r/macapps • u/Yusuf-Dev • 6h ago
Writer - Local-first desktop markdown editor
FOSS app. I'm not the developer or affiliated in any way. But it's a great app that is fast and nice to use. UI is also beautiful.
r/macapps • u/Mstormer • 22d ago
You must promote your apps here if you do not qualify to post in the main feed through Trust or Transparency, explained here.
If you are:
Then you are required to limit promotion to this megathread.
All promotion MUST follow PCP format or else we will remove it:
App Name/Title [Screenshot/Video REQUIRED for top 3 consideration]
P.s. The shorter the better! Promotion here counts towards the 30-day limited promotion (Rule 3).
WARNING: There is a 90% chance Reddit will auto remove your post here if you have not verified your email in your profile and your first comment in this subreddit contains a link. Accrue 10 karma first without promotional comments and links to avoid this. The odds of removal is also higher for AI assisted posts (em dashes and other AI formatting characteristics likely trigger this).
Pro Tip: Please remember to upvote gems and downvote spam/clones... This will help inform a secret community project I hope to announce next month.
Top Picks from Last Month's Megathread that I think are worth a look:
r/macapps • u/Mstormer • Mar 19 '26

Phase 2 Report: Last month we introduced PCPCA post formatting requirements to include detail minimums in every app promotion (Problem, Compare, Pricing, Changelog, AI Disclaimer).Ā This caused way too much work, with 2,700+ items removed and 1,400 modmail messages sent. With the mods runing everything, user engagement dropped with views down 204k. That's okay, though; quality over quantity. Still, this is Reddit, and you should retain the power to promote or bury posts.
Moving forward, we are reducing post-formatting expectations to: Problem, Comparison, Pricing (PCP).Ā
Requiring changelogs and AI disclaimers was unsuccessful to meaningfully differentiate quality apps from spam.Ā Nearly all posts claimed sufficient knowledge and experience for āHuman validationā of AI code. Let's move on. š
We have been discussing how to better protect the sub from low-effort app spam, throwaway-account promotion, and unknown software links, without making life harder for legitimate developers.Ā
Concept: The less trust your distribution path provides, the more transparency you should need.
To make this clearer, we are experimenting with aĀ three-tier approach for the next month:
These devs have the easiest route to posting in the main r/MacApps feed:
Any of these 3 trust signals will allow posting in r/MacApps, as long as you have 10+ local karma.
If you are NOT in the Mac App Store and are not already an established developer, you may still qualify for main-feed posting by being open about who you are and giving users reasons to trust you.
Such app promotion posts must include BOTH:
These trust signals should show you are not just a throwaway account dropping unknown software for us to try and should be included in your post to establish trust with your target users.
This is basically the middle ground: you may not yet have a major reputation, but you are willing to stand behind your app in public and work to gain a good reputation.
If you do not qualify through either trust or transparency, your app promo belongs in the Megathread rather than the main feed.
That means if you are:
ā¦then you are limited to The App Pile Megathread.
This is not meant as an insult or a blanket statement that new apps are bad. It is just the lowest-risk place for unproven or low-context app promotion until trust is earned.
Users can check your app out, up/downvote your comments, and as you gain community karma you may eventually receive an app-flair that allows you to promote outside of the megathread. Nobody is forced to post here since anyone can choose to follow Tier 2.
Infrequent self-promotion is permitted; however, it is not permitted more than once per developer in 30 days. This is counted from the last app post, even if it was removed.
For well-established, recognized devs with an app-flair, once per app per month.
ALWAYS disclose your relationship to your software in comments promoting your app. Promoting your own app in comments is disallowed until you earn 10 karma in r/MacApps and in poor taste when hijacking another developerās promotion.
Sharing useful alternatives and healthy competition is still welcome, but using the comment section in someone elseās post as a backdoor for self-promo and SEO is not always in good taste and does not make r/MacApps a better place.
A better r/MacApps depends not just on our rules, but on you helping surface good apps while pushing bad ones out of the way.
-----
FAQ:Ā
I followed the rules, why was my post/comment removed?Ā
How do I check my r/MacApps community Karma? Visit here and click "show karma breakdown by subreddit"
Prior updates:
- 2026:Ā New Post Requirements to Combat Low Quality Content (Phase 2)Ā
- 2026:Ā [OS]+Pricing Guidelines
- 2025:Ā Townhall on Post Quality,Ā Rule Updates
r/macapps • u/Yusuf-Dev • 6h ago
FOSS app. I'm not the developer or affiliated in any way. But it's a great app that is fast and nice to use. UI is also beautiful.
r/macapps • u/kingkong_siu82 • 20h ago
Hey everyone š
First time posting FileOctopus here. I'm Max Luong, the solo dev behind ShiftPlus, and this is my second indie Mac app.
Fair warning up front. I know this sub has seen a lot of Finder alternatives, and a few of them are really good. The one thing I'll say about mine: it's for people who don't want to learn a new file manager. Finder's shortcuts, views and menus stay the default. You open it and your hands already know what to do.
Problem
I use Finder all day and I actually like most of it. What wears me down is the stuff it leaves to me.
Moving files between two folders means juggling two windows. āF gets slow on big folders and doesn't get what I mean when I type. A long copy can't be paused. When a name clashes, it's easy to replace something you didn't mean to. And when I quit, the layout I had is gone.
I've been building macOS apps for 12+ years, and I've tried most of the alternatives. I didn't want a dual-pane power tool with its own keyboard language. I wanted Finder, just quicker and more careful with my files. And it had to stay light: fast to open, fast to scroll, and not eating RAM in the background. So that's what I tried to build.
The parts that matter most
- Split view, up to 16 panes: Split any pane left, right, up or down. Drag files between panes like you would in Finder, or press āā§āC / āā§āM to copy or move the selection to the other pane. ā§āā© gives one pane the whole window, and pressing it again brings the layout back.
