create accounts, note transactions, use categories, schedule transactions, and much more.
MonitorControl
Control the brightness and volume on external displays from the menu bar with controls that fit right in with your Mac’s look and feel.
Monolingual
Claim valuable space on your hard drive by eliminating localization files for languages you never use.
Monotype
The cadence of a typewriter might be just what you need to get into a writing groove — complete with sound effects. Copy contents when you’re done.
Moped
A light-weight text editor that supports syntax highlighting for dozens of programming languages. Choose from several themes and mono-spaced fonts.
Mos
Set the direction of your Mac’s touch pad and mouse wheel separately — plus, make scrolling smoother than ever. Apps can be managed individually.
Motrix
A nice interface for heavy downloaders who need to keep organized. Supports BitTorrent and Magnet.
Mousecape
Import “capes” that modify your mouse cursors, including this pack inspired by Nintendo’s Wii console.
Music MiniPlayer
Control the Music app with a mini player that takes you back to iTunes 10. All the controls you would expect, plus a slide-down panel (click the triangle to the left of the track info) that gives you access to playlists.
Muzzle
Automatically turn off those annoying, and possibly embarrassing, notifications when you’re screen sharing.
NameChanger
Rename a list of files quickly and easily — and see the changes as you type. Options for changing names include: replace first occurrence, replace last occurrence, replace all, wildcard, prepend, append, character removal, sequence and date.
Natron
Open source digital compositor for VFX and motion graphics. The software features powerful keying and 2D tracking tools that are staple for all current film production visual effects. Flexible roto and rotopaint tools can generate unlimited layers of masks, mattes and shapes.
Neat Download Manager
Speed up, optimize and organize your downloads with several options.
NetNewsWire
The revered RSS feed reader is back with an open source version by Brent Simmons as his contribution to the open web. Features include a Safari extension for feed-adding, direct feed-downloading, and syncing via Feedbin.
NetSpot
Map out your wireless network and set up hotspots to ensure you’re getting good coverage. Walk around your building with a MacBook to set up points on a map, then let the app test the wifi strength in each spot.
Network Utility
Check on your network connections using several different tests in one package with this revival of the utility that used to come with OS X.
Nimble Commander
Dual-pane file manager with features including file search, file viewer, batch renaming, and lots more advanced stuff aimed at power users.
Nisus Thesaurus
Pump up the free TextEdit that comes with your Mac by adding the well-done Nisus Thesaurus. Just select a word, and look it up with your Services submenu.
Notable
The developer couldn’t find a notes app that did everything he wanted, he made his own. Supports markdown, with notes stored on your computer, zen mode, and split view. Sync via third-party services such as Dropbox.
Note Calculator
Use every-day text for your calculations. Supports variables and blocks of multiple variables. Can get a total or an average.
Noteapp
In case you wanted one more text editor to choose from. This one promises to be nice and “incredibly simple.”
Notenik
An open-source notes app with almost too many features to list. Notes are plain text files that can be opened and edited with any text editor. Each consists of fields, starting with title and body — you can add more and organize using these fields.
Notepad Next
Notepad++ is a venerable text editor for Windows, and now you can run a reimplementation of it on macOS — complete with icons from the ’90s.
Notes SE
Notes app with a simple interface syncs via iCloud across Mac, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch. Create links by typing in the URL. Supports widgets and Shortcuts.
Notion Calendar
An alternative desktop interface for Google Calendar. It features a menu bar item, scheduling, time zones, multiple languages, command menu and, of course, optional integration with other Notion products.
Noto
General-purpose text editor supports extensive encoding, multi-selection indentation, invisible characters and iCloud Drive integration.
noTunes
Annoyed by iTunes or Apple Music starting up when you don’t want it to? This app will stop it.
OBS Studio
Use it for video recording, mixing and live streaming. Unlimited numbers of scenes can be made up of screen captures, images, text, browser windows, webcams and more. Switch seamlessly with custom transitions.
ocenaudio
Features include: real-time preview of effects, cross-platform support, multi-selection for delicate editions, efficient editing of large files and fully featured spectrogram.
OmniDiskSweeper
Organize your files from largest to smallest, then easily sweep the ones you don’t want into the trash.
On This Day
Learn about 10 historical events every day from your menu bar.
