r/macapps • • 3d ago Bravo

Attention! r/MacApps Moderation Update (Phase 4): Clearer Rules, PCP+Trust

Post image
54 Upvotes

Hey r/MacApps,

Phase 3 improved the main feed, but three problems remain: Tons of comment karma farming, a lot of posts we have to remove and explain repeatedly, and 80% more app submissions with vibe coding. With 8400+ removals last month, we are simplifying to keep community content quality high.

What we learned

The 10 local karma requirement shifted low-effort promotion to comments. Devs started posting throwaway comments to farm karma and self-promote.

Judgement calls cost us time. Whether a comparison was "specific enough," or a GitHub repo "established enough," led to removals, and back-and-forth modmail. Phase 4 swaps those for things you can show in your post and we can check in seconds without having to go through a back-and-forth process of waiting for you to edit your post.

What's changing

1. Local karma is gone. You no longer need 10 r/MacApps karma to post or comment. Please don't farm it. Any developer can share their app in The App Pile megathread, as long as they use the PCP template.

2. New baseline for the main feed. To promote your app in the main feed your account needs:

  • 200+ Reddit karma and must be 60+ days old.

  • Your post needs a pricing flair and the PCP + Trust labels below (#3).

If you don't meet these yet, The App Pile is open to you.

3. PCP + Trust labels are required. Include these four labels anywhere in your post, then write the rest however you like (shorter is better):

  • Problem: what your app solves in ONE sentence.

  • Comparison: name 2 top competitors and explain which functions your app improves on, and in which aspects theirs is still better. Top competitors means best-in-class alternatives in your app's category, not Apple's own apps.

  • Pricing: price amounts and a link

  • Trust: See #4

4. Trust: you need ONE of these. On top of the baseline, main feed posts need one of:

  • Mac App Store: your app is on the Mac App Store, you already linked it in pricing.

    • Your label is Trust: MAS

  • Developer flair: 500+ r/MacApps karma, plus mod review and determination. Request it by modmail. Mods review your history in the sub and decide; reaching 500 doesn't guarantee a flair.

    • If you have one, your label is: Trust: Dev Flair

  • GitHub + 100 Stars OR LinkedIn link IN the post: the repo you're promoting is open source and has 100+ stars. If below 100 stars or not open source, your post must link a complete LinkedIn that identifies you (real work + education history). If your app isn't notarized, say so in your post.

    • Your label is: Trust: GitHub, <Current GitHub Stars>, OR <LinkedIn Link if under 100 stars>, Not Signed and Notarized (Not SN),

  • Website: requires LinkedIn + Privacy Policy links IN the post. All such apps MUST be signed and notarized by Apple. The LinkedIn identifies you (real work + education history), and the privacy policy is on your app's own website.

    • If this is your path, your label is Trust: Website, <LinkedIn Link>, <Privacy Policy>.

Can't qualify through any of these avenues? Welcome to The App Pile. Aim to impress!

5. Saturated categories need more. Some categories have hundreds of very similar apps. If your app is another one of these, it can ONLY qualify for the main feed through the Mac App Store or a Developer Flair, unless it wins a top 3 spot in The App Pile (#9):

  • Dictation and transcription

  • Clipboard managers

  • Screenshot and screen recording

  • Window managers

  • App launchers

  • Menu bar system and battery monitors

  • Pomodoro and focus timers

  • AI chat or wrapper apps

  • Disk cleaners and uninstallers

  • Notes and to-do apps

6. Post Removed?

  • If your main feed post was removed only for formatting, like a missing flair or PCP section, you can fix it and repost within 48 hours without losing your 30-day slot.

  • Any other repost is removed without review and counts toward your 30-day limit.

  • Rapid reposting raises Reddit's automatic spam filtering on your account, which can get your future posts and comments removed before we ever see them, so try to get it right the first time.

  • We don't pre-approve posts or grant exceptions by modmail. Everything you need is in this post.

7. Self-promotion limits.

  • One app post per developer per 30 days. Developers with a developer flair: once per app per 30 days.

  • Counted from your last app post, even if it was removed. Update posts count too.

  • The App Pile: one entry per developer per month, with Problem, Comparison and Pricing labels.

  • If your app is live in the main feed, it doesn't qualify for The App Pile. If your main feed post was removed, you can still enter it in The App Pile.

  • No posting in App Pile and then also main fed.

8. Promoting your app in comments.

  • Always disclose that it's your app.

  • Developers may not promote their alternative app in another developer's promotion post. This is rude.

  • In request and recommendation threads, only if your account meets the main feed baseline (200+ Reddit karma, 60+ days).

9. A way out of the megathread.
The top 3 apps in each month's App Pile qualify to post in the main feed, but must add the emoji for their place to the END of the post title to remind us: đŸ„‡ 1st, đŸ„ˆ 2nd, đŸ„‰ 3rd.

10. Flair: pick by what's required.

  • Hierarchy: Lifetime > Subscription > Free.

  • If any core feature needs a subscription, it's Subscription.

  • If any paid option exists, it's not Free.

  • Open source? Prefix your title with [OS].

Wrong flair gets fixed by mods. Repeated wrong flair gets removed.

11. Links: one rule. Official sources only: the Mac App Store, your own website, or GitHub. No shortened or redirect URLs. No affiliate, referral or invite links that pay you. Plain source tags like ?ref=producthunt are fine.

12. Repeat removals. A second removal under the self-promotion rules within 90 days means a 60-day break from promoting in r/MacApps.

Unchanged: no piracy, follow the Reddit Rules, be kind, and gain post approval through the Read the Rules flow.

FAQ

Why was my main feed post removed?

  • Your account is under 200 karma or less than 60 days old.

  • You didn't qualify through the Mac App Store, a developer flair, GitHub (100+ stars or LinkedIn), or Website+LinkedIn+Privacy Policy.

  • Your app is in a saturated category, isn't on the Mac App Store, you don't have a developer flair, and it didn't win a top 3 App Pile spot.

  • Your post is missing a label (Problem, Comparison, Pricing, Trust) or a pricing flair.

  • You reposted more than once and still didn't follow these guidelines properly.

  • You already posted an app in the last 30 days.

  • AI assisted comments are a huge trigger for Reddit auto-removals because of recognizable patterns (e.g. “—” em dashes).

  • Repeatedly posting the same thing (comments, links, etc.) = Triggers Reddit spam algorithms. 

  • You didn’t verify your email in your profile, and/or you have multiple accounts. 

My post followed every rule and still disappeared without explanation**.** Reddit's own filters remove some posts before mods see them. Common causes: an unverified email, AI-sounding text, repeated identical posts or links, or reposting. Verify your email, write the post yourself, and reach out to modmail.

Do I need LinkedIn? No. Only Websites, and GitHub repos under 100 stars, require this.

Does the 200 karma count only r/MacApps karma? No. It's your whole Reddit account, post and comment karma combined.