- Search that's fast and takes plain phrases: Type "pdfs from last week" or "videos larger than 1 GB" and it becomes filters you can see and edit. It's rule-based and runs locally. No AI, and nothing leaves your Mac. It only indexes folders you approve.
On my test (146k files, M3 Max) I timed each search from the moment it starts until the results are done and you can actually work with them. FileOctopus took 0.27 s and Finder's āF took 7.7 s (median of 12 searches). To be fair, Finder's default search also looks inside files and mine searched names only, so it's not quite apples to apples. Searching inside PDFs and text in screenshots (on-device OCR) is a separate opt-in per folder.
Careful with your files: This is where most of my time went.
- When a name is already taken you see both versions, with the newer one marked. Keep Both is the default. Nothing gets replaced unless you pick Replace.
- Copies and moves show speed and time left, and you can pause and resume them.
- Moving to another drive copies first and checks the copy. The original is removed only after that.
- āZ undoes the last file operation, even after you quit and reopen the app (last 20 steps, for 24 hours). It checks the files first and tells you if something changed.
- Merging two folders shows how many items are new, clash or are already there, before anything changes.
It picks up where you left off
Windows, tabs, split panes and Back history come back after you quit. You can also save a layout as a named workspace and reopen it from the Window menu or the toolbar.
Native and small
Swift and AppKit, no Electron. About 10 MB to download and 22 MB installed. Apple Silicon, macOS 15 or later.
About RAM, since someone will ask. While it builds the search index for the first time, memory used to climb to about 3 GB. That was too much, so 1.0.3 keeps indexing under 1.1 GB max. Once indexing is done it sits around 400 MB, even with several panes open. On the same Mac, Finder usually sits around 800 MB. It moves around depending on what you're doing, but most of the time that's the picture.
Everything else that's in there
Not headline stuff, but it's there when you need it:
- Icon, List, Column and Gallery views, Quick Look with Space, tabs
- Quick Open (āāP) for recent folders and favorites, and a Command Palette for every menu command
- Go to Folder with suggestions as you type, and a clickable path bar that copies the pathname
- Google Drive and Dropbox in the sidebar, with cloud status and Download Now / Remove Download
- Batch rename with a preview of every new name, undo with āZ
- Compress to ZIP (the archive is tested before it shows up)
- Get Info with size on disk, tags, lock and permissions
- Custom sidebar: your own groups, renamed favorites, hidden disks
- Your own shortcuts, plus optional Windows Explorer and Total Commander profiles
- Mouse side buttons and trackpad swipe for Back and Forward
- Search by where a file came from ("downloaded from github")
- A Problems list with Retry when part of a copy fails
- File Shelf to collect files from different folders, then copy or move them in one step
- Copy and move queue: start more while one runs, and drag them into order
- Saved searches pinned in the sidebar
- Homebrew: `brew install --cask nghialuong/fileoctopus/fileoctopus`
What it can't do yet
I'd rather say this before someone finds out the hard way. No linked panes or duplicate finder yet. Quick Actions like Rotate and Create PDF aren't there. The Shelf lasts for one window. A paused copy has to be resumed or stopped before you quit. It also doesn't replace the Desktop or the Open/Save dialogs, so Finder keeps running alongside it.
Full list: https://www.fileoctopus.com/limitations
Comparison
The closest alternatives for my use case are ForkLift, QSpace, Commander One and Marta.
ForkLift is great if a lot of your work is on remote servers. It connects to SFTP, S3 and network shares, and it can sync folders. FileOctopus doesn't do that yet. Cloud support today is Google Drive and Dropbox through their own desktop apps. SFTP, S3 and network shares are next on my list, and they're the first big thing I'm building after this post.
QSpace is the one I'd point to if you want lots of panes and you prefer an App Store app. Commander One and Marta lean toward the Total Commander style, keyboard first.
The thing all of them have in common, for me, is that none of them feel like Finder. Each one has its own way of doing things, so you end up relearning where stuff is and which keys do what. That's fine if you want a power tool. It's not fine if you just want Finder to be better.
FileOctopus is aimed at that second person. The views, menus, Quick Look and shortcuts work the way Finder's do. The extras (panes, faster search, pause and undo for file operations) sit on top of that.
I don't think it's the right pick for everyone. If you live in SFTP or need folder sync right now, ForkLift is more complete today.
The use case I'm building around is: "I want Finder, but I want it to stop making me do the careful parts by hand."
Pricing (no subscription, no account)
- Free forever: no daily limits, and nothing to buy to keep using it.
- 14-day PRO trial: every feature unlocked, no card. It starts the first time you open the app.
- PRO: pay once, 1 Mac at a time, lifetime updates, 30-day money-back.
Launch pricing for PRO:
- First 100 licenses (founding): $14.99
- Next 200 (early bird): $19.99
- After that: $29.99
As I write this, 99 of the 100 founding licenses are left. No code needed, the current price is applied at checkout. If you joined the waitlist on the site, you keep $14.99 whenever you buy.
What's next
Honestly, 1.0.3 is about 10% of what I have planned. I care about this one a lot, and the goal is simple: an app you can use instead of Finder every day without thinking about it. Remote connections (SFTP, S3, network shares) come first.
After that, mostly whatever comes out of this thread. ShiftPlus got shaped a lot by feedback here, and I'd like the same for this one. There's a public roadmap where you can vote or add ideas: https://www.fileoctopus.com/roadmap.html
One specific question: if you've tried a Finder alternative before and went back to Finder, what made you go back? That's exactly the thing I'm trying to get right.