One Task
Focus on one task at a time by creating a list of tasks for the day. The first one will show up in a widget. Check it off when it’s done, and the next one appears.
One Thing
Put text of your choice in the menu bar as a constant reminder — an inspiration, a goal, or something that needs to get done.
OneMenu
System monitoring (CPU, memory and disk), a window manager and a keyboard cleaning mode — all in one from the menu bar.
OnlySwitch
Choose from dozens of switches you can access from the menu bar with a couple of clicks. Includes hide desktop icons, dark mode, hide notch, and many more.
OpenOffice
Now that a native Mac version is available, this open source alternative to Microsoft Office is a worthy option to consider along with LibreOffice.
OpenShot
Simple yet powerful cross-platform app features trimming, 3D animation, unlimited tracks, video effects, audio wave forms, title editor, slow motion effect, and more.
Opera
Browse fast, secure and ad-free, chat directly in your browser, easily connect your devices share files. Surf with enhanced privacy and free VPN.
Origami Studio
Designers can create interactive prototypes and applications, enabling them to visualize and test concepts before implementation. Panels including the Canvas for layout, the Patch Editor for adding interaction and animation, and the Layer List for organizing layers.
Orion
A web browser based on Webkit — the same as Safari. No tracking or ads by default. Supports extensions not only from Safari, but also Chrome and Firefox. In beta as of this writing.
Paintbrush
A Cocoa-based paint program similar to Microsoft Paint and the now-defunct MacPaint. It can open and save to most major image formats, including BMP, PNG, JPEG, and GIF.
Pandan
Keep track of how long you’ve been actively using your computer with a time display in the menu bar. Optionally, you can set the app to give a break reminder.
Panelicious
It’s kind of like having an extra dock for access to apps, folders and documents. Handy if you have a second monitor. Lots of options for appearance, position, size and offset.
PanWriter
A markdown text editor with support for pandoc, which allows for converting from and to markdown, HTML webpages, Word .docx, EPUB eBooks, LaTeX for academic publishing, and more. Work flows can be automated from the command line.
Pastebar
Organize unlimited copy history into collections, tabs and boards. Create clips with customizable form fields and templates. Paste clips from a quick-access menu.
Pause
The app that reminds you to take a rest from the computer. You can customize the suggestions, notification style, and the frequency and duration of breaks.
PDF Merger
An easy way to merge PDF documents into one file. Just click the “add” button or drag and drop. A couple more clicks and you’re done.
PDFgear
Read, edit, convert, merge, split, annotate, fill out, compress, OCR, organize, and sign PDF files across devices. Free for now, but will charge for premium services in the future.
Pearcleaner
Uninstall your apps, along with associated files, just like AppCleaner — but with some additional features such as a Sentinel monitor helper and differentiation between regular apps and web apps.
Penc
Use your trackpad to move and resize windows, or snap them into halves and quarters.
Pencil2D Animation
Lightweight, easy-to-use tool for 2D hand-drawn animations. Sketch, ink and paint on the go with raster and vector workflows.
Permanent Eraser
When you empty the trash on your Mac, you’re telling the system to forget about those files. If that’s not good enough, Permanent Eraser will overwrite your data 35 times, scramble the original file name, and truncate the file size to nothing.
Pester
Set a timed reminder with options for a message, an alert sound, a dock bounce, or a spoken message. Go by time and date, or countdown. Can be repeated.
Phoenix Slides
A quick and easy way to browse photos in a folder, optionally as a slideshow. Some JPEG transformations are also available.
Picard
Organize your music collection with tags based on the MusicBrainz database. Features include CD look-ups and cover art.
PicArrange
Go beyond what you can do in the Finder, and sort the pictures on your Mac by colour, content or similarity.
Pictogram
An easy way to change the icons for your apps — and easily revert if you change your mind. A good place to find a new icon is at macOSicons.
Pika
This colour picker lets you check out contrast ratios and confirm WCAG accessibility compliance. Choose from formats like formats like hex, RGB, HSB, or HSL. You can set up a global hot key to access it from anywhere.
Pinta
Drawing and image editing program features drawing tools, adjustments and effects, full history, multiple layers and work spaces.
Pipad
A calculator that uses a combination of numbers and text. Features include variables and up-to-date exchange rates.
Plain Text Editor
Ideal for those who prefer their text with no formatting. Options allow for optimal line length, word, character and line count, a transparent background and keeping the window on top.