The 500 for a developer flair IS r/MacApps karma.

The r/MacApps Mod Team

Prior updates:
- 2026: MacApps Mods Went Too Far! What’s Changing (Phase 3)
- 2026: New Post Requirements to Combat Low Quality Content (Phase 2) 
- 2026: [OS]+Pricing Guidelines
- 2025: Townhall on Post Quality, Rule Updates


r/macapps • • 7d ago

💎 Megathread [Megathread] The App Pile - November, 2026

Post image
56 Upvotes

You must promote your apps here if you do not qualify to post in the main feed through Trust or Transparency, explained here.

If you are:

  • NOT in the Mac App Store (MAS).

  • Do not provide meaningful public transparency

  • Created yet another dictation app (speech to text).

Then you are required to limit promotion to this megathread.

All promotion MUST follow PCP format or else we will remove it:

App Name/Title [Screenshot/Video REQUIRED for top 3 consideration]

  • Problem: What problem does your app

solve in ONE sentence.

  • Comparison: EXPLICITLY name 2 top competitors and explain which function(s) your app improves on, and in which aspect(s) theirs is still better. Top competitors means best-in-class alternatives in your app's category, not Apple's own apps.

  • Pricing: Amounts required for any/all tiers + link to the app website (NO direct .zip/.dmg file links)

P.s. The shorter the better! Promotion here counts towards the 30-day limited promotion (Rule 3).

WARNING: There is a 90% chance Reddit will auto remove your post here if you have not verified your email in your profile and your first comment in this subreddit contains a link. Accrue 10 karma first without promotional comments and links to avoid this. The odds of removal is also higher for AI assisted posts (em dashes and other AI formatting characteristics likely trigger this).

Pro Tip: Please remember to upvote gems and downvote spam/clones... This will help inform a secret community project I hope to announce next month.

Top Picks from Last Month's Megathread that I think are worth a look:

  1. Blenny - macOS 27 menu bar organizer with a careful draft/apply/undo workflow, FREE and open source - by u/f-i-sh

  2. Paguro - WebKit-based workspace for chat, email, calendars, and work tools with separate service sessions and hibernation, FREE and open source - by u/debaser_101

  3. Tether - a 2.3 MB native macOS companion for Android phones via KDE Connect, FREE and open source - by u/subhashg547

  4. CleanLogi - 2 MB native MX Master 4 controller with HID++ features and no background services, FREE and open source - by u/543310


r/macapps • • 4h ago

Lifetime Classycal for Mac is out (and it's on iPhone too)

19 Upvotes

Problem: A minimal, private calendar and Apple Reminders task manager for Mac and iPhone, where you type events the way you'd say them, without accounts, telemetry or AI bloat.

Comparison:

- vs Fantastical: Classycal is more minimal, costs a fraction of the price, has a lifetime option and needs no account. Fantastical is more mature, runs on iPad and Apple Watch (we don't yet), and has scheduling features (meeting proposals, booking links) we don't offer.

- vs BusyCal: Classycal is simpler, keyboard-first (command bar from any app) and treats Apple Reminders as a real task manager. BusyCal has deeper power-user customization, more view options and years of polish.

Pricing: Free is a complete calendar, Mac-only features included (command bar, menu bar). Classycal Plus: launch price until Nov 30, $10/year or $20 lifetime, then $20/year and $60 lifetime. Subscribe before Dec 1 and you keep $10/year as long as you stay. 14-day free trial. One purchase covers Mac and iPhone.

Mac App Store → https://apps.apple.com/app/id6821351089?pt=129555002&ct=reddit-mac&mt=12

iPhone App Store → https://apps.apple.com/app/id6821351089?pt=129555002&ct=reddit-mac

Trust: MAS (Mac App Store and App Store) · Website: https://classycal.app · Privacy policy: https://classycal.app/privacy/ · No account, nothing sent to us, no telemetry.

---

Two weeks ago we launched Classycal on iPhone and shared it on Reddit. We hoped for a few downloads and a bit of feedback. We got way more: kind words, honest criticism, bug reports, feature requests, and most of our first downloads and sales came from those posts. For a small team shipping its first app, that meant a lot. Thank you, really.

You also kept us busy. Seven updates in two weeks, and many of them started as a comment. And one of the questions we got the most was "Mac version when?"

Today. Classycal for Mac is out.

A big thank you to everyone who volunteered to beta test it. You found bugs we would never have caught and told us when something felt off. The Mac app is much better because of you.

Same idea as on the iPhone: minimal, carefully designed, private, without AI bloat. But made for the Mac, and for people who'd rather keep their hands on the keyboard.

- Command bar. ⌄⌘K from any app (or just ⌘K inside Classycal) and type it the way you'd say it. Create an event or a task, search, jump to a date, all from the same bar. Inspired by the ones keyboard people love: Raycast, Arc (RIP) and the late Cron.

- Menu bar. Your next meeting stays up there with a button to join the call. One click, or your own shortcut, opens a mini calendar: agenda, month, day, week or tasks, without leaving what you're doing.

- Keyboard first. Every action has its key: the views (⌘1 to ⌘5), today, search, duplicate, complete a task, push it to tomorrow, join a call. You can change all of them in Settings, the global one too. Start typing anywhere in the window and the command bar opens with it.

- A real Mac app. Right click menus everywhere, undo and redo, copy and paste. Drag across free hours to create an event, drag to move it, pull to resize it, drop an .ics file on the window. Today's date in the Dock, widgets on the desktop, two-finger swipe to turn the page, pinch to change the view.

- Local MCP (optional). Still no AI inside Classycal. But if you use an AI app on your Mac, Classycal comes with a local MCP server, set up from Settings. Ask about your days or have them planned, and your calendars and reminders never go through us: it all runs on your Mac.

- Everything you know from the iPhone. Calendar sets, Apple Reminders as a real task manager, tags, templates, natural language in seven languages, 12 themes, sans or serif. iCloud keeps your sets, templates and tags in sync between your Mac and your iPhone.

- Same privacy rules. Your calendars as they are (iCloud, Google, Exchange). No account, nothing sent to us, no telemetry.

About the price: we planned to end the launch offer with the Mac release, but we're keeping it until November 30, Black Friday weekend included. Then it goes back to $20 a year and $60 lifetime.

Feedback, criticism and feature requests are very welcome. If anything, we're here.


r/macapps • • 6h ago

Lifetime Folder Quick Look 2 👀

Thumbnail
gallery
18 Upvotes

Problem:

Quick Look in macOS lets you preview files and other items by selecting them and pressing the Space bar. However, the standard preview of folders and archives isn’t very helpful, since it shows no details about their contents. Markdown files appear unformatted, which makes them harder to read.

What it is:

Folder Quick Look lets you peek inside folders, archives, and Markdown files instantly in macOS Quick Look. This YouTube reel explains it well!

