What's on my Mac

18 May 2019

Mac apps that I use daily (as of May 2019).

Essentials

  • Telegram. The best instant messaging app out there. 100% cross-platform with native apps. Privacy-oriented. Minimalist design that looks great on every platform and doesn't stand out. I don't mention security since I don't use "Secret Chats", and you'll want to use those if you want security.
  • TunnelBear. I always use a VPN for privacy. Also useful to bypass censorship in certain countries (Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, etc.)
  • Bear. Bear is my go-to app for note-taking. It is cross-platform, though restricted to Apple's ecosystem. Clean design with plenty of themes, both light and dark, and Markdown support. I gladly purchased an annual subscription for $15. I'm considering moving to the native Notes app, but this will not happen unless Apple changes its ugly font and background or allows some customization. I wrote this post in Bear.
  • 1Password. I use 1Password to store logins, credit cards, documents and software licences. It's nice to keep everything in one secure place and have it available across all devices—$36 a year and totally worth it. iCloud Keychain is a great alternative but has limited functionality and worse UI.

Development

  • Terminal. I don't use advanced features, so I prefer the standard app over iTerm2 and other alternatives. The Terminal.app supports dark mode, so it'll change to a dark profile whenever you switch to dark mode.
  • Atom. Atom is slow and memory inefficient. I chose Atom over other editors due to its simplicity. It has gotten slightly better over the past few years. Previously, I used Sublime Text 3, a great editor, but it doesn't have the same ecosystem and isn't maintained as actively now.
  • GitUp. An open-source Git interface. Lightweight (only 10 MB). I use it to create commits, rebase, resolve conflicts, and undo/redo unwanted operations.
  • Dash. Convenient offline documentation with instant search. Everything has a shortcut, so navigation is seamless and takes little time. I have Ruby, Ruby on Rails, JavaScript and CSS docsets installed.
  • Paw. REST client for testing APIs. Paw has a fantastic UI with a lot of advanced features. Quite pricey — I bought it with a 50% student discount for $25.

Photography

  • Lightroom Classic + VSCO Film. I'm not a massive fan of Adobe products and their Creative Cloud ecosystem, but I haven't found any solid alternatives. I use Lightroom for photos taken with my camera. I edit my iPhone pictures in VSCO.

Utilities

  • IINA. It's like VLC Media Player, but better: native look & features (picture-in-picture, dark mode, Touch Bar), open-source.
  • Transmission. Don't ever use μTorrent on a Mac. Transmission is open-source and not based on ads.