Productivity tools on MacOS
Hi all,
Recently came into possession of a Macbook Pro as a work laptop and since I've never used them in a professional capacity I'm at a loss on what tools are available for Mac.
I was wondering if anyone has any must have tools for Mac that I shouldn't miss out on that makes the experience overall better. While the title says "productivity" I don't mean just things like Notion or Obsidian, I'm looking for stuff that contributes to a professional environment in more ways than one.
Think calendar, folder structure/navigation, automation/macros, configuration enablers, must have settings, all that jazz. I'm mainly looking for stuff that helps me work with the machine, but hey I wouldn't mind knowing what makes MacOS in general more agreeable to use for someone that wants more settings.
In short: What are your must have thangs for MacOS?
Edit to add: it's a 2022 MacBook Pro with an M2 Apple Silicon. I have full rights to the system and can install any tool, barring any enterprise licence requirements. I think most of you picked up that install rights wasn't a worry on account of the open prompt.
Here's a free Tuesday morning and ten years on a Macbook professionally, hope it helps!
System settings and preferences
Applications
E, MMM d h:mm a) to replace the default time. When you click the time it shows a small calendar, mimicking Windows behavior. I feel MacOS should just do this by default. If you link your calendar it can also show upcoming events.cmd+shift+v) which I find an indispensable feature for any OS. Other things I use include color picker (set tocmd+shift+x), window tiling management (set tocmd+shift+control+left|right|up|down|m|.|return), emoji search (replacing the default one), caffeinate (keep computer awake), timer, and so on. It will for all intents and purposes replace a lot of small utility apps for most folk.cmd+opt+7, capture anything on screen like I were taking a screenshot, and the words in that capture go into my clipboard). I use that last one all the time. Shottr is a free (like WinRAR free) alternative that works ok, just for annotating screenshots.cmd+kin this app, sendcmd+p, ork+{delay}+tab+tabinstead), hot corner functionality only if modifier key is held (I use it to quickly foreground apps, and would otherwise hate hot corners without this), customizing mouse buttons, etc. While Raycast and Hammerspoon (see below) can replace some common BTT functionality, nothing really comes close for obscure customizations, which can be worthwhile if you're constantly doing something for work.Files and file organization
_Sandboxand_Projects. Sandbox has long just held things that may end up on my desktop, an intake for things that may not have a place yet. Screenshots are configured to be saved to~/Documents/Screenshots. Projects is where I keep all of my organized work. The name and structure of this directory may vary. Sometimes it may be in Google Drive. More on what works for me below.right click -> quick actions -> create PDF. This is helpful MacOS command that's not always very well known.right click -> rename, and there you'll find MacOS's built-in bulk rename utility that's also fairly unknown and quite solid for most use-cases. In the unlikely event you need something more robust (similar to Bulk Rename Utility on Windows), there's Name Mangler and A Better Finder Rename.Command line tools
z acmewould be equivalent ofcd ~/Desktop/\_Projects/Clients/Acme.Do note though that Homebrew is dropping support for Intel Macs; the last applicable model is six years old so if you're getting a new computer it's probably not relevant, but in the case that it is, you may need to look into alternatives like MacPorts.
Legendary. Thank you for the effort. I will be reading this thread and post a lot in the coming days.
Another vote for Default Folder x. An absolute must.
Seconding Rectangle. Its essential.
Note there's also caffeinate for a built in sleep prevention option
Ooh, Keeping you awake is nice. I snagged that one. I'll have a look at Rectangle.
You don't need neither of them, if your usage is basic.
macOS introduced windows management a few years ago. You can move a window to the screen's borders or use keyboard shortcuts — they are listed in the Window menu. Note that if you use a non-Apple external keyboard, they probably won't work, since they depend on the globe key, which is rare on third-party keyboards.
For keeping your computer awake, macOS has a little CLI app called caffeinate. Just type caffeinate -d on the terminal emulator to keep the computer awake indefinitely. There are other flags.
You can replicate 99% of what Rectangle does with Hammerspoon
And I prefer Amphetamine for keeping the computer awake.
I've been using OS X / macOS professionally as a software engineer for ~15 years, plus another 5+ years longer in a personal capacity. I've been using a Windows desktop along side it for most of my life (starting with 3.1), though it took more of a gaming and media focused role once I got my first mac. I've also spent a number of years daily driving and tinkering various linux distros for fun.