Plash
Find a web page, even one with live updates, and make it your wallpaper. You can interact with it in “browse” mode and add custom styling and scripts.
Pock
Get the most out of your MacBook’s touch bar with this widgets manager.
Poolsuite
Listen to upbeat, uninterrupted music on five different channels: default, Indie Summer, Hangover Club, Tokyo Disco and Friday Nite Heat. Also available are the latest 20 tracks, and a spot for your favourites.
Portfolio Performance
Calculate the overall performance of an investment portfolio across accounts, record the history of your transactions, calculate performance indicators, update historical quotes.
ProNotes
Apple Notes extension gives you two great improvements: Format text by highlighting it and choosing from a bar or create headings and lists with markdown syntax.
Pulsar
The sun may have set on Atom, but a new day is dawning with Pulsar — an evolution of the highly hackable code editor.
QuickRecorder
Record screens, windows, apps and more, including sounds from any app. A presenter overlay feature is available in macOS 14.
Quicksilver
Keyboard addicts will love the the way this app lets you of find and launch files and applications without touching the mouse.
Quitter
Automatically hide or quit apps after periods of inactivity. Minimizes distraction from social apps like Twitter and Slack, news readers, or your email app.
Radiola
A lightweight app for easy access to your favourite Internet radio stations. Includes a player and a history of the song you’ve listened to.
RawTherapee
A powerful, cross-platform raw photo processing system designed for developing raw files from a broad range of digital cameras. Features non-destructive, 32-bit processing engine, modern demosaicing algorithms, and advanced color+detail editing.
rcmd
Switch app focus by holding down the right command key in combination with the first letter of the app you want. Can also be used to launch apps.
Readability
Analyze any type of writing, from academic papers to blog posts. Get readability scores and suggestions for improvements. Results can be saved for future use.
Recents
Access all your recent files with a popup from the menu bar. Apps are listed on the left. Click on one to see files you recently used with it.
Recordia
Record audio from the menu bar or a keyboard shortcut. You can optionally record at lossless quality. Previewing and trimming can be done in the Finder.
Red Lines
Create a grid or layout on the full screen or the window of your choice. Can also put lines where you want them and save them as sets. Includes a zoom tool and is highly customizable.
Reflex
Set up your media and volume keys so they always work with either Apple Music or Spotify.
Reminders MenuBar
A nifty way of accessing — and adding to — what’s in your Reminders app from the menu bar. Has a choice of icons and an option to include today’s count.
Remote Mouse
Turn your iPhone, iPad or iPod into a wireless remote control for your Mac or PC — just like working with a real mouse and keyboard. Useful for presentations.
RGB MusicLab
Ever wonder what a musical Mona Lisa would sound like? RGB MusicLab takes the pixels in a painting, judges their colours and brightness, then interprets them to create music. Don’t like what you hear? There are many options to adjust your final composition.
Rocket
Type a colon, followed by the name of the emoji you want, and voilà — the emoji appears. Anywhere on your Mac.
Russet
A private, customizable AI companion powered by Apple Intelligence that runs fully on-device. Also provides access to several other offline-capable AI models you can download. Use your OpenAI API key to access their cloud models.
Satellite Eyes
Automatically change your desktop wallpaper to the satellite view of where you are, right now. Pull your laptop out somewhere new, and your desktop will automatically change to the view from overhead.
Scaler Bandwidth Monitor
Stay on top of your Mac’s download and upload speeds in the menu bar. Click to visualize with a chart.
Scheduler
Schedule the automatic launching of applications, Applescript applets, documents, websites and file downloads at startup time or at a given time and date. There are many other scheduling options.
Screenlight
Keep track of how much time you spend in various apps and websites, and see how this time goes up and down. Private and offline.
Scribus
This open source alternative to the likes of QuarkXPress and InDesign supports CMYK colour, separations, ICC colour management and versatile PDF creation. It may take some getting used to, but there is a strong community of users to offer support.
Script Kit
Create a script to do pretty much anything your Mac is capable of — or choose one from the community — and launch it from the app.
Scrollsnap
Select a capture region, then stitch screenshots of long content into a single image. Draggable menu has options to capture, save, modify capture region, or cancel.
SeaMonkey
Powered by Mozilla, it’s a web browser, an e-mail and newsgroup client, an IRC chat client and a web page creator all rolled into one.