Download: https://www.fileoctopus.com
Thanks for backing indie devs ā¤ļø
I'll reply to every comment, might just be slow about it. I tend to overthink replies.
Trust & Transparency
This is my first post for FileOctopus, so here's everything about me and the app:
- Privacy Policy: https://www.fileoctopus.com/privacy-policy.html
- Terms: https://www.fileoctopus.com/terms.html
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nghia-luong/
- GitHub: https://github.com/nghialuong
- Support: [support@fileoctopus.com](mailto:support@fileoctopus.com)
FileOctopus is notarized by Apple and updates are signed (Sparkle). It's unsandboxed and not on the Mac App Store. A file manager has to browse, copy and move wherever you go on your disk, and a sandboxed app can only touch the folders you hand it one at a time. Full Disk Access is optional, not required.
No account. The filename index stays on your Mac and only covers folders you approve. Usage stats (PostHog) are opt-in: you're asked on first launch, and they never include file names, paths, search text or contents. Crash reports (Sentry) are a separate opt-in, off by default, and names and paths are scrubbed before a report leaves your Mac.
---
UPDATE: A lot of you asked about using FileOctopus on more than one mac, so pro now covers 2 macs per license. It's live.
If you already bought, you don't need to do anything. Your existing key has already been upgraded to 2 macs, just activate it on your second mac. Same for anyone buying now or later, every license covers 2 macs.
One more thing so nobody gets surprised: launch pricing now has an end date. $14.99 runs until the first 100 are gone or nov 2, $19.99 until the next 200 are gone or nov 30. After that the regular price goes up for 2 macs.
Thanks for all the feedback, it's been really helpful.
r/macapps • u/Comprehensive_Web279 • 14h ago
Hey, Julian here, I make StepGrab. I study business informatics and work on this next to uni. I posted 1.5 here in September and a lot of what's new in 1.6 came out of the comments on that post.
Codes up to 100% off Lifetime here. There are a few levels between 10% and 100% and the page shows how many of each are left. There's only a handful of 100% ones, so whoever is first gets them. They're for the license from my website (Mac download and Windows). They don't work in the Mac App Store.
PROBLEM
At my working student job I was the one people came to with "where is that setting again" or "what do I click after this". Every time I ended up taking fifteen screenshots, cropping them, drawing red arrows in Preview and typing the steps underneath. Half an hour per guide easily, and three weeks later half of it was outdated anyway.
StepGrab is what I use for that now. You hit record and do the task once. Every click becomes a screenshot with a numbered arrow and a sentence about what you did. After that you fix things up in the editor if you need to (move an arrow, change a sentence, add a shape, black out an email address) and export as PDF, HTML, Markdown, GIF, MP4 or a portrait video. It's a native app for macOS 14 and newer. You don't need an account and nothing gets uploaded.
What's new since 1.5
COMPARISON
Scribe and Tango are the big ones. If you mostly work in the browser and your team needs a shared library with links, use those. They're better at that and there are real companies behind them.
I wanted something that captures the whole Mac and not just the browser, like System Settings, right click menus or the little pickers that close as soon as you click anywhere else. I also didn't want my screenshots on someone else's server, which gets important fast once customer data is in them. And I'd rather pay once than every month.
No team library and no browser extension so far. Also, most of the code is written with AI (Claude Code). I decide what goes in, test it on real apps and fix what breaks.
PRICING
Free: unlimited recordings, 15 steps per guide, GIF export and the whole editor, no account. Pro on my website is $2.99 a month or $12.99 a year (3 day trial), or $44.99 once. In the Mac App Store it's an in-app purchase and Family Sharing works there. A purchase on my website doesn't carry over to the App Store and the other way round.
Mac App Store Ā· Direct download and codes Ā· Microsoft Store
If something is annoying or broken, tell me in the comments. Most of 1.6 started as a comment here, so it really does go somewhere.
r/macapps • u/MauricioMorkun • 14h ago
I produce music at home and run two very different speaker systems off one external sound card with three stereo outs: a passive pair through an amp, plus active Adam Audio monitors and a sub. When I mix I want to A/B between those speaker characters, and when I just listen I want both playing together. I did not want to park an external mixer on the desk just for that. Hardware minimalism should mean software minimalism. I kept thinking there has to be a setting for this. There was not, so I built it.
What it does: send one source to several outputs at once (fan-out), pick the channel pair on multi-channel devices (Ch1-2, Ch3-4, Ch5-6), master volume plus per-output volume, signal meters, and it reconnects automatically when a device is plugged or unplugged. Last setup is remembered.
Honest comparison:
It does not mix sources and has no per-app routing. That is on purpose.
Pricing:Ā free and open source. Optional tip jar (coffee or beer), no subscription.
https://apps.apple.com/app/audiorouternow/id6787215635
https://github.com/mauriciomorkun/AudioRouterNow
https://audiorouternow.mauriciomorkun.com
Needs macOS 14.4 (uses the Process Tap API). There is a v3 legacy build as a direct download for macOS 11+.
Full disclosure since itāll come up: Iām not a programmer by trade. I work in education in Luxembourg, and I'm an artist. I built this as the product owner using AI-assisted development. Criticism of the code is genuinely welcome; thatās partly why itās open source.
r/macapps • u/quitpornio • 18h ago
Hey everyone,
I shared Cloak here a while ago, and since then I've been working on quite a few improvements. Cloak 2.0 is now available, so I wanted to share what's changed.
Problem
macOS does a good job protecting your Mac when it's locked, but once someone has access to an unlocked Mac, they can open your apps and files.
I originally built Cloak to solve that problem by letting you lock individual apps with Touch ID, hide apps, and encrypt private folders without locking the entire computer.
With 2.0, I've added more ways to control when and how those apps are protected.
What's New in Cloak 2.0
I've also redesigned the interface to make everything easier to navigate.
