While I love my MacBook, MacOS is far from perfect and so there are hundreds of Mac apps out there that want to improve our workflow as Mac users. So here are my top 10 apps in 2024:
1. Raycast
Ok, so the first one is already kind of cheating since I already have an in depth blog post about it here. But it’s true, Raycast is my most essential Mac App. I’m all in on optimizing my time and my workflows, so being able to perform nearly any action without touching the mouse is an absolute game changer for me. I know that there are alternatives like the popular tool Alfred, but I just started using Recast earlier and since then didn’t feel the need to switch. Also, Recast does a lot more that just being a Spotlight alternative. Fo example, I absolutely love the built in clipboard manger or the ability to search other apps like Notion or 1Password without opening any other program.
2. Mac Mouse Fix
This next app is either extremely useful or absolute unnecessary depending on your setup. Mac Mouse Fix aims to improve the behavior of third-party mice with MacOS because by default, the scroll on Mac with a third party mouse is absolute garbage. The page jumps around in weird ways and it just feels awful compared to for example the Magic Mouse or the trackpad. Among the mouse-tools for Mac (yes, I made up that term 😉) I found Mac Mouse fix to be the best one since it nicely simulates the smooth scroll of Apple’s trackpad.
3. CleanShot X
I know this is a controversial one. However, I’m taking a lot of screenshots, especially for school. When I’m studying and I want that diagram in my own notes or I have a YouTube video with some interesting information, a screenshot is my way to go. Also, being able to format and edit my screenshots right in place without doing anything is very nice. I especially like the backgrounds and border styles CleanShot offers. And one more thing: Through that, my friends now get nicely formatted Memes from me all the time. 😜
4. Alt-Tab
This one is a classic but I just miss the alt-tab behavior from windows. It annoys me so much that I always end up opening the wrong window when using the native window switcher. Especially since I usually have two browser windows open. That’s all that is to it.
5. Latest
As you’ve seen by now, I install quite a lot of software on my Mac. To keep up with all the updates in one central place, I’m using an app called Latest. It is basically just the „Updates“ section from the App Store but for all apps, including those from the internet. I did use Homebrew for a long time to keep everything up-to-date but this app gives all the updates a nice UI.
6. Espanso
I think we all have certain things that are annoying to type out each time. For me, these are things like my email, my phone number or some generic sentences. That’s where Espanso comes in. It’s a very customizable text expander that runs silently in the background and quickly replaces a so called „trigger“ with your configured text. I would say it’s pretty advanced and definitely not for everyone, especially since you have to configure it through a text file instead of a UI which might be an issue for some users.
7. HazeOver
HazeOver is an awesome app that allows you to only focus on the one thing that you’re working on. It works by dimming all other windows in the background to remove distractions. I mostly use it when I’m on the go and only have my small laptop screen. Also in combination with Stage Manager, this app really improves my ability to focus on the one thing that matters at the moment.
8. OnyX
OnyX is a very specific tool that lets you do system maintenance tasks like cleaning up cache files, rebuilding search indexes to things like Mail or Spotlight or fixing issues with MacOS internal databases. After using my Mac for nearly four years now, I recently found over 60GB of outdated cache files, old application data and other junk on the system. OnyX cleaned up a lot of that and fixed other things along the way. Just a cool utility.
9. 1Password
Currently, my password manager of choice is 1Password, primarily because of their amazing developer tools and CLI integration. For me, this app is absolutely essential to log in to other services, authenticate to GitHub when I’m doing my dev work or doing anything else, that involves secrets. While 1Password is the most popular option, I’ve Benn using Bitwarden for nearly the past three years as well.
10. DayOne
One of my goals for this year was to journal more and generally write down what I did each day. After trying many different ways to do so, I’ve settled with DayOne, a digital journal. I’ve been using it since June and I try to be as consistent as possible with it. The reason it’s on this list is awesome Mac app. I love journaling on my Mac in the evening, especially after a stressful day. Also, after having used the app for a while, it’s quite nice to just scroll back and see what I thought about four months ago.
There you have it, my top 10 app for MacOS in 2024. I’m sure there are way more but I’m always overwhelmed with the amount of „top apps“ so I hope this list is at least somewhat helpful to you.
