Tom Cruise said, “I feel the need... the need for speed.” Me too! I started using MacBook in 2014. Originally, I was a Windows user, and I had a difficult time getting familiar with macOS. I even didn’t like to use Mac because it was so weird. However, after several years of getting familiar with Mac, now, I don’t want to switch back to Windows because I have found these powerful apps that can speed up your workflow.
1. Raycast
This is my best Mac app ever! Have you heard about Alfred? Raycast is Alfred’s alternative, and it is FREE! I can’t live without this app. The main idea of Raycast is to substitute Mac spotlight, but Raycast has so many extensions that could help our productivity.
The wonderful features here are alias and hotkey that we can set up in each extension.
Clipboard History
My hotkey : Cmd + Shift + V
We can access all the things that we copy (cmd + c). It’s not only text but also pictures!
Snippets
My hotkey: Control + S
Saving any text that you might use many times. I save my email, address, driver’s license id, Credit Card testing, and anything that I cannot remember.
This is a game-changer as a developer. In my case, I’m working with a payment application, and I need to insert credit card details repeatedly. Using this snippets extension will speed up my workflow.
In order, to paste the snippet automatically, you must set it up in the extension settings.
Window Management
One reason that I don’t like Mac is because I can’t make the applications to be in half on the screen like in Windows. I hate that, but I found one application, which is called Spectacle
. I still want to put it here because it helped me a lot. I also know paid apps for window management such as Magnet and Rectangle.
If you are already familiar with those shortcuts, we can just set up the preset here.
Let me show you how I use my window management in my ultra-wide monitor.
I’m using Spectacle hotkey preset. These are the main hotkey that I use in my daily basis:
- Full Screen
Cmd + Opt + F - Center
Cmd + Opt + C - Reasonable Size
Cmd + Opt + R - Left Half
Cmd + Opt + ← - Right Half
Cmd + Opt + → - Move to another Monitor
Cmd + Ctrl + Opt + →orCmd + Opt + Ctrl + ← - Left third
Ctrl + Opt + D - Center third
Ctrl + Opt + F - Right third
Ctrl + Opt + G - Left two third
Ctrl + Opt + E - Center two third
Ctrl + Opt + R - Right two third
Ctrl + Opt + T
Quicklinks
This is another powerful extension that can get you faster to a website. For example, to go to Google or YouTube, you can just find Quicklinks and type your search argument there.
If you are questioning what is raynaldo.me Quicklinks is, here is the answer. My brother, Thedorus Clarence created a Next.js project called notiolink, so we can create short links in notion. If you are interested, you can install it by yourself. I will give some demo videos below.
theodorusclarence
/
notiolink
⚡ Self-hostable branded link shortener built with Next.js & Notion API
Notiolink
⚡ Self-hostable branded link shortener built with Next.js & Notion API
Made by Theodorus Clarence
Installation Guide
Please read the full guide on this notion page
If you are migrating from v0 to v1, I suggest to re-fork the project and add the environment variables.
Features
- ⚡ Unlimited branded links (use your own domain!)
- ☝ Self-hostable with Vercel
- 💨 Fast redirect using Next.js Middleware Functions
- 🌑 Awesome CMS using Notion
- ➕ See click count statistics
- 💠 Zero config, all customizable via env
- 💅 Numerous themes
Link Tree Page
You can easily configure it on the notion database
Add New Link
Route: /new
You can add link straight from the website for easy access, don't worry this is protected with login page so no one will mess with your links
Link Details & Count
You can see the statistics with /:slug/detail route
Categorized Tree
Every category will be made into…
My shortcut is Ctrl + R
Jira
Active sprint hotkey: Ctrl + J
Lastly, I also want to show the Jira extension because it’s handy to use Jira without opening the browser. We can read the ticket, update the ticket status, assign the ticket to someone, and open the ticket by using Raycast.
There are a lot of extensions because Raycast has a store for it, I will not show everything. You can check other extensions here. Several extensions that I used:
- Search Recent Project VSCodes
- Github
- Bitwarden Vault
- Slack Status
2. CleanShot X
CleanShot X is a screenshot application with a lot of features. This is a paid application, but I recommend it. I don't usually spend my money on an application. However, I don’t regret buying this powerful application. It’s so helpful to communicate with others if we need to share a screenshot, GIF, or video.
I will not explain all CleanShot X’s features in detail because you can see them on the website, but I want to share some of cool features:
The Editor
The screenshot editor is very cool! We will get a lot of features for editing.
Record GIF and Video
All my videos and GIFs screen recordings are using CleanShot X. You can record your voice, computer sound, and your video. Also, we can highlight our clicks and show our keystrokes. It’s so configurable and convenient for recording your screens.
Of course, you can also trim the video and mute your video afterward.