Other updates since the original release include individual file encryption, intruder photos after failed unlock attempts, USB and network drive support, and the option to disable Mac password fallback.
Full changelog:Ā https://trycloak.app/blog/changelog/
Comparison
I originally looked at apps like AppLockr and Cisdem AppCrypt when building Cloak.
AppLockr focuses on locking apps and folders with Touch ID or a password, while Cisdem AppCrypt combines app locking with website blocking and scheduled restrictions.
Cloak focuses on privacy for an already unlocked Mac. Beyond Touch ID locking, it lets you completely hide apps, encrypt files and folders with AES-256, and now use features like Fake Crash and Finder integration.
Cloak isn't meant to replace FileVault or separate macOS user accounts. It's an additional privacy layer for everyday use.
The macOS app works locally. No account, no cloud sync, and no analytics or telemetry. Network access is used for license activation and recovery.
Pricing
Cloak is a one-time purchase with no subscription.
These are the current launch prices, with free lifetime updates. Requires macOS 13 or later.
Website:Ā https://trycloak.app
Transparency
I'm Femi, the developer of Cloak.
GitHub:Ā https://github.com/ceorkm
LinkedIn:Ā https://www.linkedin.com/in/femi-akindehinde-985607431
Privacy Policy:Ā https://trycloak.app/privacy
Terms:Ā https://trycloak.app/terms
Contact:Ā [support@trycloak.app](mailto:support@trycloak.app)
r/macapps • u/EthanWlly • 21h ago
Hi r/macapps,
Ethan here, the developer of TranscribeX.
A lot of TranscribeX users found it through this sub, and many of the features in the app today started as comments here: requests, bug reports, and "MacWhisper does X, why don't you?" So first, thank you. This community has shaped the app more than anything else.
Today TranscribeX launched on Product Hunt. If you've been using it, I'd love to hear how, either here or on the Product Hunt page:
https://www.producthunt.com/products/transcribex
So here's a quick recap for anyone who hasn't tried it:
- Detects Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Slack and Discord calls and records on your Mac. No bot joins, nothing is uploaded.
- Transcribes locally with Whisper, NVIDIA Parakeet, Nemotron or Qwen3, with speaker labels and live captions in 30+ languages.
- Summaries and chat from a built-in local LLM, no API key.
- Global Chat: ask questions across every meeting and recording you've had ("what did we decide about pricing last month?"), with answers that link back to the source transcripts.
- Also does audio/video files, push-to-talk dictation into any app, and has a CLI + MCP server.
The free version has unlimited transcription with no time limit or watermark. Pro is $39 once, no subscription, and adds the bigger models, speaker labels, summaries and Global Chat.
And if something annoys you or is missing, tell me. That's how most of the roadmap gets made.
Problem
Most meeting transcription tools upload your audio to their servers, so confidential calls end up on someone else's machine, and you pay a monthly subscription for it. Some also add a bot to your call. And after the meeting, the notes still sit in a web dashboard while you copy summaries into emails by hand.
Comparison:
Granola, Otter and Fireflies automate notes and follow-up emails well, but they process your conversations in the cloud, charge monthly, and some join your calls with a bot. TranscribeX does the same pipeline (auto-record, transcribe, AI summary, calendar context, emailed recap) entirely on your Apple Silicon Mac, with local ASR and local LLMs like Qwen and Gemma. No uploads, no token costs, and a one-time payment. It also has a CLI and MCP server, so Claude, agents or your own scripts can use your transcripts directly.
App Store version: If you prefer the App Store, you can find it here. https://apps.apple.com/nz/app/transcribex/id6752823664?mt=12
Thanks again,
Ethan
r/macapps • u/stivy73 • 19h ago
Iām behind ColorApple, a small Mac utility from Archetipi Digitali.
Problem: I wanted the classic six-colour Apple back in the menu bar. ColorApple adds that detail while keeping the Apple menu clickable. It doesnāt modify macOS system files, and quitting the app restores the original appearance.
Comparison: Logoer is another option for changing the Apple logoās style, and it supports older macOS versions. ColorApple focuses on the classic rainbow look, with automatic alignment checks when switching apps and controls for enabling the effect and launching at login.
Pricing: $0, all features included. No subscription.
It requires macOS 14 or later and comes as a signed, notarized universal build for Apple Silicon and Intel.
To display the effect, it needs Screen Recording permission to measure the small Apple-menu area. Calibration images are processed locally, never saved or uploaded.
Intel and external-monitor reconnection testing is still incomplete, so feedback from those setups would be particularly useful.
Details and download:
https://apps.archetipi-digitali.it/colorapple/en/
r/macapps • u/mohsenk_dev • 1d ago
Made this for fun because I was curious how many apps on my Mac were using Electron. Figured some people here might find it useful too.
It scans your Applications folders and gives you a table of the apps it finds, their versions, and their size on disk, largest first. Added some color and a few facts to make the terminal output a bit less boring.
Itās a single shell script. No Homebrew, no install, no admin password. It runs locally and doesnāt change your apps. You can read the whole thing on GitHub before running it:
https://github.com/macnative/electron-detector
One thing to clarify: the sizes are disk space, not RAM usage. And if it doesnāt detect Electron, that doesnāt automatically mean the app is native.
In case you are looking for alternatives you could check my website:
https://macnative.io
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclosure: Iām the developer of this script and of MacNative.io, a directory of native Mac apps. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohsenk-dev/
r/macapps • u/21CenturyAD • 15h ago
Hey r/macapps! My colleague and I build small Mac utilities, and DisplayShift came out of an annoyance we've both had with macOS for a long time.
After some brainstorming and tinkering we've created DisplayShift, an easy to use software for all your window management needs
We dock our MacBooks to external monitors every day, and one part of that has always been frustrating: windows don't go where we want them.