I'm a big proponent of using a piece of hardware or software as-is when I first get it until I understand both what the tool offers and encourages, and more importantly, why. I've spent too much time bashing things to fit my prior workflows and preconceived notions only to find out that the indented usage, in the broader context, is actually much nicer. The key is to be very conscious of the XY problem when discovering friction and taking a moment to figure out what your ultimate goal is instead of the specific feature/flow you're used to or think you need.
I'm in this camp, but wanted to know ahead of time what my options were. Some things are no brainers, I get what amphetamine or keep me awake are trying to accomplish. Others are already clear they add functionality like Raycast. Part of the reason I didn't ask for a Windows machine is precisely because I want to disrupt old habits and figure out how I can create new workflows.
Luckily I'm not wholly unaware on how to steer a Mac, so an enhanced spotlight felt like it wouldn't disrupt the regular flow, I've just never had to use it as my own machine so anything I run into from this point on I can now find back here after assessing what I need.
I will say, having done that... MacOS window management still sucks and I'd still recommend at least Rectangle to improve it
IMO macOS window management is great, the issue is that people are trying to fit a square peg through a circular hole. macOS isn’t about tiling. It’s not about full screen. It’s about having lots of windows open and using spatial memory to remember what’s where. It aids in doing so by keeping window chrome low (with the toolbar at the top of the screen) and by doing a good job at keeping windows in the same place.
Don’t time your windows, expect them to overlap, never full screen an app.
I'm glad that works for you. For me, the last thing I want is for my computer desktop to resemble my physical desktop. One of the big advantages of doing stuff on the computer rather than by hand is being able to rely on the system to keep things laid out in a useful manner and not be flipping through papers every few minutes to find that one damn page in a stack.
Congrats on your new Mac, it's great.
Homebrew: It’s a package manager for Terminal and it’s great. Easy installs and updates. Also you can save your configurations for easy reinstalls
Onyx: Helps clean your mac and gives easier access to certain system commands
Bear: It’s a note-taking app and it’s great. The Notes app that Macs come with is solid too
Spotlight: Press cmd + space to bring up spotlight search. This comes with macos and is a powerful search and apple launcher
Apple Reminders: It’s another Apple app that is secretly powerful. You can make location and time based reminders. I rarely use it, but on the
Hazel: It’s an autmation app for finder. It monitors folders and does actions based on conditions. For instance, I use hazel to move pictures from my downloads folder if they’re older than a week
Stuff that comes with macOS:
Apps I don’t use but hear great things about:
There’s a ton of other stuff and i might add to this as I think of things.
Reminders should be one I take a look at. Though it does seem it may cause a loss of sentence structure when
Hazel sounds nice but I doubt I'll use it much. I tend to keep file management to a minimum on work laptops as you're usually better off working in some shared environment. Nevertheless, saved.
A colleague of mine also mentioned Hot Corners and while I will likely check it out I have a visceral response to the name.
Thanks for the suggestions!
Homebrew is great. Made me feel a bit more at home as a Linux user when I had a macbook for work.
As a Mac customization nerd, I’ll try and remember to reply more in-depth later. But for now, in addition to the others’ recommendations, in case you’re a video person, Quinn Nelson of Snazzy Labs has multiple videos on cool/interesting macOS apps (two of the more recent ones here and here).
You’re probably, nay, almost definitely not going to need even close to all of these apps, but he does include some nice inspirations even for improvements to the “basics” of computer usage on a Mac from time to time.
It’s been a while since I have used a Mac, but when I was doing corpus linguistics research with tens of thousands of text files, Publicspace apps were a godsend, specifically A Better Finder Rename and Big Mean Folder Machine. Worth every penny.
https://www.publicspace.net/index.html
Those may work well combined with Raycast! I'm still figuring out how that works but it looks to be useful when I have a search bar able to find things I sorted using Rename tools.
By the by, if anyone has any tips for setting up Raycast or BetterTouchBar, I'm all ears.
Macs come with a lot of pretty decent apps, so I wouldn’t say there’s anything that’s a must-have. I install Chrome first thing because it’s what I’m used to, but Safari is decent.
Since there’s more horizontal than vertical space, I move the dock to the right side.
Moving the dock may not be a bad idea. I did enable the Stage Manager so part of the screen's edges have been filled already. Though while some of the Stage Manager features are nice, I'm not entirely sold on how it works.
