What’s On My Mac in 2023

I have been using macOS as my primary operating system for over twenty years. During this time, I have tested various applications and wanted to highlight some of my favorites.

Favorite macOS Applications

* This is not a paid promotion. I simply enjoy these apps and want to share them.

🌎 Arc - After switching to Arc from Google Chrome, I've found my perfect web browser. Arc's amazing user interface and tab organization is simply unbeatable.

📅 Fantastical - This is my favorite calendar app since it lives in my menubar and I can quickly create new events and reminders with natural language input.

📷 Clean Shot X - This has been a major upgrade to the native macOS screenshot utility. Clean Shot X allows me to quickly access and anotate my screenshots, which has been a major upgrade to my documentation workflow.

🧲 Magnet - After upgrading to an ultrawide monitor, Magnet has become a lifesaver by allowing me to efficiently arrange my windows through easy-to-use keyboard shortcuts.

📊 Stats - This open source application displays important macOS system information in the menu bar, including CPU, GPU, and memory usage.

☕️ Amphetamine - This app prevents my device from sleeping during various scenarios, such as large downloads.

🧹 AppCleaner - AppCleaner is one of the first apps I download when setting up a new Mac. It not only uninstalls an application but also removes all files distributed across the file system.

🤵 Bartender - Having numerous applications downloaded on my Mac can make the menu bar overwhelming. Bartender organizes my menu bar by only displaying the applications I wish to see.

🧽 Unclutter - I've been using Unclutter for years. It enhances my productivity by providing quick access to useful features like the clipboard, recent files, and a scratchpad.

🎧 Endel - This is a new app that I've been using. It allows me to easily start and stop focus music from my menu bar, which has significantly increased my productivity.

⌨️ Pure Paste - It's a simple and useful app that pastes plain text by default, saving time on formatting.

✅ Reminders - I was a Things customer for a long time and recently made the switch to the default Reminders app on macOS. It has come a long way and it allows me to easily keep track of all my tasks.

📔 Notes - After testing various note-taking apps for macOS, I keep returning to the default Notes app. It’s simple to use and seamlessly syncs across all of my Apple devices.

🧱 LuLu - Being a fan of all Objective-See apps, LuLu has to be one of my favorites. It's a free, open-source firewall that blocks unknown outgoing connections.

❌ BlockBlock - Another Objective-See app, BlockBlock monitors common persistence locations and alerts whenever a persistent component is added.

🔒 1Password - For the past five years, I have been using 1Password as my password manager. The user interface is very intuitive and it offers some additional security features compared to its competitors.

💽 MacUpdater - Keeping third-party software updated on macOS is crucial for ensuring the security of your device. Thankfully, MacUpdater simplifies this task by automatically tracking the latest updates for all applications installed on my Mac. With just a click of a button, I can easily update any outdated app and keep my device secure.

🎩 Alfred - Alfred is my most frequently used application; a powerful spotlight replacement with productivity-boosting workflows.

Bonus: Favorite Alfred Workflows

Alfred is my favorite macOS app simply because of the workflows feature. Luckily, Alfred has a gallery of workflows that you can browse and test for yourself. Here are some of my favorites that I use on a daily basis:

  • alfed-emoji - This workflow makes it easy to search for emoji and copy them to my clipboard.

  • alfred-appcleaner - This workflow easily uninstalls an app via Alfred. This requires the installation of AppCleaner.

  • alfred-process-killer - This workflow makes it easy to kill unresponsive processes.

  • alfred-window-switcher - This workflow allows me to switch to a specific window of an app in the current desktop space.

  • alfred-1password-workflow - This workflow allows me to easily search and open 1Password items. This requires the installation of the 1Password CLI.

  • alfred-2fa-read-code - This workflow allows me to view and copy recent two-factor authentication SMS codes from iMessage.

  • alfred-about-this-mac - This workflow allows me to view system information about my Mac through Alfred.

  • alfred-calm-notifications - This workflow allows me to toggle my focus mode via the dnd keyword.

  • alfred-dente-azul - This workflow allows me to toggle Bluetooth and paired device connectivity.

  • alfred-get-weekday-of-date - This workflow allows me to view the exact day of the week for a specific date.

  • alfred-macupdater - This workflow allows me update all of my outdated applications through Alfred. This requires the installation of MacUpdater.

  • alfred-network-workflow - This workflow allows me to view and change my network settings: Wi-Fi, Ethernet, VPN, DNS, etc.

  • alfred-system-settings - This workflow opens useful system settings panes not searchable through Spotlight: Wallpaper, Software Update, Apple Pay, etc.

  • alfred-temporary-email - This workflow allows me to create a temporary email address via the tmpmail keyword.

  • alfred-words - This workflow finds synonyms and antonyms from thesaurus.com.

  • alfred-trash-downloads - This workflow moves contents of my downloads folder in the trash. I often use this with the Alfred system command emptytrash.