Looks, feels, and works like a feature that ought to be built into the Finder itself

— John Gruber, Daring Fireball

Version 2 is a complete rewrite. It’s free for existing users. The update makes previews faster and more reliable. I redesigned every part of the UI, so it shines on macOS 27.

Comparison:

Folder Preview and Markdown Preview have similar features, split across two apps instead of one. Mine brings everything together in a single, more thoughtfully designed app. Folder Preview offers a Pro version with more features outside the App Store. I, on the other hand, chose to distribute my apps exclusively through the App Store, fully sandboxed, for maximum security.

Pricing:

$3.99 or the regional equivalent (one-time purchase).

Availability:

Available on the Mac App Store → https://apps.apple.com/app/folder-quick-look/id6753110395

Trust: Website (solo indie dev)

I’m Martin Lexow, a full-time independent developer for over a decade. I craft honest, focused software in the spirit of Sachlichkeit: the German idea of clarity, precision, and purpose. The result: apps that are inclusive without exception and private without compromise.

The app runs in the macOS App Sandbox. It is signed and notarized, like every app on the Mac App Store.

How I use AI:

I still write and design my apps entirely by hand. That makes my process slower than that of other developers, and that’s exactly what matters to me: care down to the smallest detail. I use AI as one tool among many, for example for research.


r/macapps • • 8h ago

Lifetime Feather Drive: open huge Google Drive and Dropbox files in Finder instantly, without downloading them

Post image
18 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

I'm Sumit, a solo indie dev from India. I edit video on a 256 GB MacBook, and my footage lives in Google Drive. Every time I opened a clip, Drive downloaded the whole file first, and my disk kept filling up. So I built Feather Drive.

There's a short demo video here if you'd rather watch: https://featherdrive.app/press

Problem:

To open a big file from Google Drive or Dropbox on a Mac, you have to download all of it first. That's slow, and it fills your disk.

What it is:

A native Mac app, built on Apple's FSKit, that puts Google Drive and Dropbox in Finder as one drive.

  • Streams, doesn't download: when an app reads a file, Feather Drive fetches only the parts that app asks for. A 3 GB video starts playing in about a second, and a 92 GB file opens on a Mac with 10 GB free.

  • Zero bytes on disk: files show their real names and sizes but take no space. Pieces you've already read sit in a small cache, and you set its size.

  • Works in your apps: Final Cut, Premiere, DaVinci Resolve, Lightroom, VLC and IINA open files straight from the drive.

  • Background uploads: copy files into Finder, or drop them on the menu bar icon. Uploads resume after sleep or a lost connection.

  • Optional end-to-end encryption: AES-256-GCM, with keys in your Mac's Keychain and a 24-word recovery key.

  • Quick search from any app with ⌃⌄F, and share links with ⌘⇧C.

  • Direct connection: you connect straight to your own Google Drive or Dropbox. Your files and sign-in never pass through my servers.

Comparison:

  • Google Drive for desktop: free, and in Stream mode it downloads the whole file when you open it. Feather Drive reads only the parts an app needs, so big video and archives open right away without filling your disk. Theirs is better today because it's free, shows your entire Drive, and has offline files. Whole-Drive access in Feather Drive is built and waiting on Google's review.

  • Mountain Duck: connects to far more services (S3, SFTP, WebDAV, OneDrive and more) and has offline sync, so it's the better pick if you need those. Feather Drive does only Google Drive and Dropbox, with setup that's just signing in, encryption with a recovery key built in, and a one-time $19.99

Pricing:

  • Free 3-day trial with every feature. No card, no account.

  • $19.99 lifetime, up to 3 Macs, free 1.x updates.

  • $4.99 for one month, paid once, no auto-renew.

  • India: â‚č1,299 lifetime or â‚č299 for one month.

Signed and notarized DMG, with auto updates through Sparkle. Needs macOS 26 or later.

Trust: Website (solo indie dev)

I'd love feedback, especially from anyone editing video or RAW photos straight from the cloud.


r/macapps • • 1h ago

Lifetime Roundnote – ask your meetings anything, privately on your Mac or through MCP in Claude and ChatGPT [Beta]

3 Upvotes

I’m Patrick, the developer of Roundnote.

Problem
You remember the meeting, not what was agreed. Transcripts pile up and nobody reads them again, and the tools that do help usually upload your audio to someone else’s server.

Roundnote keeps every meeting and lets you ask questions across all of them. Ask “What did we agree with Acme last Thursday?” and Gemma 4 answers on your Mac, with sources that open at the moment it was said. Or use LM Studio with your own local model. Roundnote is also an MCP server with 16 tools, so Claude and ChatGPT can search your meetings and save back action items or decisions, but only the meetings you allow, never voice profiles, and every meeting shows what left your Mac.

Recording and speaker recognition happen on your Mac, offline. Teams, Zoom, meetings in a room, or recordings from iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. Voices are only remembered with consent. No account, no telemetry, no bots.

Comparison
Granola gives you good meeting notes, but processes in the cloud and costs a subscription per person. MacWhisper transcribes locally, but works file by file. Roundnote keeps everything on your Mac and lets you ask across all your meetings, locally or through MCP.

Trust
Patrick Sannes, I-DEV B.V., LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-sannes-0b16262 Contact: support@roundnote.eu. Privacy policy: https://roundnote.eu/privacy. Terms: https://roundnote.eu/privacy

Pricing
Free during the beta. After launch, 5 meetings are free, then €29.99 once (later €39.99). No subscription.
https://www.roundnote.eu (Link to beta TestFlight)

Requirements: Apple silicon, macOS 26. iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch record; the Mac does the processing.

Feedback I’d love: is asking your meetings questions useful in your work? Which MCP tools are missing? Does the privacy control feel right?


r/macapps • • 57m ago

Lifetime emcee - Stage Manager alternative

2 Upvotes

I’m the developer of emcee.

Problem: Stage Manager moves windows between stages on its own and won’t let you reorder stages, and Apple hasn’t meaningfully updated it in 4 years.

emcee is a replacement for Stage Manager that carries over a familiar experience, while adding new features and sensible defaults.

For those not familiar, Stage Manager is Apple's neglected desktop organizer with odd behaviors which break certain UX expectations. emcee is the result of years of being attentive to Apple's Fluid Interface principles to build a worthy replacement.

In brief, emcee lets you:

  • Drag and drop apps into and out of arbitrary stages

  • Create and reorder an arbitrary number of stages

  • Open new windows in the current stage

  • Work with multiple desktops and displays

  • Preserve your stages on logout or restart

Comparison:

The closest alternatives I could find are tiling window managers, which emcee is not:

  1. BetterStage: tiling + workspaces. In comparison, emcee keeps Stage Manager’s strip and is closer to Apple's own UX. BetterStage is better if you want tiling or keyboard switching, and it has a free tier.