Scrolling Capture
I hate when I need to take a long screenshot. I usually need to separate it into two screenshots, but CleanShot X did a great job here. Scrolling capture gives me the flexibility to take a long screenshot.
Capture Text (OCR)
This is a feature that I have never expected because I thought CleanShot X is only taking a screenshot and screen video. However, they give us access to copy a text with OCR. Thank you, CleanShot X! I love this feature.
My CleanShot X KeyStrokes
- Capture full screen
Cmd + Shitf + 3 - Capture some area
Cmd + Shift + 4 - Record Screen (GIF or Video)
Cmd + Shift + 5 - Scrolling Capture
Cmd + Shift + 2 - Capture Text (OCR)
Cmd + Shift + C - Restore closed file
Cmd + Shift + E
Go to their website here to learn more about other cool CleanShot X features.
3. Logi Options
This is a free application, but you must buy a Logitech mouse with a programmable buttons feature. I’m using M590 because I got another 5 buttons excluding left-click and right-click. However, I checked in the Logitech store it’s said Sold Out Temporarily, but you can buy M585 for the substitution. The only difference M585 doesn’t have a silent click feature.
Why do I love this application?
We can program the buttons differently for a specific application.
I mainly use the feature for Visual Studio Code and my browsers (Firefox and Chrome).
My Logi Options Setup
Visual Studio Code
- Scroll Left - Keystroke
Cmd + B→ Open side bar - Scroll Right - Keystroke Ctrl + ` → Open terminal
- Side Front - Keystroke -
Shift + Ctrl + -→ Forward to the next line of code - Side Back - Keystroke -
Ctrl + -→ Back to the previous line of code
Firefox
- Scroll Left - Keystroke
Opt + Cmd + I→ Open web developer tools - Scroll Right - Keystroke
Shift + Opt + C→ Toggle CSS Debug - Side Front - Zoom using scroll wheel
- Side Back - Keystroke -
Opt + Cmd + MResponsive Design Mode
Google Chrome
- Scroll Left - Keystroke
Opt + Cmd + I→ Open web developer tools - Scroll Right - Keystroke
Shift + Opt + C→ Toggle CSS Debug - Side Front - Zoom using scroll wheel
- Side Back - Keystroke -
Shift + Cmd + MResponsive Design Mode after opening web dev tools.
4. f.lux
If you have a health concern with your eyes, this is a recommended application for it. F.lux will adapt the screen color temperature at a certain time. Therefore, your laptop screen will be changed to warm color at night. Staying in front of your laptop until late might impact your night's rest.
This is how my screen looks like at night.
5. Dozer
https://github.com/Mortennn/Dozer
Do you feel annoyed with many applications icon in your top bar? Dozer could help you to hide them.
6. iTerm2
Natural Text Editing
The most favorite feature in iTerm2 is that I can set key mappings to natural text editing. It means that we can use Cmd + ← or Cmd + → for moving our cursor to the end of the beginning of the character, and also Opt + ← or Opt + → for moving our cursor per word. It makes me so flexible to type in the terminal.
Follow these steps to set the natural text editing in iTerm2:
- Open iTerm2 Preferences
- Go to Profiles
- Go to Keys
- Go to Key Mappings
- Change the Presets to Natural Text Editing
Window Arrangement
It is so lazy if we need to go to the same directory when we open the terminal for the first time. However, We can open our saved window arrangement in iTerm2. Shortcut for default window arrangement Cmd + Shift + R
How to save the window arrangement is here.
7. Gitify
Lastly, my favorite Mac app is Gitify. It gives you a sound if you get a notification from your Github. You can realize quickly if your colleagues leave some comments in your pull request.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these applications could boost your productivity and help you finish your tasks efficiently. Please leave me a comment about which application you love, or any other app suggestions you may have. Thank you for reading.
Top comments (4)
I would also add karabiner-elements.pqrs.org/. I disabled the caps lock key (let's be honest, no one uses it) and mapped Alfred or Raycast's clipboard history to easily search it and apply it to whatever I am using.
I am a big fan of bettertouch tool: folivora.ai/. I am able to use it for window snapping, key modification system wide or app specific (all peripherals including logitech devices), and lot more.
I also moved as much as I could to being install with brew and maintain a brewfile that I can check into my private git repo. That way if I have to change systems, I can re-install everything in one command. I use brew cu -a to keep everything updated on a regular basis.
Thank you for you recommendation. I will try karabiner. It looks interesting.
I think the Mac is pretty fast overall, so extra programs or apps aren't required. But if you notice that your computer is starting to unexpectedly slow down, overheat and so on, check the article about malware removal tools for Mac. You may have some kind of virus or malware that you don't know about. Cleaning your computer is pretty easy, and this article has the information you need.
Yes true, mac is fast. These mac applications are addition to help your workflow :)