Seashore
Think of it as GIMP with a friendly interface. It won’t replace Photoshop, but it goes a long way. Development has restarted after a long hiatus.
Second Clock
Why only have one time in your menu bar when you can have two? Handy if you need to keep track of another time zone.
SelfControl
Block access to distracting websites, mail servers or anything else on the Internet for any period of time you like. They stay block until the time is up — even if you restart your computer or delete the application.
Shareful
Add extra powers to the share menu: copy, save as, open in, and more. Available in any app that has a share button.
Shazam
Click on Shazam to listen to any music playing on your computer, or within earshot. It will give you the name and artist.
Sherlock
Find usernames in hundreds of social media accounts. Fire up Terminal and type in sherlock username. Or look for more than one username at a time.
Shortcat
You may never need your mouse again. Access your Mac’s user interface from a command palette — click buttons, focus text fields, invoke menu commands, switch windows, and more.
Shotcut
A free, open source, cross-platform video editor with support for many audio and video formats and codecs plus many image formats. Native editing means no import required.
Showdown
Create presentations based on markdown. Supports images and speaker notes.
Shutter Encoder
Supports every codec you can think of along with a plethora of settings. Other features include trimming and cutting, cropping, subtitle embedding, FTP support and much more.
Signal
Privacy is top priority for this messaging app, which uses end-to-end encryption. “We can’t read your messages or listen to your calls, and no one else can either.”
Simple Color Palette
Create, view and edit colour palettes. Supports import of Adobe swatch exchange (.ase) and color list (.clr) files, wide-gamut colours, and multiple formats: RGB, OKLCH and hex.
Simple Comic
A reader for e-graphic novels using the .cbr/.cbz graphic novel file format for a collection of page images. Features include multi-page reading modes, a thumbnail browser, and support for both right-to-left and left-to-right reading (for manga).
Simplenote
Excellent way to synchronize notes between iOS, Mac, Android and Kindle. Tags help you stay organized and search results appear as you type.
Sioyek
PDF viewer aimed at technical books and research papers. Searchable, configurable, extensible, and much more.
Skim
A PDF reader and note-taker designed to help read and annotate scientific papers, but can be used for viewing any PDF. Add and edit notes, highlight text, make bookmarks, and much more. Highly customizable.
Sky
Keep up with Bluesky on your Mac. Features lots of keyboard shortcuts, dark mode and notification badges.
Sloth
Take a closer look at open files and sockets being used by any running processes. User-friendly features includes views, sorts, filters, contextual menus and search.
SmartBackup
Sync folders and volumes, or create a bootable clone of your Mac startup disk.
SnippetsLab
Keep your re-usable code close at hand, organized with folders and tags. In addition to your notes, you can add images, videos and documents. Access code easily from the menu bar. Choose your favourite theme. Also makes a good markdown editor.
Soonie
Keep on top of upcoming meetings with a visual reminder that shows up with gentle reminders at the appropriate times.
SoundAnchor
Set the priority of your audio devices from the menu bar. Handy if you don’t want your AirPods to change it to the default system internal microphone.
Spaced
Organize your menu bar items by spacing them into groups.
Spaceman
View your spaces in the menu bar in one of four different styles. Rectangles, numbers, rectangles with numbers, or named spaces. Icons indicate whether a space is active.
SpaceSaver
Save the sizes and positions of your apps’ windows, so they can be restored later. Handy for switching between work spaces.
Sparrow
Get the day’s high and low in the menu bar along with a dropdown giving hourly weather forecasts for the day. Choose from eight different themes.
Spectacle
Organize your windows with easy-to-remember keyboard commands. Put them to the left, right, top or bottom. Put them corners. Centre them. Make them go full screen. It’s a great way to make comparisons, and it works in all apps. No longer actively maintained.
Spectrolite
Create colourful risographs suitable for prints and magazines. Extensive documentation available for this distinctive art form.
Speediness
Test the upload and download speeds of your internet connection. You can monitor the speed in your menu bar, and you can check the results of previous tests.
Spokenly
Hold down the right-command key and speak. Your words will appear quickly and accurately. Supports local Whisper models. Private and customizable.
Stando
Gentle notifications remind you to sit, stand or adjust your posture based on your preferences. Gain insights with sitting and standing habits tracked over time.