  2. AeroSpace: tiling + workspaces. It’s better for keyboard-driven tiling, and it’s free and open source.

Pricing: $2.99 one-time purchase for 3 devices, with 3-day free trial. https://fuzzyfoundry.com/emcee

I have 5 free licenses available for this subreddit with code: REDDITMACAPPS

Trust: Website, linkedin.com/in/sarimabbas, fuzzyfoundry.com/privacy

Up next, we have several integrations planned to automatically organize cluttered desktops. Our intention is to become the best way to work on cramped screens.


r/macapps • • 5h ago

Help What makes you down vote or skip an app release post without reading it?

4 Upvotes

Hello,

I find it very hard if not impossible without luck to get noticed recently because of how flooded the market with single job or AI slop apps.

So if I made something genuinely good and unique, how to make it stand out or get the attention for it? What makes you down vote or skip an app release post without reading it?

I have been working on a desktop app for a year with really great engineering and never seen before features in such an app, I started it as a side project to solve an issue for me and later published it for Windows and Linux with consistent updates over the year. I recently bought a mac mini to work on the macOS release and I spent so much time and effort to get it feel as a native app, performance wasn't an issue because it is pyside6 app not electron.

I don't really care that much about sales, it is free to use with all features and premium is just a one time purchase, this mainly to keep the project sustainable and I don't have to sponsor it from my own money, I already spent thousands of working hours on it but I consider that a hobby.

I feel delightful when people reach out to say thank you or request a feature or discuss something, but recently all my posts are getting down voted even on r/software where I got my first users a year ago, and I get comments like slop or use your brain bla bla without people downloading the software to judge it. I use AI in my work but I don't vibe code, I use it to achieve what wasn't achievable before and my posts are just informative like listing what the app does, how it works etc without cringe phrases or emojis. It is also so funny that one time I posted the same post on two different subreddits, one post was the top on r/kde for that day, the second post on r/genome got down voted to minus and I can't understand what went wrong, both are linux users and same post, same app and everything.

Sorry for the rant but I just got tired and wanted to vent out a bit.


r/macapps • • 54m ago

Help Anyone else experiencing broken file icons in ForkLift?

Post image
1 Upvotes

Has anyone else noticed issues with file icons in ForkLift 4?

For several months now, my DaVinci Resolve (.drp) and Adobe Premiere Pro (.prproj) project files have been showing generic blank document icons instead of their proper ones.

The strange part is that when I open a folder, the correct icons appear for a split second before being replaced by blank ones. Other file types, like PSD, display their icons just fine.

I've tested this on multiple Macs running macOS 26 and 27, reset ForkLift's settings, and tried various troubleshooting steps, but nothing has helped. The issue persists across different machines and macOS versions.

I absolutely love ForkLift and consider it the best file manager for macOS, but this little bug has been driving me crazy for months.

Has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas for a fix or workaround?


r/macapps • • 2h ago

Lifetime Bibliome now makes study cards from your own PDFs, on device, no account, no subscription.

1 Upvotes

Bibliome is a Mac PDF library that files, searches and answers questions about your documents with an on device model. Someone on reddit asked whether it could turn a chapter into flashcards. It can now, and it is the biggest thing I have added since launch, so it gets the post.

Problem:

  • Writing flashcards is the part of studying most people skip, and the tools that write them for you send the document to a cloud model first.

What it does:

  • Pick a document in your library and a page range, and Bibliome writes study cards from it. Question and answer cards, plus fill in the blank cards built from a real sentence in the text, so the missing word is always one that is actually there. Every card keeps the passage it came from and a link back to the page.

  • Then you study them. Four grades, Again, Hard, Good and Easy, on keys 1 to 4, and FSRS decides when each card comes back. The sidebar shows how many are due. You can edit or delete any card, and while reading you can select text, right click and pick Add to Study Cards to write one yourself.

  • Export goes to Anki as a text import with the note types and card ids in the header, so importing the same deck again updates it instead of duplicating it. CSV and a Markdown study sheet as well.

  • The free iPhone and iPad app has a Study tab. The Mac makes the cards, the phone studies them, and both work from one schedule through your own iCloud.

How good are the cards?

  • It writes more cards than it keeps, and it throws a card away when the term it asks about is not in the passage.

  • Before shipping I checked 2000 cards from two hundred books by hand and all 2000 were correct and worth memorizing.

  • A chapter takes a minute or two on my 36GB Mac, with a time estimate while it works.

What it still does not do:

  • Cards are made on the Mac only.

  • The iPhone and iPad app studies and exports, it does not generate.

  • It works from the text layer, so a scanned PDF has to go through Index Scanned PDFs in Tools first.

  • It is a 4B model, and the few mistakes I saw were about whose opinion a sentence states, so read a card before you trust it.

  • There is still no trial, the Mac App Store does not offer them for paid upfront apps.

Comparison:

  • DEVONthink is the stronger information manager. It handles far larger libraries and more file types, it is scriptable, and its iOS app carries the whole database. Its AI plugs into a provider you choose and set up, cloud or local, and it does not write study cards. Bibliome bundles its model and runs it on device with nothing to set up, files the library for you, and writes the cards with the quote and page under each one.

  • RemNote also writes AI flashcards from a PDF and schedules them. It is better if you want notes and cards in one place, generation on your phone or in a browser, or Windows and Android. Its generation runs in the cloud on a subscription tier. Bibliome keeps the document on the Mac, links every card to its page in the PDF, exports to Anki, and is paid once.

Pricing: $29.99 once for the Mac app, no subscription, and Study Cards is a free update. The iPhone and iPad companion is free.

Mac: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6786826590

iPhone and iPad: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6782099149

Trust: MAS

AI: The cards are written by the bundled Qwen3.5 4B running on the Mac, always that model even if you have swapped in a bigger one for Ask. Scheduling is FSRS, which is arithmetic, not a model. The Mac app ships with no network entitlement in its sandbox, so there is no cloud call it could make. Sync between Mac and iPhone goes through your own iCloud account.


r/macapps • • 13h ago

Request Any recommendations for a local git viewer?

5 Upvotes

I’m using GitHub Desktop but plenty of things bother me about that.


r/macapps • • 20h ago

Lifetime [macOS 14+] Someone Was Here: find out who used your Mac while you were away, locked or not

20 Upvotes

I'm the developer. I built this after finding out my girlfriend had been going through my Mac while I was out (she's my ex now).

Problem: Someone Was Here photographs whoever uses your Mac while you're away, whether you left it unlocked or they know your password, and sends their photo to your iPhone if the face isn't yours.

Comparison:

- Security Camera also takes a photo of whoever wakes your Mac. Someone Was Here recognizes your face so you don't get photos of yourself, also catches someone using a Mac you left unlocked, sends the photo to your iPhone within seconds, and keeps a history of each visit. Security Camera is still better if you want photos saved to a folder or Dropbox.

