Code reviews are where good code becomes great code — but they're also where momentum goes to die. Switching between your editor, browser, terminal, and Slack while trying to give thoughtful feedback on a PR is exhausting.
After years of reviewing code on macOS, I've landed on a set of apps that cut the friction dramatically. Here are seven that genuinely speed things up.
1. Raycast — The Fastest Way to Switch Context
Free / Pro $8/mo — raycast.com
Raycast replaces Spotlight and gives you instant access to everything: repos, clipboard history, window management, even custom scripts. During reviews, I use it to jump between repos, paste saved review comment templates from snippets, and quickly look up documentation without leaving the keyboard. The clipboard history alone saves minutes per review session.
2. Rectangle — Side-by-Side PR Reviews Without the Hassle
Free — rectangleapp.com
When reviewing code, you almost always need two windows side by side — the PR diff in one, the running app or related file in another. Rectangle gives you keyboard-driven window snapping that actually works. Half-screen left, half-screen right, done. No dragging, no fiddling. It sounds simple, but once you have muscle memory for it, you'll wonder how you ever reviewed code without it.
3. Warp — A Terminal That Doesn't Fight You
Free — warp.dev
Warp is a modern terminal built for speed. During code reviews, I frequently need to pull branches, run tests, and check git logs. Warp's block-based output means I can scroll through test results cleanly, copy specific command outputs, and use its AI features to quickly explain unfamiliar shell commands. The input editor feels like a real text editor, which makes composing multi-line git commands painless.
4. TokenBar — Know What Your AI Reviews Actually Cost
$5 lifetime — tokenbar.site
If you use AI to assist with code reviews — Copilot, Claude, GPT for explaining complex diffs — your token usage adds up fast. TokenBar sits in your menu bar and shows real-time token counts and costs across all your LLM providers. I started using it after realizing I was burning through way more API credits than I thought during review-heavy weeks. One glance at the menu bar and you know exactly where you stand.
5. CleanShot X — Annotate and Share Visual Feedback Instantly
$29 one-time — cleanshot.com
Not every review comment can be explained in text. Sometimes you need to screenshot a UI bug, annotate it, and drop it in the PR. CleanShot X is the best screenshot tool on macOS by a wide margin — capture, annotate, blur sensitive data, and get a shareable link in seconds. Their scrolling capture is perfect for long UI flows, and the built-in editor means you never need to open Preview or Figma just to draw an arrow.
6. Monk Mode — Block Distractions During Deep Reviews
$15 lifetime — mac.monk-mode.lifestyle
The biggest enemy of a good code review isn't the code — it's the Twitter tab you opened "for just a second." Monk Mode blocks distracting feeds at the content level, not the domain level. So you can still access GitHub (obviously) while blocking the trending sidebar, YouTube recommendations, and social feeds that pull your attention away. I turn it on before starting any review session that needs real focus, and the quality of my feedback went up noticeably.
7. Obsidian — Keep a Running Review Journal
Free — obsidian.md
I keep a simple review log in Obsidian: patterns I notice across PRs, recurring issues in specific codebases, architectural decisions I want to revisit. Obsidian's local-first markdown approach means it's fast, private, and searchable. Over time, this log becomes invaluable — you start catching patterns before they become problems, and you can reference past decisions when similar code comes up for review.
The Stack at a Glance
| App | What It Does | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Raycast | Launcher + snippets + repo switching | Free / $8 mo |
| Rectangle | Keyboard window snapping | Free |
| Warp | Modern terminal for git workflows | Free |
| TokenBar | Real-time LLM token tracking | $5 lifetime |
| CleanShot X | Screenshots + annotations | $29 one-time |
| Monk Mode | Feed-level distraction blocking | $15 lifetime |
| Obsidian | Local-first review notes | Free |
Code reviews deserve focus. These seven apps won't write your review comments for you, but they'll remove enough friction that you can actually think about the code instead of fighting your tools.
What's in your code review stack? Drop your favorites in the comments.
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