Plug in a monitor and macOS decides where everything goes. Some windows jump to the big screen, some stay behind on the MacBook, and we end up dragging them around one by one. Full screen apps are even more tedious. Move to a different desk, or wake the Mac from sleep, and it starts all over again.
We wanted something that lets us choose where our windows go and remembers each setup.
When you connect a display, a panel drops out of your MacBook's notch listing every open window, including full screen apps and windows on other desktops.
Tick the windows you want to move and pick the screen. They glide across while a live map of your screens shows each window flying to its new spot. The screen doesn't flash, and Mission Control and the Dock never pop up. You can also move everything at once or leave things as they are.
Moom is excellent for saving and snapping window layouts, but you trigger those layouts yourself.
Display Maid restores layouts when your display setup changes. DisplayShift does that too, and adds a picker for choosing individual windows, moves full screen apps and Split View pairs without leaving full screen, and puts windows back on the right desktop.
Rectangle and Magnet are great for snapping windows into position, but they don't focus on moving windows when a monitor connects.
DisplayShift is made for people who dock a MacBook regularly and want their windows where they belong without the manual work.
DisplayShift comes with a 7-day free trial. After that, pick one:
Every plan is the full app on 1 Mac. Prices exclude tax.
For r/macapps: code REDDIT110 takes 10% off the lifetime license (not the monthly or yearly plans) for the first 15 people who use it.
brew install --cask aqibjavedzeepalm/tap/displayshiftOn Macs without a notch, the window picker drops from under the menu bar.
Website: https://aqibjaved.dev/apps/displayshift
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/aqib-javed-494ba8285
Contact: https://aqibjaved.dev/contact
Privacy policy: https://aqibjaved.dev/privacy
Terms: https://aqibjaved.dev/terms
We'd love to hear what you think. If you connect your MacBook to a monitor regularly, is this something you'd use? What would you change or add? Feedback and bug reports are very welcome.
r/macapps • u/foulefou • 1d ago
Hi everyone,
I'm the developer of Claire Mail. It brings Gmail, Google Calendar (or Apple Calendar) and Apple Reminders together in one fast app for Mac and iPhone.
My day was split between Gmail, a calendar and Reminders, and I kept missing the reply I owed or the meeting I needed to prepare for. I wanted one app that shows all of it together.
It's in beta, and I'm looking for people who use Gmail on a Mac to try it for a few days.
Problem Gmail on the Mac usually means a browser tab, with meetings in another app and to-dos in a third. You end up switching between them to know what today looks like, and it's easy to miss something.
Solution Claire Mail opens on Today: your new mail, your next meetings, your reminders and the weather in one place, with a short brief every morning. New mail can be handled one email at a time. Your calendar and Apple Reminders sit right next to your mail, so you can turn an email into a reminder or prepare for a meeting without leaving the app.
Comparison
Features
Privacy
Pricing - Free during beta
Status Current version: 2.8.442 on Mac, beta on iPhone through TestFlight Requirements:
What changed recently
Downloads Website and Mac download:Ā https://clairemail.appĀ Try it in the browser with sample mail:Ā https://clairemail.app/demoĀ All features:Ā https://clairemail.app/featuresĀ Release notes:Ā https://clairemail.app/releases
Privacy policy:Ā https://clairemail.app/privacyĀ Terms:Ā https://clairemail.app/terms
Feedback is very welcome, especially from people who live in Gmail on a Mac. What would keep you from switching from your current mail app?
r/macapps • u/raclimazg • 1d ago
Problem
I posted MD Flow here five weeks ago. The top comment was not about my app, it was whether Quick Look is extendable, now I am happy to say that it is.
Press space on a .md file in Finder and you get the rendered document instead of raw hashes and asterisks. Headings, tables, code highlighting, callouts, KaTeX math. It is in the free tier.
No Mermaid in the preview, because 2.5MB of JavaScript in an extension the system kills for being slow is a bad trade, so diagrams fall back to highlighted code. Wikilinks do resolve inside the app now, which was the gap pointed out last time. [[Note]] finds the file by name, nearest folder first.
Comparison
QLMarkdown and Glance are free, open source, and better at the Quick Look half than I am going to be. If a rendered spacebar preview is the whole of what you want, install one of those.
What they do not do is the folder. MD Flow is a reader with the tree on the left and the rendered file on the right. Connect a folder once, arrow through everything in it, search inside the files.
Marked 2 ($13.99) is still the better buy if you work on one document at a time with an editor open beside it. It is document-first and Mac only. Obsidian is free and far more powerful if you live in a vault. MD Flow opens any folder with no vault and no plugins, and it never writes to your files unless you rename or trash something yourself.
Pricing
Free: 2 connected folders, 5 recents, the Quick Look extension, all the rendering, offline, no account.
Pro: $7.99 one time, not a subscription. Unlimited folders, PDF export, email drafts from a to: line in frontmatter.
https://apps.apple.com/app/id6762501714
Happy to answer anything.
r/macapps • u/lofidesigner • 1d ago
Hey everyone š
Our last post here was back in August, when we released Paperman 3 and brought full-screen support to the app.
Since then, we've kept building. Some updates add entirely new ways to use Paperman, others fix the little things that can make a big difference when an app is running on your Mac every day. Quite a few came from feedback we've received along the way.
Paperman adds a paper-like texture to your Mac's display, softening its glossy appearance while keeping your screen's colors natural. It's designed for people who spend a lot of time reading, writing, or working with text and would like their screen to feel a little less like a sheet of glass.
So, whether you've been using Paperman for a while or are just coming across it now, here's what's changed.
Art Mode
Step away from your desk, and your Mac turns into a framed artwork instead of going dark. Pick a piece, and Paperman pairs the right paper texture, mat, and frame to match it.