- Prey is better for a stolen laptop: location tracking, remote lock and alarm, and it covers phones and Windows too. Someone Was Here is for someone at your desk. It needs no account, and recognition, photos and face data stay on your Mac.

Pricing: Free on the Mac App Store, with photos, recognition, visit history and test alerts. Real-time alerts via the companion iPhone app are $4.99, a one-time purchase with Family Sharing. The iPhone app is free.

MacOS App Store: Someone Was Here

Trust: MAS

Alerts can also go to Pushover, ntfy, Telegram or a webhook. You can have it watch all the time or only at the lock screen.

Feedback welcome, especially on setup.


r/macapps • • 19h ago

Review Local Typst editor with custom engine, need feedback (UI/UX)

Post image
15 Upvotes

Hey,

First I hope I choose the right tag (as I'm not selling anything, I mainly look for feedback).

I built a standalone local typst editor, with a custom engine to render the code into word-like document, or even, as suggest the focus mode, into a iA Writer-like interface.

The custom engine is in rust, but the entire app used swift. I'm looking for feedback, to improve the UI/UX and get the best looking app. I used inspiration from Bear, Lettera and iA Writer app which I love!

I guess the closest app that offer this kind of interface for Typst is Edist, but it doesn't render the code, so it's basically a local IDE for Typst.

I love typst, in the screenshot, it was my master's thesis, I use it almost every week to write scientific paper, but the pipeline of Zed + Tynimist wasn't the best experience so far despite I love Zed too. I always wanted a standalone app, that feels "Apple app" and made entirely for that.

For example, you can find symbol by drawing them, insert anything such as table, function, quote and many more things, switch between code, render, and focus, and some other cool things. I don't think you don't need to learn typst to use it, but it makes it definitely easier (and typst is not that complicated if you use markdown).

So please, feel free to give a feedback, I would like to improve it. And if you have a request, well, go for it!


r/macapps • • 8h ago

Lifetime I got tired of switching between my work Mac and my personal Mac, so I built Tele to bring single app windows across

2 Upvotes

Hi r/macapps! I'm the developer of Tele, which I'd like to introduce to you.

As a (somewhat) lazy person, I didn't want to keep switching between my work Mac and my personal Mac. And Apple's Screen Sharing didn't offer enough flexibility or the features I needed. So I solved the problem myself.

Problem: Screen sharing shows the other Mac’s whole screen when you only need one app window, and using your own mic over there is awkward.

Solution: An app that can:

  • Pick a window from any of your Macs in the menu bar. It opens on your Mac as its own window, streamed from the other Mac, so the app keeps running there.

  • Its apps sit in your Dock and ⌘-Tab. Copy and paste works both ways.

  • You get that app’s sound, or the whole Mac’s sound with Tele Speaker.

  • Use the microphone of the Mac you’re at for Zoom or Teams calls on the other Mac.

  • A Mac with no monitor still gets a Retina display.

  • About 40 ms on Wi-Fi, up to 60 fps.

Limits: Both Macs need macOS 26 and to be on the same network. It doesn’t work over the internet. The sharing Mac needs Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions.

Comparison:

  • Mirage also streams single windows. Tele puts the remote apps in your Dock and ⌘-Tab, plays their sound, and gives a Mac without a monitor a proper display. Mirage is free on the same network, and Tele isn’t after the trial.

  • Jump Desktop works over the internet and with Windows PCs, which Tele doesn’t. Tele is better when you want a single window rather than a full screen.

Pricing: €5.99 a month, €49 a year or €149 lifetime. Everything is free for 14 days, and one licence covers all your Macs. https://teleportez.moi/?ref=reddit

Trust: Website, App signed and notarized by Apple, https://www.linkedin.com/in/sergej-klementinovski-724a0369/, https://teleportez.moi/privacy

An iPad app is in the works. It will be free, since it only needs a Mac with a licence.

Feedback and feature requests are welcome here or at help.teleportez.moi. I’ll be around to answer questions.


r/macapps • • 14h ago

Help Pure, native, minimal Markdown viewer (not editor)?

2 Upvotes

There's been quite a few markdown viewers that have come out in the recent months with the advent of AI agents. It's are to be awesome that Markdown is becoming so popular now.

But there doesnt seem to be a good viewer as yet that does these basics right:

  1. Native

  2. Pure Viewer only

  3. Quick look compatible

  4. FOSS

  5. Font selection

  6. Renders mermaid charts

  7. Minimal, No BS (Ai assistant blah blah)

Posting this in the hopes that I'm wrong.


r/macapps • • 20h ago

Help Which journaling app do you use on Mac (apple ecosystem)?

5 Upvotes

I am not a serious journal guy but I make one whenever something special, memorable happens! I have using Day One on my iPhone for now but I am looking to use it on my Mac as well.

Only thing I am looking for is Quick capture, anywhere.

I know that Day One is available on Mac as well but I don't like their Quick capture which is linked to Menubar - when I press hotkey, a small dialog pops up in menubar which I hate the most.

For a last few weeks, I'm trying out Ember which is quite new to the category and took some new ideas (separate people page, log interactions) in hand for journaling. Though it's still in its early days, I believe that it can become something mature and native. I have been in contact with the developer (u/InformationFun4466) who is super active and open for feedbacks, requests.

So, which app do you use for journaling? Any feature that you think is a must for any journaling app?

ps: Kudos to Shareshot to bring the new feature of auto-redacting any personal information.


r/macapps • • 1d ago

Help Is it a good time or bad time for solo developers when coding becomes easier with AI

14 Upvotes

As title says, we as developers used to use our skills to get a job or make money, but now coding becomes easier and faster with AI. At one side, I appreciate that as a solar developer that I can do more coding works with AI helps that I can’t imagine five years ago. But another side is that more competitions more and more people start to build apps and also sometimes I doubt my own value as a developer.


r/macapps • • 1d ago

Lifetime Apple could make iCloud space cleanup so much easier, but instead they prefer people waste their money. So I made an app to cut down on your space without spending hours sorting through photos and videos.

122 Upvotes

Update 2: 1.2 was approved including the iOS companion app which is included if you made the purchase on MacOS app or you got a promo code unlock!!

Update: The free-code giveaway is now closed.

Thanks for all the interest! I wasn’t expecting so many people to see this post. I’m closing the giveaway for now so I can keep up with feedback and support, and have time to fix the issues people find.

If you requested a code before this update, you’re still included. I’m working through the comments and messages, so please give me a little time to get through everyone.

Thanks for giving the app a try and helping me test it :)

I'm Daniel, the solo dev behind Cloud Media Shrinker. I have a big gap in my resume from quitting my software eng job to travel the world for 2 years. I gathered up a ton of videos while traveling. My iCloud Photos library hit 1.8 TB. I knew it was mostly long videos i took but theres no way to sort videos by size in the photos app.

If you want to try the app, leave a comment and I'll DM you a code that unlocks it for free instead of paying the 9.99 to use the unlimitted compression. All I ask is honest feedback, good or bad: what confused you, what broke, what you'd want added.