Stapler
Launch all the stuff you need at once for a task or project — apps, folders, files, images, or anything else you can create an alias to.
Startup Folder
Place items in a folder to have them launch at startup — including apps, scripts, Shortcuts and links. Interface allows you to configure runtime, add delays between launch, view items’ status, and more.
Startup Manager
Scan your Mac to see what’s starting up when you turn it on. Login items, launch items, browser extensions and more could be slowing things down. Decide whether to delete or disable.
Stats
Check your Mac’s stats at a glance in the menu bar. Stats covers disk, network, CPU and RAM. You can also see what’s going on with GPU, sensors and fans.
Stay
Make sure your windows stay exactly where you want them, regardless of the number of monitors and whether you have disconnected them. Setups can be restored.
Stellarium
Gaze with wonder through Stellarium at the night sky constellations from wherever you happen to live on this planet. Then go outside and see the stars as they are. Other cool ways to check out the universe are Celestia and SkyORB.
StreamToMe
Play music, video and photos in a wide range of formats, streamed live over wi-fi or 3G from your Mac. No prior conversion or syncing required. Can be played on your devices wherever you are as is they were stored natively on them.
Stretchly
Sometimes you need to take a break from the computer. This app will remind to do just that — at intervals you set. Lots of other little features.
Strikethrough
To-do apps don’t get much simpler than this. When you’ve finished a task, you literally cross it off a list from the menu bar.
SubEthaEdit
Collaborative coding for programmers has powerful editing tools, command line access and ability to create scripts. Now free and open source.
Sublime Text
Sophisticated text editor for code, markup and prose has a slick user interface and features goto anything, multiple selections, a command palette, distraction-free mode, split editing and instant project switch. A licence is required for continued use, but there is no time limit for evaluation.
Super Productivity
Create time sheets and work summaries to track and document your work. Connects with Jira, GitLab and GitHub. Features include a pomodoro timer, a break reminder and an anti-procrastination page.
Suspicious Package
Check what’s inside an installer package without actually installing it. Find out where it comes from, what it installs, and what else it does.
Swift Shift
Move or resize windows by holding down a key that you designate, then moving your pointer — wherever it happens to be.
SwiftBar
Put all kinds of data in your menu bar. New support for Shortcuts makes it easier for those who aren’t comfortable with the command line.
Switch
Convert audio files to one of 16 formats. If it doesn’t have the codec you want, it will download it on the fly.
Symphytum
Keep track of your collections with a simple database that allows you to create several fields for each entry, including images, creation and modification dates, dropdown lists, and progress bars.
Syncthing
Continuously synchronize files between two or more computers in real time online or over a local network — private and encrypted. Only devices you have explicitly allowed can connect to your other devices.
System Color Picker
A nice app version of the color picker that comes with your Mac. It can be invoked from the menu bar or record your own shortcut. It gives values in hex, hsl and rgb.
Task Til Dawn
Run tasks on a schedule or triggered by events, using ready-made actions. Most actions can be used across Mac and Windows.
Tasktic
A to-do app with some interesting features: You can rank items, schedule them, put them on a timer, archive them, make them a “maybe”, and more.
Texts
Cross-platform markdown word processor allows you to save as PDF, HTML, .docx and plain text. Other features include presentations, bibliographic citations, math typesetting and unicode scripts.
Th-MakerX
Drag and drop one image, many images or a folder of images to be resized and output as jpeg or png. Options for margin, canvas, destination, resolution, watermark and more.
The Unarchiver
Decompress several different compression formats, including some of the obscure ones that OS X can’t handle. Interface fits in nicely with the Finder.
There
List the time zones of friends, family and colleagues in your menu bar — each with their own image.
Thock
Make your keyboard sound like a mechanical keyboard with a choice of over a dozen sound effects.
Thorium Reader
Access EPUB 3 publications in reflow or fixed layout format, audiobooks and visual narratives, PDF documents and DAISY 2.02 and 3 accessible ebooks; LCP protected or not.
ThumbsUp
Drag and drop a folder of photos to batch create thumbnail versions. You can set the format, sizing, compression, antialiasing and sharpening.
Thunderbird
From the makers of Firefox, an open source email client that features tabbed browsing, filtering and timeline tools, plenty of customization, and robust security measures.