Another option (and what I do) is hide the dock so that it doesn't show up unless my mouse is down at the bottom of the screen. If I need to check what's open, I tend to cmd+tab, and if I need to open something, I use Alfred, so the dock doesn't get that much use.
Things that I have installed, use regularly, and haven't been mentioned yet
People have mentioned the big things like Raycast already, but a few other utilities I like:
And a couple built-in features:
Hyperspace (paid): Download more disk space! Apfs, the file system that apple uses, has a really cool feature called copy on write. When you make a copy of a large file, the copy happens instantly and takes up zero extra disk space.
(What actually happens is the system marks the data as copy on write. When you edit it, instead of editing the existing data, it makes a copy and then edits it. Since saving to an ssd requires writing a new version instead of editing in place anyway, you don’t notice a difference. But if you want a bunch of different instances of your 200gb photo library in 6 different places on your disk, it will fit with room to spare on a 512gb ssd since it’s only storing one true copy.)
However that all only works if you actually copy the files from finder. If you download the same file multiple times (like if you for some reason use npm instead of a proper package manager), this mechanism doesn’t work. This is where Hyperspace comes in. It will scan your disk, find duplicate files, and recreate them with the copy on write mechanism, freeing that space. Depending on your usage, you can save quite a bit of disk space.
I am currently messing around with different configs and whatnot for elite dangerous running in crossover bottles. I have ED installed in three different bottles for various tests. Because of hyperspace, it’s only taking up 50gb or so, not the 150gb that three separate installs would take.
I'm on the opposite of everyone with tap to click. With trackpads post-2016, it's better to actually click. Change the force required to the lightest setting and you'll save yourself the lag of having to lift up your finger. Post-2016, the click feeling is equal no matter where you are on the trackpad and the sensitivity is configurable because it's not a physically moving trackpad anymore but a force sensor.
Finger moves pointer to location, press down, clicked. Versus finger moves pointer to location, lift up, bring back down, clicked. Why move finger when there's no need? It's slower.
The extra benefit is that immediately after you press down, you can hold and just move for grab and move. There's tactile feedback that tells your brain the grab is valid versus when you tap, there's more uncertainty.
I used to tick off my wife by purposefully clicking down hard on her old MacBook Air some 10ish years ago. Friendly ribbing of course. But it did instill in me a penchant for clicking the trackpad.. which hasn't eroded.
For this specific laptop however I'm still in the figuring out phase. I have the trackpad that feels alright, they also gave me a magic mouse that desperately needs a mousemat to come remotely close to its potential, but I'll always have the option to buy something else if neither is sufficient. I've never been sold on trackpads as the main mousing device. Short bursts sure, not an entire working day though!
Once I discovered three finger drag in accessibility settings I never went back. gotta get the word out since this should be default imo.
I really like Swiftbar -- it basically puts script output in the menubar. For me, I have an unread email account, a list of tasks / movies / tv / reminders (all based on timestamps) fed from Google Sheets, control sabnzbd, control my hue lights, and more.. its pretty handy.
quick edit: BetterTouchTool is fantastic and you can do so much with it. I also use Yabai for a twm. brew.sh is super handy if you're in your terminal a lot and need good tools.
I used to use a Jumpcut a ton, it’s a menu bar icon for cacheing your clipboard. It doesn’t work with images but it’s old as hell and free.
One of the difficulties of switching operating systems is the institutional knowledge requirement for stuff like shortcuts. Aside from the obvious few (copy/paste, lock screen, open/close tab) I'm stumbling a bit when it comes to navigating the OS itself. It also makes setting up shortcut based software a bit dense, as the icons for control, option, and command aren't fully ingrained yet and I also don't know if I'm overwriting existing shortcuts.
Small fries all things considered, and something that will likely come with time, but still.. any shortcuts I shouldn't overlook?
Vorssaint is pretty new, but does a ton of small little things you can turn on or off based on your own preferences.
I no longer use a mac device. But, I used to have a macbook until three years ago for work. For me, the biggest annoyance was macOS window management. Although since I last used it some things seem to have improved, apparantly a tool like rectangle (Windows inspired window management) is less necessary although it is my understanding that it still improves the macOS implementation.
Some other utilities I really liked are:
Alt Tab is a big improvement to the experience, especially as you can pick and choose whether to invoke macOS or windows like swapping.