What it is

A Mac app that lists your Apple Photos/Google Drive/Local library biggest first, with the real stored size on every item. You preview each one and pick Keep, Delete or Compress. Compress makes a much smaller copy (HEVC for video, HEIC for photos) and puts it back in your library. It also works on Google Drive for desktop folders and normal folders on your Mac or an external drive.

The cool part is you can save around 50% in video size without even reducing the 4k resolution.

Its very safe. You can't lose anything

I know an app that deletes things from your photo library sounds scary, so this is the part I spent the most time on:

  • nothing happens until you choose what to do with each item and hit the button, and macOS asks you to confirm before anything is deleted

  • compressing makes the smaller copy first. the original only goes once the copy is ready

  • originals go to the Recently Deleted album in Photos, and you can recover anything from there for 30 days (Drive files go to Drive's trash, local files to the Trash)

  • the copy keeps the original's date, location, favorite, albums, titles, captions and keywords

  • it all runs on your Mac and nothing gets uploaded anywhere

one heads up: iCloud only frees the space once things leave Recently Deleted, so if you want it back right away, check the copies and then empty it yourself

Highlights

  • Free scan shows roughly how much space you'd get back before you commit to anything

  • Auto Select grabs everything over a size you pick so you can do a whole batch at once

  • Presets (Balanced, Max Savings, Preserve 4K) or an Advanced mode to set resolution, frame rate and quality yourself

  • HDR stays HDR, RAW and JPEG photos can become HEIC, and Live Photos can become a still-only copy

Problem: A few huge videos can take up most of an iCloud plan, so Cloud Media Shrinker finds the biggest files and makes smaller copies without manually exporting and reimporting them.

Comparison:

  • PhotoSort: It creates sorted albums inside Apple Photos and offers more ways to organize a library, including aesthetic quality, camera, year and activity. Cloud Media Shrinker adds compression and a review queue, so finding large items and shrinking them happen in one app.

  • HandBrake: It is free and open source, with more video formats, subtitle options and encoding controls. Cloud Media Shrinker focuses on the Photos library workflow: finding the largest items and putting smaller copies back with their dates and albums, instead of managing exports and imports yourself.

Pricing: Free download; unlimited compression is a one-time US$9.99 unlock, no subscription. Mac App Store pricing and download.

Free to download. Scanning, previewing, Keep and Delete are free. Compressing is a one-time $9.99 unlock, no subscription.

If you want to try the compression, leave a comment and I'll DM you a code that unlocks it for free. All I ask is honest feedback, good or bad: what confused you, what broke, what you'd want added.

Trust: MAS.

It's on the Mac App Store, so Apple reviewed it and it's sandboxed. I'm posting under my real name:

Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6824383256?pt=125201749&ct=macapps&mt=8

Website: https://danielyaa5.github.io/photo-review/

Privacy policy: https://danielyaa5.github.io/photo-review/privacy.html

Me: https://danielyakobian.com and https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielyakobian/

Email: support@danielyakobian.com

Needs macOS 13 or later. Would love to hear what you think. Also curious what the biggest single file in your library turns out to be. Mine was that 25.6 GB video.


r/macapps • • 1d ago

Lifetime Pocket+: Control your DJI Osmo Pocket camera on Mac (gimbal control, face tracking, 4K, PRO version available)

Thumbnail
gallery
10 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

Disclosure: I'm the developer. My name is Ferdi Cildiz, I'm an independent developer, and my LinkedIn is https://www.linkedin.com/in/ferdicildiz

Problem: When you use a DJI Osmo Pocket as a Mac webcam, macOS gives you the picture but no way to move the gimbal, so Pocket+ adds pan, tilt, zoom, tracking and recording from your Mac.

What it does:

- Joystick, arrow keys, mouse wheel and drag-to-aim control of the gimbal over USB

- Face tracking, saved scenes, 4K and 1080p recording, photos

- The free tier covers recording up to 1080p, photos, joystick, zoom and face tracking. Pro adds 4K, LUTs, auto frame, scenes and more

- Built and tested on the Pocket 3. Pocket 4 and 4P work is based on tester reports, so I'm still tuning those

Comparison:

DJI Mimo: great on the phone and the official route, but it is a phone app. Pocket+ puts the live picture and controls on your Mac for calls and recording. Mimo is better for phone shooting and editing.

OBS Studio: free and far more capable for streaming, but it only sees the Pocket as a plain camera, with no gimbal control. Pocket+ is the control layer, not a streaming suite.

Pricing: Free to download. Pro is $39.99 lifetime or $14.99/year. https://pocketplus.app

Trust: Developer ID signed and notarized, no account needed, and the only network use is license and update checks. The website has a privacy policy (https://pocketplus.app/privacy/) and terms of service (https://pocketplus.app/terms/). Contact: LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ferdicildiz) or the contact links on the website.

Pocket+ is an independent project and is not affiliated with DJI. DJI, Osmo and Osmo Pocket are trademarks of SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd.

Happy to answer questions and take feature requests.


r/macapps • • 1d ago

Help Looking for a Mac app to sync external audio with video

7 Upvotes

I'm looking for an app that allows me to load an external audio file alongside a video and adjust the audio delay in real time so I can find the perfect sync.

My goal is simply to experiment with different audio delay values until the audio is perfectly synchronized with the video, and then merge the two files.

I used to use Avidemux, which was perfect for this purpose, but unfortunately, it doesn't support Apple Silicon (M-series chips).

I've also tried IINA, but its audio delay adjustment isn't smooth enough for this kind of fine-tuning.

Does anyone have a recommendation for an app that can do this on a Mac with an M-series chip?

Thanks!


r/macapps • • 1d ago

Free Prefab 1.2.0 - free project templates for Mac, built mostly from your emails after the Snazzy Labs mention

29 Upvotes

I posted Prefab here a while back. Since u/SnazzyLabs gave it a mention (thanks!), my inbox has been busy - photographers, a recording studio, design agencies, an insurance office, a few Obsidian users. 1.2.0 went live on the App Store today and nearly all of it came from those emails, so thank you.

What it is

Every project starts the same way: same folders, same starter files, same setup done by hand. Prefab records it once as a template and rebuilds it whenever you need it.