Tiles
Easily organize your windows by dragging them to the edges of the screen, using keyboard shortcuts, or clicking on options in the menu bar.
Time Until
Set up countdowns to important events in your menu bar. You can put them in categories, have them repeat, and create corresponding events in Calendar.
TimeMachineEditor
Customize backup intervals for Time Machine — by number of hours, by calendar date and time, or when inactive. Macworld has a good writeup.
TinkerTool
Not satisfied with the system preferences Apple gives you access to on your mac? TinkerTool lets you get at that hidden stuff too numerous to mention. If you’re the type who can’t leave well enough alone, then tinker away.
Today
View the day’s events from Apple Calendar in the menu bar. Click to see the event in the app or join a video call.
todometer
A to-do list with a bar graph to show how many tasks you have completed or put on hold for the day.
TomatoBar
Put a pomodoro timer in your menu bar. This technique breaks tasks into timed intervals with set rest periods in between. The app keeps track of the times for you.
Tomighty
A desktop timer designed for the pomodoro technique — a simple and effective time management method that helps you focus on tasks that require long periods of concentration.
Tomito
A pomodoro timer with customizable sessions and breaks. Stats show daily and weekly progress. Widget keeps remaining time visible.
TopNotch
Blend the notch in your MacBook Pro with the menu bar. Can also added rounded corners to your wallpaper.
Tor
Remain anonymous on the internet while web browsing, messaging or remote logins. Works with many existing clients to bounce your communications around a distributed network of relays run by volunteers all around the world.
ToyViewer
Lightweight image viewer has the ability to open a wide variety of formats, including WebP, HEIC and SVG. Can also save-as to many formats. You can scan and display the images in a folder, plus a number of editing functions are included.
Transmission
Enter the amazing world of torrents with this lightweight BitTorrent client. A simple, intuitive interface gives access to an efficient, cross-platform back-end. Also built on the BitTorrent concept is Tomato Torrent.
Transnomino
Batch rename many files at once — from simple to complex using regular expressions. This app can monitor a folder and automatically run a recipe when files are dropped in it. Extensive support for AppleScript.
TrashSweep
Monitors the trash and deletes the oldest files first when the total size exceeds your defined limit.
TRex
Copy text or URLs to your clipboard from anywhere — PDFs, images, videos, screenshots, Zoom calls — with OCR technology. Free but you can support with an Mac App Store purchase.
Tuneful
Control playback, and show current song, for Spotify and Apple Music from the menu bar. Also control shuffle, repeat options, volume and output device. There is an optional floating mini player.
Tux Paint
Give your children hours of enjoyment with this simple paint program — or, what the heck, indulge your inner child.
Twobird
Use your inbox as a to-do list. Email starts in Low Priority. You can click on Remind to send it to a built-in calendar or To-Do to send it to the Inbox, where it stays until you mark it Done.
Tyke
One of the free apps I use the most. Super handy for transitory notes that I used to fill physical notebooks with.
uFocus
Distraction-free writing for plain text, Markdown or Fountain documents that can be exported to HTML, printed or be used to create a PDF. Keep files in your own directory. Also includes statistics and dynamic outline.
Unclack
Mute your mic while you type and no one will know you’re busy on your keyboard during a Zoom meeting. Allows for pausing so you can type and talk. Three icons to choose from.
Ungoogled Chromium
Google Chrome is based on the open source Chromium. Without all the dependencies added by Google, Chromium is faster, safer and more private.
Unison
Panic’s app for Usenet newsgroups is no longer being developed, but one last free release promises to keep customers happy for awhile.
Unsplash
Choose from the best of millions of photos submitted to Unsplash for your wallpaper — from outer space to close-up nature.
Upscayl
Take a grainy old picture, and make it both bigger and better with the help of AI.
Velja
Open links in the browser or matching app of your choice. Custom rules let you open links based on which app the link was clicked in.
Video Converter
Drag-and-drop simplicity for all your video conversion needs, with the promise of high quality output and optimized size. Supports MP4, MPV, MOV, MKV, AVI and WEBM.
Vienna
The venerable open source RSS reader still provides an interesting alternative after many years in active development
VirtualBox
Run Windows or Linux on your Mac with this open source alternative to Parallells or VMWare Fusion.