My number one biggest macOS productivity tip is to use the Option button! The Options button is like a magic wand that exposes a bunch of extra options in all kinds of places (shocking, I know). Whenever you have a context menu open, Option usually exposes a bunch of extra actions or variants of actions already available: for example, right click on an open app in the dock, and you'll see an option to Quit the app; press down Option, and that becomes Force Quit! Or in Finder, right click a file, and press Option to make the Open With... action become Always Open With. These extra actions are everywhere if you look for them.
Another good way to discover actions you can take in an app is to open the Help tab in the menu bar, and just search for the action you want to perform. Not only will it expose the relevant actions, but when you hover over one of them, it will show you where to find that action next time! For example, open the Help menu in Safari and begin searching for Close Other Tabs. Once the option is shown, you can hover over it, which will cause the Menu Bar to open the File tab and highlight the option to Close Other Tabs, also showing you that it can be performed with the keyboard shortcut ⌥ ⌘ W (that's Option+Command+W).
For me, LookAway is essential to help me avoid eye strain and poor posture by diligently reminding me to blink, sit upright and take breaks. I've configured it to really nag me about these things, which I find essential.
I would also second the recommendation of Tailscale to make all your devices feel magically connected, although I feel this is more or less useful depending on whether you have several work machines (i.e. I have my Mac mini in the office and my MacBook Pro for WFH, and it's really useful to be able to access the office mini from home).
If you use an external mouse with your MacBook I strongly recommend Mac Mouse Fix. There are a few similar programs but this is currently my favourite, not just because it let's you use a more sensible acceleration profile but because it let's me assign touchpad gestures to my extra mouse buttons in a way that works extremely smoothly. This is the only way to make mice useful on macOS for me because I really rely on touchpad gestures most of the time.
Speaking of which, you should be aware of the important multitouch gestures. Go to Settings > Trackpad (or just search for trackpad). I prefer to use three rather than the default four fingers for most gestures, which you can configure:
There are also gestures for opening the notification pane, app search menu, and showing the desktop, which I use occasionally.
I pro tip for managing multiple spaces: I much prefer to toggle the setting "Automatically rearrange Spaces based on most recent use" to OFF, it's on by default. You can find it at Settings > Desktop & Dock > Mission Control. Automatic rearrangement makes a bit of sense but I more often find myself getting lost if this setting is on (as it is by default).
I'm also a bit weird because I really like Stage Manger (Settings > Desktop & Dock > Stage Manager). Basically it's a different way of managing windows where only the main focused application/windows are shown in full as normal, and other windows shrink towards the side of the display. I find this a MUCH more useful way of having an overview of the windows I am currently working with rather than having a bunch of windows stacked and overlapping one another. It's a bit like having a miniature Mission Control always visible on the edge of your display.
I'm also going to recommend some extensions for my favourite browser, Safari. I do feel like Safari is a bit slept on as a browser, and sure as long as Chrome has a massive monopoly any other option will always be slower and have more bugs, but honestly Safari and Firefox are really good nowadays (especially Safari IMO). For me, two extensions are absolutely essential: uBlock Origin Lite and Stop the Madness. So many websites are just awful to use nowadays, and blocking most ads (uBlock) and restoring broken features (StM) - like some websites preventing copy/paste from working properly - is just a basic defensive measure for the average internet user. I also need to be able to delete visual elements that take up too much space and get in the way of the content.
Hope this helps!
I’d love to see some recs for freeware or pay-once productivity apps. I’ve always preferred Pages to the other word processors because I find it much better for layout and editing (I generally draft text in a markdown editor anyway and paste it in for layout and revision/editing). But ever since they started doing the annoying upsell for the iWork subscription service it pisses me off every time I start it up.
LibreOffice and stuff are just pug ugly so I don’t know what to do.
There’s a lot of these apps that have been mentioned year I use and co-sign.
For security, I use a lot of Objective-See’s free/open source tools. Mostly I use Lulu, ReiKey, BlockBlock, KnockKnock, RansomWhere and Netiquette which comes with Lulu but is available on its own I believe.
For usability I use Shottr for screen capture, btop in my terminal in place of Activity Monitor (installed via homebrew), HyperKey to give me a spare meta key that I remap keyboard shortcuts to so that I free up the command key for other apps, and eqMac because he default volume controls are kinda spotty for my TV monitor.