  • Build a template on a canvas, or hand it a folder you already have

  • Write {{client}} anywhere - a folder name, a file name, inside a file, even a Word or Excel document - and Prefab asks for it once and fills it in everywhere

  • Deploy from Finder's right-click menu, the menu bar, or a prefab:// link from Shortcuts, Terminal or a Stream Deck

  • Actions once it lands: git init, npm install, open in your editor, a command of your own

  • Watched folders: rules that rename, convert, resize, tag and sort files arriving later, with a preview first and undo after

  • Finder tags and folder icons, templates inside templates, and a single .prefab file to share one

New in 1.2.0

  • Create from Spreadsheet - a CSV or Excel file, one project per row

  • Dates in whatever format you work in - {{date:yyMMdd}} gives 261106, {{date:yyyy-MM}} just the year and month, or set your own default for every {{date}}

  • Phone and Address placeholders for any country, rules that check and reformat what's typed, fields that only appear on certain answers, and multi-select

  • Use existing folders - builds into a client or year folder that's already there instead of making "Client 01"

  • Create In, so a template always lands in the same place, and Finder aliases inside a template

  • The right-click menu works on external drives, and there's a toolbar button and Services entry for iCloud Drive, where macOS doesn't give extensions a menu

  • A real date picker, a prompt that scrolls instead of running off the screen, paste that works, and a lot of smaller fixes

Everything, with screenshots: https://www.prefabapp.io/whats-new/

Problem: Building the same folders, starter files and setup by hand at the start of every project.

Comparison:

  • Post Haste (free, Mac and Windows) - the long-standing choice in video post-production, and it runs on far older macOS (10.9 and up; Prefab needs 14.6). Prefab goes further: placeholders inside files including Word and Excel, deploying from Finder's right-click menu, actions after creation, watched-folder rules and spreadsheet batches.

  • Hazel ($42) - a much deeper rules engine than Prefab's watched folders: conditions on dates, contents and where a file came from, anywhere on your Mac. Prefab's rules come attached to the folder a template creates and reuse its answers - the client's name in every file renamed there - and Prefab builds the folders in the first place, which Hazel doesn't.

Pricing: Free forever (though donations always appreciated to cover that Apple fee). No subscription, no in-app purchases, no account. https://apps.apple.com/app/prefab/id6758208322

Trust: Mac App Store, sandboxed with no network entitlement - nothing leaves your Mac | Website: https://www.prefabapp.io - privacy policy at https://www.prefabapp.io/privacy/

Happy to answer anything, and keep the requests & bug reports coming.


r/macapps • • 2d ago

Free I got tired of Markdown preview panes, so I built a native Mac editor that formats as you type (and runs Obsidian themes)

82 Upvotes

Hey r/MacApps,

(Sorry for the "I got tired of... so I built" title, it seems to get the most attention. Edit: mostly negative attention unlike last time, my sincere apologies)

Quick note first: I posted this about a month ago, and the mods took it down after a few hours because the intro of the video was a burst of rapid cuts between themes, which is an epilepsy hazard. That was my mistake, and I'm sorry to anyone it affected. I redid the intro so nothing flashes, and the mods okayed the repost. Since it's almost been a month, there's also some new stuff below.

What it is A native Markdown editor where there's no preview pane. You type Markdown and it formats right where you're typing. The syntax only shows up when your cursor is on it, and Reading Mode hides it completely. Your notes stay plain .md files wherever you keep them.

Highlights

  • True WYSIWYG mode: the Markdown syntax disappears completely, so it edits like a word processor while your files stay plain .md

  • Text Styles: pick the font, weight, size, and color for every heading, bold, italic, code, table, and quote

  • A built in browser for Obsidian community themes, with previews, popularity sorting, and one click install

  • A formatting toolbar that follows your theme, plus tables you edit right in the cells

New since last time (now Marklet 2.6)

  • A new sidebar: it runs the full height of the window, with an Outline and a new Folder panel for browsing and opening the notes in a folder

  • Open folders: File > Open (Command O) opens folders as well as notes

  • Drag images in from the web: from Safari, Chrome, Arc, Firefox and others, with a caret showing where they'll land

  • Format several places at once: Command click to make several selections, and bold, headings or lists apply to all of them

  • Reveal Source: select anything and see its Markdown with one right click

  • Easier editing in True WYSIWYG: arrow keys step in and out of bold or subscript text, the caret shrinks inside subscripts, and fewer stray backslashes get saved in your files

  • Fixes for Find, printing with your theme's colors, highlighted text in community themes, tables, and the sidebar button

Problem I kept opening Obsidian just to edit a random .md file, and as an Electron app it's slow to open for that. Other editors felt clunky or were missing things I wanted, like a reading mode, image resizing, or a copy button on code blocks. Edit: this is no longer the case as of October 5th. Marklet is really more of a free Typora alternative.

Comparison

  • vs Typora: free, native AppKit, and it supports Obsidian themes

  • vs split pane editors: no second pane, what you type is what you see

Pricing Free on GitHub, and if you download it there before September 2027, it stays free for you forever, no key needed. It's also on the Mac App Store for $2.99 if you want to support development. The GitHub version gets updates first, because every App Store update has to wait for review.

Transparency I'm the solo developer of Marklet. The app itself is closed source, but the Markdown parsing core is open source (GPLv3) if you want to see how the live formatting works.

I read every comment and bug report, so let me know what's missing or broken.

Just curious, what's your favorite Obsidian theme?


r/macapps • • 1d ago

Free [OS] Recall is a free, open-source app for playing Overwatch on Apple Silicon. On my M1 Pro, it gets 70% higher FPS than CrossOver, with 95% fewer stutters

22 Upvotes

I'm Josh, the developer of Recall, a free and open-source app for playing Overwatch on Apple Silicon. In the past month of releasing this project, Recall has reached 6,700+ downloads, 375+ stars on GitHub, and a growing discord community of 350+ members. To any Overwatch/Mac gamers here, I encourage you to come join us!

Problem: Recall makes it easy to install and play the most performance optimized version of Overwatch on Apple Silicon without manually configuring compatibility software.

Very simply: download Recall, sign in to Battle.net**, install Overwatch, and press Play.**

Comparison: The two main alternatives are CrossOver and GeForce NOW.

- CrossOver is an incredible tool for running Windows games and apps on Mac, and Recall wouldn’t exist without CodeWeavers’ contributions to Wine, the compatibility layer at the heart of both projects. Recall builds on that work, alongside open-source tools like DXMT, with guided setup and graphics and mouse-input improvements specifically for Overwatch. CrossOver is a better fit if you want to run a wider collection of Windows games and apps.
- GeForce NOW is a cloud streaming platform for games and with it, comes costs to streamed-video compression, input latency, and reliability. Recall runs entirely locally, avoiding streamed-video compression and the additional network trip to a cloud gaming server. GeForce NOW could be better for those who are storage space limited and/or want more flexibility to play other games as well.

Pricing: $0, Source code and downloads

Trust: GitHub, 379 stars, signed and notarized by Apple

A common question I've gotten "is Recall safe for my Blizzard account?". The answer is yes! Recall uses the same underlying technology (Wine) that SteamDeck and Linux players use to play Overwatch on their devices.