Visual Studio Code
Open source, cross-platform text editor from Microsoft has thousands of extensions, IntelliSense completions and built-in support for Git.
Vivaldi
Lots of highlights, but you can go as minimal as you want. Enjoy the built-in ad and tracker blocker, email client and notes manager. Also: build your own browser themes and translate highlighted text.
Viz
Capture text from images, videos, QR codes and barcodes. Choose from 14 OCR languages. Includes a colour picker for hex and RGB.
VLC Player
It will play just about any kind of video or audio format you can imagine — thus making VLC Player one of the most popular downloads of all. But it has a big rival you might want to consider — MPlayer.
Vox
Lightweight, nice-looking music player supports FLAC, MP3, AAC, Musepack, Monkey’s Audio, OGG Vorbis, Apple Lossless, AIFF, WAV, IT, MOD, XM, Games Music and many others. Plus, there are several effects, and you can export to MP3, AAC, WAV and other formats.
VPaint
Experimental app, which will forever be in beta, features free-form sketching, sculpting, painting, animation, and onion skinning. It will eventually evolve into VGC Illustration and VGC Animation.
Wealthfolio
Manage and grow your wealth with this investment tracker that uses local data storage with no subscriptions. Simple tools, no spreadsheets.
WeekToDo
Organize your to-do lists by day of the week, and get a seven-day look at what’s coming up. You can also make custom lists. Allows for notifications and tweaking the appearance.
Whisky
A Wine wrapper that allows you to run Windows programs and games on your Mac with Apple’s game porting toolkit. Requires Apple Silicon and macOS Sonoma (14.0) or later.
Wick Editor
Create animated content and interactive media combining the features of animation software and a coding environment. Ideal for 2D animations, games and other interactive projects.
WindowKeys
Use a panel to customize keyboard shortcuts for window tiling commands. Works on any keyboard, and can move windows between displays.
Wings 3D
Create three-dimensional models such as a frog or, well, how about SpongeBob Squarepants. Check out the gallery to see the amazing things that are possible.
WordService
Add a number of services to your free TextEdit, along with Nisus Thesaurus, and you’ve pretty much got a free, full-featured text editor. Find a bunch of other freeware you might like at the WordService website.
X Lossless Decoder
Decode, convert and play lossless audio files — can be split into tracks with cue sheet when decoding.
xbar
Put a menu in your menu bar that runs pretty much anything — for example, opening a URL or running a script. Get information at a glance from hundreds of plug-ins.
Xmenu
Add one or more menus to the menu bar for accessing files and data. Pre-set menus include Applications, Developer, Home, Documents and Snippets. Or define your own.
XnConvert
Batch image-converter and resizer supports common formats such as JPG, PNG, TIFF, GIF, Camera RAW, JPEG2000, WebP and OpenEXR in addition to over 500 other image formats. Operations include rotating, adding watermarks, adding text, and adjustments for brightness, shadows and more.
XnView MP
This powerful photo viewer, image manager and image resizer supports JPEG, TIFF, PNG, GIF, WEBP, PSD, JPEG2000, OpenEXR, camera RAW, HEIC, PDF, DNG, CR2.
XRG
It’s getting a little long in the tooth, but still works and does a whole lot of monitoring: CPU, GPU, memory, battery status, temperature, network and disk — plus current weather and stock market data.
YABA
Save, sync and organize your favourite bookmarks across Mac, iPhone and iPad with a privacy-first approach. Collect articles, links, ideas, research and more.
YouTube to MP3
Go to the YouTube music video you want and copy the URL. You can then click the paste button in the app and hit the download button. A music MP3 will show up in your Music folder or, if you choose, iTunes. Super simple.
Zavala
Full-featured outliner syncs on Mac, iPhone and iPad. Allows for embedded images, customized fonts, searching, crossing off items, adding notes, linking and sharing.
Zed
Lightweight editor promises to instantly start up, load files and respond to keystrokes. It supports GitHub Copilot, and you can use GPT-4 to generate or refactor code. Multiple developers can navigate and edit in a shared space.
Zen
A beautiful browser based on the Mozilla framework — the same as Firefox. Features include work spaces, compact mode, split views, and a sidebar.
Zotero
Designed as a way to collect, organize, cite, and share research, but could also be used as for notes. Organize with collections, tags and saved searches. Sync across devices or a web browser. Share and collaborate with as many people as you like.
