Introduction
Whenever I get a new Mac, the first thing I do is set it up with the apps and tools that make my workflow smooth. These apps help me stay productive, organized, and ready for whatever comes my way. Here's my go-to list of must-have installs:
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Essentials for Work and Dev
- π Arc β My Safari/Chrome replacement for a cleaner browsing experience.
- πΊ Warp β My favorite replacement for the built-in Terminal.
- πΊ Alacritty β Another solid Terminal option.
- βοΈ Easy+Move+Resize β Easily move and resize windows like on Linux.
- π³ Docker Desktop β For all things Docker.
- π iStat Menus β Keeping an eye on system performance.
- πΆ k9s β A terminal UI for interacting with Kubernetes clusters.
- π Fish β My shell of choice, replacing bash and zsh.
- πΊ Zellij β My preferred Tmux replacement.
-
π exa β An enhanced
ls
command replacement. - π¦ Homebrew + Nix β Package managers to handle everything.
-
π kubecolor β Makes
kubectl
outputs more readable.
Code Editors and Tools
- π€ Cursor (π Checkout My Book) β VS Code replacement powered by AI.
- π Sublime Text β My all-time favorite for quick note-taking or file editing.
- π GitHub Desktop with GH CLI β For managing Git repositories easily.
macOS Enhancements
- π Raycast β Replaces Spotlight, streamlines productivity.
- π ChatGPT β My AI assistant on macOS.
Creative and Visual Tools
- π¨ Pixelmator Pro β Photoshop for Mac.
- π₯ GIPHY Capture β Simple GIF creation tool.
Productivity Boosters
- βοΈ Day One β Daily journaling for tracking life and work.
- β«οΈ Obsidian β Powerful note-taking app.
- π΅ Trello β Organizing projects and tasks.
Miscellaneous
- π Flux β Reduces eye strain by adjusting screen brightness at night.
- β¬οΈ Motrix β The best download manager Iβve found.
- π£ OrbStack β Lightweight Linux VM on Mac.
- π Multipass β Another VM option for running Linux.
- β―οΈ VLC β My go-to video player.
- π¦ Ollama β Run LLMs (Large Language Models) locally.
Summary
These are my personal picks, and Iβve found them incredibly useful. If you found this list helpful, please give it a thumbs up, and let me know if there are any apps or tools you think I should try out! π
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π Did you found it helpful? If so, please give it a star βοΈ and feel free to create an issue or submit a PR for any apps you'd like to include! π
Top comments (7)
Great content here! Thanks for sharing.
As an 8-hour-a-day developer, I can share one more tool: BatFi. It helps me to take care of the battery and use energy directly from the power line once the battery reaches a predetermined threshold. It's been 4 months since I got my MacBook Pro and I have 50 power cycles.
Is it open-source? How do I download it?
As a new Mac user, I highly appreciate this resource! Might I also suggest Goleko to manage your projects, Id love to hear what you think.
Thanks Martin, really glad you found it useful. Is there an open-source self-hosted option for Goleko?
Currently no, but we're working on it! :)
I would suggest Vivaldi a Chromium based browser with mouse gestures, that gives you the experience of using a wand.
I have used Vivaldi in the past, but I recommend Arc at this moment, and it's Chrome-based as well.