Windows 10
I highly recommend Marta as an alternative dual pane file explorer. Capable macOS alternative to Total Commander; https://marta.sh/
Little Snitch, awesome Mac GUI firewall. UltraEdit if you code, multi platform app. A secondary browser, Safari is not enough.
Edit: forgot something for file collections; DupeGuru. FOSS, multi platform, and did I mention free?
Amphetamine - Keeps your Mac awake if you need to.
Like Caffeine on Linux. Sweet!
I would recommend SnazzyQ’s videos on macOS essentials:
Keyboard maestro
Rectangle for window tiling, MOS to reverse the mouse/trackpad scroll direction pairing, and brew to install everything else.
BetterTouchTool
Rectangle for window snapping is a life saver!
Lack of window snapping is my number one reason I cannot stand MacOS as a working environment. The fact that the only solution is a third party app is infuriating.
You make it sound like a constant pain, I just installed one of the dozens third party apps available and never thought about it again. It’s really not a problem
Well that’s not really an easy option when you don’t own the computer you’re working on. Also again, the fact that the only way to enable the functionality is to pay for a third party app is pretty shitty and a major development oversight (and akin to the fact that IPadOS still to this day does not have a built in calculator because Steve Jobs said “why would anyone need to use a calculator on their iPad when they could use their iPhone?” Over a decade ago.
Apple makes some great products, but also makes some really bad design choices and continues to double down on them.
Rectangle is free…
I’m curious. What workflow do you have that requires window snapping? I’m asking because I have no use for window snapping and I’m trying to understand why people require it.
The biggest use for me, as a Windows user, is multitasking on a single monitor. For example, I can have my code up on one half of my screen, and documentation on the other side. It’s really quick and easy when the windows snap into position.
I don’t recall offhand how to trigger it but you can absolutely do a two app split-screen in MacOS.
I’m usually working in multiple applications and being able to quickly arrange them saves a massive amount of time over the course of a work day. I’ve worked extensively in both MacOS and Windows and I just prefer the tools windows gives you.
AltTab: Windows alt-tab on macOS
Rectangle: Keyboard based window management.
Linear Mouse: Per-device settings for Mouse, Track Pad, etc. Things like pointer super, scroll direction, and mouse acceleration.
These are amazing thank you!
Never knew about Linear Mouse 😱 thank you! does it work with logitech stuff? So i can finally get rid of their shitty software
I’m using it and a Logitech G502 but I haven’t played around to see what things it can and cannot do compared to Logitech’s own software. On Linux I use Piper to manage my mouse with a closer parity to Logitech’s actual software.
I never knew about Linear Mouse, thank you so much!!! I fucking hate how Apple ties scroll direction on mice/touchpad and no, “natural” scroll direction is not natural on a standard mouse Apple.
No problem! Glad I could help someone. I was so happy when I found it so I’m glad it can help others.
What does AltTap do better than the build in cmd+tap?
Just a preference thing since it makes it more like how Windows and some Linux distros do window management.
Hitting Alt + Tab brings up a preview of all windows that you have open with the ability to scroll / tab through them.
Hitting Alt + ` while focused on a certain application shows a preview image of each window for that application that you have open.
I personally like it more than the OSX default but to each their own.
IINA is like VLC but with a nicer interface.
brew is a CLI package manager.
OpenEmu is a great console emulation platform (like retroarch, but with a way better interface that’s designed for a desktop instead of a TV).
- Homebrew
- Alfred
- Amethyst
- Kitty or iterm2
- A web browser that doesn’t suck (I recommend librewolf or Firefox)
- A text editor that doesn’t suck (I recommend NeoVim, vim, or vscodium)
Forklift. You’re all welcome
For terminal wezterm is also awesome.
Honestly very little. Mac already has a lot of functionality built in. I have only specialized programs for my workflows and not much else.
Homebrew, Iterm2, Keka, Menumeters/btop, newsboat/Vienna for rss, Keepass, Veracrypt, Sublime.
Learn keyboard shortcuts like
cmd+~ to cycle through different windows of a same appln
cmd+c and cmd+opt+v for cut and paste
cmd+mouse click on a folder opens it in a new tab
cmd+shift+4 for screenshot tool and change the settings to copy the screenshot to clipboard.
Cmd+space - spotlight. Hide folders if you only want it to open apps
One more thing switch doc type to plan text in TextEdit app to use it as Windows Notepad.
Thanks for the tip, I still find it weird we (or at least me) had to install many of this many tweaks for basic QoL features. And there’s no autoscroll support is a big meh :(
Honestly most of the tools suggested in this thread not really needed. The built-in tools and shortcuts can do the job for many but the third-party tools always provide more options in every OS. For example I cannot use Windows for work without notepad++, 7zip, WSL, SSH/SCP tools etc.
I rebound cmd+~ to option+tab, because tilde is in a weird place on my Apple keyboard’s locale. Easier to remember as well.
If you need a gui text editor, BBEdit is pretty good.
Others that I haven’t seen suggested and that I personally use daily:
- KeepingYouAwake prevents the laptop to going to sleep (although there are tons of other ways to do it).
- Raivo OTP if you have an iPhone with Raivo installed it copies the TOTP to the mac clipboard
- Lulu as firewall for outgoing connections
Honestly, Alfred, Rectangle, AltTab and CleanshotX are almost essential, IMHO.
What’s the general consensus on Lulu? Can anyone else chime in?
I love it and it’s one of the first things installed when I get a new Mac. All of apps by Objective-See are great!