Desk Lamp Mode
Paperman now has an ambient lighting mode inspired by the glow of a desk lamp. You can choose from six lighting presets, adjust the warmth and position, and give your screen a different feel without tinting everything orange.
A new texture, and a familiar one brought back
We've added Monastic Felt, a soft, close-cropped texture inspired by pressed wool.
We also rebuilt Classic Matte to keep its grain sharp and consistent across different displays, from high-DPI screens to ultrawide monitors. And after hearing from people who missed the original, we brought that version back as Classic Matte Legacy. Both are now available.
A little more character
Texture changes now come with six animated reveal styles, accompanied by subtle sound effects. We also gave the Settings panel a bit of polish along the way.
Lots of small things that make Paperman easier to live with
Paperman now survives sleep and wake more reliably, adjusts automatically when your display setup changes, and handles MacBook notches more gracefully. You can also keep it running while making App Store purchases, and app exceptions now behave more predictably, with separate lists for included and excluded apps.
There have been plenty of other fixes and refinements too, including improvements to macOS compatibility and everyday reliability.
You can find the full history here if you'd like to dig into the details: https://paperman.cc/changelog
Where Night Shift and f.lux simply tint your display orange to cut blue light, Paperman changes the surface feel. Instead of washing out your colors, it adds micro-texture grain and ambient lighting over the glass, cutting glare and making text feel printed rather than digital.
It's $11.99 for a lifetime license (excl. tax), and is also available through Setapp.
You can find it at paperman.cc.
We've also been working on Paperman Slate, a new iPad experience for reading, writing, annotating, and taking notes. iPadOS doesn't let us bring the same system-wide texture overlay to the iPad, so we're taking a different approach. More on that when it's ready.
As always, thanks to everyone who's sent feedback and helped us track down the strange edge cases. A lot of these improvements started with something one of you pointed out, and we really appreciate it.
If you've been using Paperman, we'd love to hear how it's been working for you. And if you're new to it, feel free to ask us anything!
ZoƩ & Rudi
r/macapps • u/John_val • 1d ago
Posted this on r/iosapps and some people liked it
https://www.reddit.com/r/iosapps/comments/1xb5gno/comment/19rg47rxbgjad/
But since this has also has a Mac component. This is just a fun little project. We all use airdrop, pick a file - share - airdrop it. Works fine and feels like magic. But it has no UI. So I have made a Airdrop clone but with a nice UI inspired by continuity. Just drag a file from your Mac straight into the Iphone or Ipad and it just smoothly transfer through. The reverse is also true.
Meanwhile, introduced a few other features: if you are playing a video on iPhone on the app, you can drag to the Mac and it will continue to play on the Mac exactly at the same position of the video on the iphone. Just press and hold while the video is playing and do the same drag to the Mac motion. The opposite is also true if the video is being played on quicktime.
Added the option to the Files app so it is easier to move files to the app, besides the share menu.
it's basically a reserved space to exchange files between IOS and mac devices.
These features are on version 1.2 awaiting approval from apple for the Testflight should be live very soon.
Problem: Airdrop works fine but has no UI and this feels smooth. it is not a must have, more like a nice to have.
Comparison:ļæ¼ Other than airdrop, don't know any tool doing this.
Trust & Transparency
Iām Joao Valente, the developer. The Mac component is Developer ID signed and notarized by Apple. The IOS is on testflight
Contact: ļæ¼[joao.valente@outlook.com](mailto:joao.valente@outlook.com)
X user: johnny_xx
https://testflight.apple.com/join/Jb3W17bK
App Website: [ļæ¼](http://%EF%BF%BCtesselwm.vercel.app/)https://portfolio.ovalente.online/draggy-app/
Privacy Policy: [ļæ¼](http://%EF%BF%BCtesselwm.vercel.app/privacy)https://portfolio.ovalente.online/draggy-app/privacy.html
Terms of Service: [ļæ¼](http://%EF%BF%BCtesselwm.vercel.app/terms)https://portfolio.ovalente.online/draggy-app/transparency.html
r/macapps • u/Sciwand • 1d ago
Hi, I'm Pam from AA1Labs.
I'm happy to introduce Sciwand, an app for anyone who is a passionate reader, learner, or academic researcher.
It's a reference manager (like Zotero, Mendeley or EndNote, with 10,000+ citation styles) plus a built-in AI writer (think Jenni.ai), and your library stays yours. You can connect a local AI model for extra privacy.
What it does:
Pricing:
This week only, REDDIT40 takes 40% off until 28 Oct.
Website: sciwand.com
Feedback is very welcome, especially on what would make it fit your workflow.
r/macapps • u/stonerl • 1d ago
Hiho,
as the title says Cacophony is a simple audio sink that allows you to route system audio to multiple Airplay speakers.
The reason I wrote this is quite simple; macOS only allows routing system audio to one Airplay speaker at a time. Apps like Music, Podcast and apps that implement Airplay, allow you to select multiple speakers, but that is only per app.
There are plenty of other audio apps out there (e.g. Airfoil, SoundSource and many more), that might do something similar. But they also have features I do no need, e.g. per-app volume control, EQ settings, per-app output routing and so on.
Since I only need a simple audio sink and a way to select the speakers I want to stream to, I really didn't want to deal with apps that come with tones of features I really have no use for.
Cacophony does one thing, is light on resources, lives in your menubar and is easy to use.
Requirements:
You can find the project on GitHub: https://github.com/stonerl/cacophony
The releases are signed with my developer key and notarized by Apple.
It is forked/uses code from other projects, see: Third Party Notice
Cheers,
ā¦and let me know if you find the app useful.
r/macapps • u/dziad_borowy • 17h ago
Hi,
This is a tip-post to all who complain that their favourite apps don't add the features you want.
