My fav macOS tweaks & apps

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After 7 years of nobel service I replaced my iMac with a Mac Studio. Did a fresh install to start with a clean slate. A bit of manual work but worth it. I've been using a Mac since 1996 (System 7) so I got used to certain habbits.

Plus macOS has poor default settings that just need tweaking to be honest. Anyway, here's some stuff I always tweak to make macOS a better experience:

1. Make the finder show hard drives icons on the desktop and snap all icons to a grid to keep things neat. (No idea why both of these are off by default? 🫥)

2. Make Finder windows more usefull by: – Adding text below the toolbar icons – Show the path and statusbar – View as columns as default view

3. Make Finder windows _even_ more usefull by: – Showing folders at the top when in column-view – Allowing double-click to minimize them to the dock

4. Add Hot Corners for intuitive and fast navigating. Honestly one of the most under-appreciated macOS features. Been using it since they added it ages ago. This setting is weirdly hard to find.

5. Use Terminal to let me open up all the apps I want. Stop holding my hand, Apple. Open up the Terminal and type "sudo spctl --master-disable". Yes you need to do this after every macOS update.

6. Enable keyboard navigation of UI controls. With tab and shift+tab I can navigate the macOS UI controls. With tab I can switch between "Cancel" and "Save" and hit "Space" to activate the button, for example.

There's probably more stuff that I'll remember and tweak as I start using this machine in the coming months. But honestly I change all of the above for every new personal computer or for those of friends and family. Next, let's add some awesome apps that make macOS even better:

1. AppCleaner – freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/ macOS is really bad when it comes to uninstalling software. It always leaves behind lots of crap cluttering your computer. This app really helps. Bonus: Need to figure out why you're low on HD space? Use DaisyDisk daisydiskapp.com/

2. Arq – arqbackup.com/ This app helps me to run a Time Machine backup of my device in the cloud. At set intervals it backs up my files. You can use it with a lot of services, such as AWS, Backblaze, Dropbox, etc.

3. Bartender – macbartender.com/ Surely this needs no explanation? I use it to clean up my menubar items and only show the icons I care about. On hover it will show all hidden icons, plus you can set all sorts of rules and pick from a bunch of settings.

4. BetterZip – macitbetter.com/ Again macOS delivering a meager experience, this time when it comes to compressing and uncompressing files. This app opens up anything you throw at it. And you can create and open password protected files.

5. CleanshotX – cleanshot.com/ One of the very best designed macOS apps, both in terms of UI and UX. So much value for money. I used it a TON everyday. It has to be experienced to be understood, just give it a try.

6. Coinverter – apps.apple.com/us/app/coinverter/id926121450?mt=12 A must have for any freelancer working with clients all over the globe. I've been using it for many years and it's just so simple and easy to use.

7. FontExplorer X Pro – fontexplorerx.com/ This app is def not the prettiest. But I've found it to be the best tool for organising and activating fonts if you've got a large collection and use different fonts a lot. And trust me I've tried a lot of apps...

8. Detail – detail.co/ I work here, so I am biased. But for a lot of calls I use my iPhone + Detail app to get a much better picture quality but also add all sorts of effects like images, text, and much more I cannot quite talk about yet... twitter.com/Larkef/status/1463157826700906498

9. Handbrake – handbrake.fr/ Despite the weird name and even weirder app icon this is a must have app. I use it all the time to make my recorded videos smaller. That Cleanshot video I shared earlier? 132 MB → 6 MB. 22 x smaller. 🤯

10. Hazeover – hazeover.com/ Dims the apps and windows behind your current active app or window. I really enjoy it because it removes visual noise and helps me focus.

11. iStat Menus – bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/ A really powerful app that I merely use to see my current download/upload speed but it can do a ton more. 😬

12. Magnet – magnet.crowdcafe.com/ I don't care too much about pixel perfect window management. But this tool makes it really easy to quickly fill my screen with a window, or make it fill half my screen perfectly so I can run two apps side by side. Simply by moving a window.

13. Raycast – raycast.com/ I started off with Quicksilver over a decade ago, then switched to Alfred. Now using Raycast though I need to familiarize myself further with it. Such a great tool though to quickly launch apps and perform actions at the speed of typing.

14. Todoist – todoist.com/ Another really powerfull app that I don't utilize fully. I use it on my Mac and iPhone for reminders and I love how it will parse whatever I write and turn it into something actionable.

15. Toothfairy – c-command.com/toothfairy/ Neat little tool for quickly connecting/disconnecting wireless headphones.

16. Other neat little tools: Amphetamine – apps.apple.com/us/app/amphetamine/id937984704?mt=12 Hand Mirror – handmirror.app/ IconJar – geticonjar.com/ IINA – iina.io/ Numi – numi.app/ ShiftCase – apps.apple.com/us/app/shiftcase/id1451459367 TextSniper – textsniper.app/

And obiously here are more must-have apps that are so well-know that they don't require an explanation or link: – 1Password – Adobe Illustrator <3 – Craft – Discord – Dropbox – Figma – Firefox – NordVPN – Notion – SF Symbols – Telegram – Tweetbot – Zoom

Bonus! – time.is/ I use this website all the time to figure out what time it is in other places and timezones. Just type the url and add a city, country, or timezone and hit enter.

Thanks for reading. I'd love to hear about your essential macOS tweaks or favourite hidden-gem apps and websites.