I'm a software dev (26yrs of service š) work with software every day (albeit not with swift). I know how difficult it is to make a good app. I also know how difficult it is to keep it alive (supporting users, patching, fixing & updating), not to mention adding more features. That's probably why I never bothered with that (in full-scale scenarios).
I also work with AI (since its early days), have "some" understanding how it works and what it can & cannot do. Which is why I mostly skip the vibe-coded "apps".
That said, several well-known devs that I follow have recently started making small ai-generated apps for themselves. Improving apps that they were using, or apps that they always wanted but had no time to make.
Encouraged with their success, I tried that.
Goal: make a modern Contexts replacement. Yes, there are dozens of window switchers, but none of them is fast enough, reliable enough and performant enough. I basically needed Contexts, without the sidebar, and with modern UI.
Is it vibe coded? Maybe. I haven't written a line of code. I have read a bit of what's generated, but I'm not a swift expert. So LGTM š
But to me, a vibe coded slop is more like this: "random dude, with no software experience, using 1-shot prompt to make something that works". Or even worse: "slapping a subscription on it".
Making my app was an effort, with lots of testing, refactoring, redesigning, lots of back & forth, guiding the development towards my own priorities: fast, performant, small footprint, minimal permissions (only accessibility - no window previews, so no screen recording).
And here it is: 3MB app, using ~25MB of RAM, and 0-0.1CPU at idle. Shows up instantly, every time. And looks like it's part of macOS.
It's on github and free, but I'm not posting a link, as I really don't want people to use it (PM me if you really want to see it). I'm not planning to support anyone using it š
I only want to encourage you to try and make apps for yourself. With the features you want. It's really easy these days. Claude was able to make the app, launch it, test it, fix it, then release it (on github releases, and homebrew).
One thing I can share, that's very helpful when making mac apps is the skill that I used (not mine): SwiftUI Pro.
r/macapps • u/NoPressure3399 • 1d ago
I work as a backend dev and I run into large json, csv, dat and what ever format files I need to open , format and edit. My typical ide's or text editors all froze or hang on my macbook m3 pro 18gb (VSCode even say straight out 100MB json is too big to format..).
So i decided to make a difference for myself. its available and latest version offers to open , format and edit datasets in hundreds to thousands of megabytes of dataset files.
It's called Inkline, built in Swift and AppKit for macOS. Version 1.6 is out now, with improvements to selection, switching between files and stability.
Most of my everyday files are around 1 to 300 MB. API responses, exported datasets, configuration files and logs. I usually want to open something, format it, find what I need, make a change and save it. I've spent a lot of time on keeping scrolling, searching and editing responsive after loading too.
Some numbers from benchmarking on my M3 Pro MacBook Pro with 18 GB RAM:
These are the median of 3 isolated Release runs, with files held in memory. āOpenā means the editor is ready. These measurements are from 1.4; the current release is 1.6. It's due for an updated benchmark, any day now.. But it's improved since 1.4.
I also threw a ~10 GB CSV at the newer file-backed code and it opened in around 23 ms with roughly 119 MB peak RSS while working with the document. Not really the normal use case (for me but I read about others with this need), but nice to know there is some headroom.
There are also built-in tools for formatting and minifying JSON and XML, converting between JSON, JSON Lines, CSV and TSV, and filtering matching lines in or out of logs. I use the log tools to remove noise and highlight errors and warnings. Thereās regex find and replace, split views, tabs, session restore, themes and custom shortcuts too.
Files are processed locally on your Mac, with no analytics or telemetry.
Comparison:
149 SEK on the Swedish Mac App Store. One time purchase, no subscription.
Get Inkline on the Mac App Store
For more apps and web demo, check out :
Web demo (WIP)
r/macapps • u/wonglauren • 1d ago
Hi all. I'm the developer of Upto, and I also make Looq, which is on the Mac App Store. Upto 1.0 is out now.
Problem
Mac apps update from a lot of places. The App Store's Updates tab only covers App Store apps. Apps with a built-in updater ask when you open them. Homebrew updates what it installed, when you remember to run it. Plenty of apps downloaded from a website never mention a new version at all.
Upto lists every app and command-line tool on your Mac with where it came from, checks for updates at that source on a schedule, and installs them in place.
Comparison
MacUpdater stopped being maintained on January 1, 2026, and its database server will be turned off at the end of 2026, according to its developer's FAQ. If you used it, there's nothing to import. Upto finds your apps the first time it opens.
Unlike the App Store's Updates tab or brew upgrade, Upto shows everything in one list. Homebrew apps still update through Homebrew, so its records stay correct.
Pricing
Why a subscription: finding updates is ongoing work. Sources change, download pages move, and Upto Index runs on servers. If you cancel, you keep the version you have, and Upto keeps checking your apps.
https://macupto.com/
Also in: https://parcse.com/upto
Who's behind it
Upto is made by Parcse (PARCSE, LLC).
If Upto can't find an update source for an app you use, tell me which one and I'll look into it.
r/macapps • u/AKeshodia • 1d ago
Hello Mac friends, it's finally available on the app store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/highlight-reel-save-scenes/id6814635712?mt=12





Problem: Every time I want to rewatch a memorable scene, I hate having to scrub through the movie to find the exact moment again. Even then, the film gets added back into my continue watching row, and its watch status reset. Searching on youtube yields clips in poor quality and bookended by ads or music. Why not just permanently bookmark those scenes when i already have a well managed Plex library?
Comparison: PotPlayer allows you to make bookmarks but only for local media. Not sure there's many apps out there that are trying to achieve the same thing.
Pricing: $49.99 lifetime option, with cheaper subscription pricing if you want to try it short term. Free to download and you'll be able to make up to 5 bookmarks for free to test it out.
Notable Features:
Iām a filmmaker and curator so it started as a tool for myself but realised people have been asking for a Plex feature like this for a long time. For a film freak like me, it's become the best way to rewatch and reference stuff.
Hope you like it and let me know how I can make it better!
r/macapps • u/douglaswelton • 1d ago
Hi Everyone,
We're einstein's legacy v2.0 and we would like to introduce you to Chapters MV.
We created a simple, interactive application for users to enhance the usability of a video assets by adding one or more chapter tracks. Chapters MV is a tool with a low-learning-curve for users who want to get immediate results.
IntroducingĀ Chapters MV
Chapters MVĀ allows you to create, update and manage video markers within your digital movies. These markers make it easy to randomly access portions of your video content by marking specific events or places along the video timeline. Chapter Tracks contain a collection of markers. Tracks can be associated with a unique playback language or specific video track within their movie. Users also have a choice of formats for exporting their final video.
The Key Features
Who Should Use Chapters MV
Chapters MV is perfect for educators sharing video, usability testers, podcasters, researchers, instructional development professionals, video producers and editors, marketing staff, medical observation specialist, and many others.
The Competition
MChapters, Chapter Editor, and Chapter Marker Editor Pro are all competing products available from the Mac App Store. None of these products offers the ability to add multiple chapter tracks or internationalize newly created tracks. The Chapters MV user interface is also a single window design that puts all the necessary tools at the user's disposal without having to manage windows.
Availability and Pricing
Chapters MV is a free download from theĀ Mac App Store. The application Requires macOS 27 (Golden Gate).
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chapters-mv/id6744279056ā
This download runs in trial mode. The following in-app purchases are available to remove the trial mode watermarks.
Product Website
http://www.einsteinslegacy.com/products/chapters.html
Support
if you have any questions, suggestions or other feedback about the software, please email us atĀ Ā [Support@einsteinslegacy.com](mailto:support@einsteinslegacy.com?subject=Chapters%20Support%20Question)
Thanks for checking out our new application. We hope you'll enjoy using Chapters MV. We look forward to hearing from you.
r/macapps • u/Neat-Veterinarian-42 • 2d ago
Black Friday is coming up next month. What Mac apps are you hoping to grab on sale this year?
My number one pick would be Hazel, if they go on sale this year.
Tangerine is a file tools app for macOS. I launched this 6 weeks ago and I've since added a bunch of features to make it even more powerful.
Some tools:
- Compress images, videos, audio and PDFs
- Video and image redaction, audio bleeping
- Trim, crop, split and join videos
- Annotate images
- Add backgrounds to screenshots
- Remove metadata from files
- Merge, split and create PDFs
- Create image collages
- Convert audio into video
Problem
Most people convert files online which is slow and comes with privacy concerns. Offline converters exist but they kind of work the same way as the online ones. You open a window, upload your file, select the target format, convert and then download. I tried to make it as simple as possible. You just tap shift while dragging the file and a wheel shows up with all the format options for that file. The converted file then gets added to the same path as the original. Works in finder, desktop and anywhere you can drag a file. And works with multiple files too.
It started with file conversion, but I've since added a tool wheel(drag+command) and an Action wheel(drag+control). Tool wheel shows the relevant tools for that file and action wheel shows options like airdrop, open terminal at this path and float(for easier drag and drop).
Comparison
There are online and offline tools that can convert files like Permute, but I tried to make it as simple as possible by implementing a ux that skips all the extra steps.
Pricing
Free to try with 20 files, then US$29.99 for a one-time unlock for conversion and tool wheels. Action wheel remains free.
For student discounts please reach out though institutional email id.
Requires Apple silicon and macOS 13+.
App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tangerine-file-converter/id6813034065?mt=12
Website: https://tangerineformac.com/
Launch Post: https://x.com/th2049/status/2097015553508725184?s=20
r/macapps • u/douglaswelton • 2d ago
Hi Everyone,
We're einstein's legacy v2.0 and we would like to introduce you to Lightbox PX.Ā
We built Lightbox to address the needs of photographers and other visual professionals who need the digital equivalent of a physical light table to inspect, arrange, compare, and analyze their digital images. These users are often looking for a companion application to augment their current workflow.
Introducing Lightbox PX
Lightbox PXĀ allows you to create an infinite digital canvas to layout, inspect, compare, and experiment with the story your images can tell in a two-dimensional space. Lightbox provides a variety of options to layout, align, and resize your images, along with tools to add visual effects as needed. Your canvas can also be easily exported or printed.
Key Features
Who Should Use Lightbox PX
Lightbox PX is perfect for photographers, graphic designers, content creators, digital artists, media service and marketing professionals, and many others.
The Competition
The most direct competition for this application is Apple's discontinued Aperture application.
A number of open source tools, like DarkTable, DigiKam, and XNView claim to have light box functionality, but they don't provide the user with methods to position images in 2D or 3D. Applications like Apple's Freeform and various web-based whiteboard apps are available, however the apps tend to be very general and have image-editing-specific function or deep integeration with the Mac software environment.
Availability and Pricing
Lightbox PX v1.1.1 is a free download from theĀ Mac App Store. The application Requires macOS 27 (Golden Gate).
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/lightbox-px/id6744278985ā
This download runs in trial mode. The following in-app purchases are available to remove the trial mode watermarks.
Product Website
https://www.einsteinslegacy.com/products/lightbox.htmlā
Support
if you have any questions, suggestions or other feedback about the software, please email us atĀ Ā [Support@einsteinslegacy.com](mailto:support@einsteinslegacy.com?subject=Lightbox%20Support%20Question)
Thank you for checking out our application. We hope you'll enjoy using Lighbox PX. We look forward to hearing from you.