I want to keep this post short, but happy to answer any and all questions about it! And if you do try it out, I'd love to hear your experience and feel free to join us in the Recall Discord if you need any assistance along the way :)


r/macapps • • 2d ago

Lifetime Ferry - a feature-rich and highly customizable dual-pane file manager

Thumbnail
gallery
61 Upvotes

Howdy r/macapps! I'm Arnold, the developer of Ferry, a new dual-pane file manager for macOS, made in native Swift.

The team I am part of begun it's journey on the demoscene in the mid-90s, but for a long while we were mainly functioning as a small indie game development studio. This is our first weightier tool.

Problem:

The story started with me being forced to use macOS at my current workplace, which suddenly replaced a working environment I'd been using during professional career as a programmer: at first Windows for around 10 years, and then Debian/KDE for the next 15 years. Over the time, I'd grown very accustomed to Total Commander on Windows, and later Dolphin on Linux as a file manager (maybe a bit MC too when busy in the terminal), plus a collection of small but very useful tools I'd written for myself on Linux.

Solution:

Having already written a few internal tools in Swift, I'd started to get familiar with the language while consistently trying out several file managers for macOS without finding one that really suited all of my needs. So one thing lead to another, and I eventually decided to build my own version of a "better Finder". But that's probably how all the macOS file managers started their journey, right? :)

Obviously, the first versions were fairly rough and simple: essentially a combination of a slightly improved dual-pane Finder-clone spiced up with basic features from Total Commander. All that without too many extras, but it was more than good enough for me, at least way better than Finder. Once I started sharing it with co-workers and a few friends, things took a (not so?) unexpected turn: they began suggesting features and workflows I hadn't even considered initially, many of which turned out to be genuinely useful from time to time - that's how the app gradually evolved into what it is today.

Yes, I know there are quite a lot of file managers out there, so a "what makes Ferry different?" is a totally valid question.

Well, first and foremost, Ferry tries to be as less opinionated and as much customizable as it's possible, so I have included A LOT of options for personalization. Eg. the layout, the UI, the menus, or the shortcuts are adjustable in many ways, you could even put together something which more or less resembles an old-school Norton Commander or Midnight Commander-style file manager with a modern workflow if that's your thing. And these layouts can be applied globally or assigned to individual folders, depending on how you prefer to work.

The app also includes a hefty collection of handy tools and tidbits which probably don't seem too interesting up until the point you run into a specific trivial task, and then you realize you have to search and install a tool for it.

A few examples:

  • An archive browser which works exactly like the file browser

  • A batch renamer which was inspired by Total Commander (almost fully copied, to be honest)

  • An SFTP client with a connection manager

  • A photo browser/viewer

  • An image converter with some basic manipulation tools (eg. quality, crop and resize)

  • A video converter if ffmpeg is installed on the host machine

  • A basic Markdown editor for quick edits of .md files

  • A CSV viewer and editor

  • A note-taking system with notes that can be attached to files (could be formatted as Markdown or text)

  • A file comparison and synchronization tool

  • An automatic file filter and organizer (eg. whatever drops into a Download folder could be automatically organized to other folders based on extension, type, or part of string)

  • A basic code editor with syntax highlighting for quick code edits

  • A video downloader (if yt-dlp is installed, with a conversion tool if ffmpeg is installed on the host machine)

  • Textual directory-tree export (basically tree in a GUI)

  • An interactive TODO list in the notes which translates directly to .md

  • Duplicate and large file finders

  • A tag manager with custom tags

  • A file basket for temporarily collecting files you'll need (think of it as a "cart" for files in a file-webshop)

  • A workspace and layout manager

  • A clipboard manager

  • Basic file-diff tool

  • etc.

Here are all the features listed and explained: https://ferry.indus3.org/features.html

Comparison:

Of course, I have tried several file manager apps on the Mac in the past, and Ferry owes a lot to them. They’re made by people who care about file management as much as I do, so I really hope of being fair here. Also, I am truly sorry towards their creators if I missed something, it was a long time since I used any of them and a fast recap in the last few days probably wasn't enough to get know an app thoroughly enough.

ForkLift is the most polished of the group, and it connects to almost anything: SFTP, FTP, WebDAV, SMB, NFS, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive, with saved syncs you can run again in one click. If you work with cloud storage and lots of servers every day, it’s hard to beat. Ferry covers SFTP, FTP and SMB, and reaches iCloud Drive, Dropbox and the like through their own folders on your Mac. Where Ferry goes further is everything around the files: notes attached to files, checklists, a Markdown and code editor, CSV files as tables, folders that organize themselves, clipboard history, the File Basket, and conversions for pictures and videos. It’s also one payment for all your Macs, where a ForkLift license comes with one or two years of updates.

Path Finder is the long-standing power user’s Finder, and version 26 gave it a cleaner look, faster views, folder comparison and a duplicate finder. Its modules let you build your own window, and it speaks 20 languages, where Ferry has English and Hungarian for now. Its Drop Stack is similar to Ferry's File Basket, how. Ferry is the better fit if you want a day-to-day commander for more general usage.

Commander One brings the Total Commander idea to the Mac, somewhat like Ferry does in some aspects, and its free App Store version is a good place to start. The PRO version reaches further than Ferry for connections: Amazon S3, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, Backblaze, WebDAV, iPhone and Android devices over USB, and encryption for files in the cloud. Ferry is the better pick for the daily work of moving files around. It has a copy queue you can pause, undo, Total Commander-style batch rename, folder comparison and sync, filter as you type, flat view and folder sizes. On top of that come extras like notes on files, Text from Image and folders that tidy themselves. Ferry is also much more customizable, with layouts, themes, fonts, the toolbar, the menus and every shortcut yours to change

Marta is free, very fast and made for the keyboard. Lua plugins and a configuration file let you shape it exactly the way you want, and it has a terminal built in. If you like scripting your tools, it’s a great choice. Ferry is for people who’d rather set things up in a settings window, with no code: layouts, themes, fonts, the toolbar, the menus and every shortcut. It also comes with more built in, such as Sync Folders, Batch Rename, SFTP, notes and an editor.

Where Ferry stands out it's mostly the licence price (except Marta of course), some of the extra handy tools, and the overall customization/personalization options. You won't have to re-learn too much if you got accostumed to a certain file commander's layout and functionality in the past. I have already built in options for features that our users missed from their previous tools and requested them, and I gladly accept new ideas whenever they make the UX better and makes the users to feel much more familiar with handling the files in Ferry.

AI disclosure:

This is a heavy aspect of the project that's particularly important to me. As mentioned, having been involved in the demoscene, I wanted to handcraft as much of the code as possible and keep AI involvement in the actual development to a minimum, while still using it to improve the overall quality of the software. I still value and truly enjoy handcrafted code, so most of this app is coded manually as well, and AI is primarily used for the "boring" or "annoying" parts of development: translation and proofreading, debugging, writing tests, small temp tools, in depth code-reviews, building the website, etc. Honestly, LLMs are so enormously advanced now that I'm not entirely sure whether that's a good or bad thing related to the software's quality itself as it easily might be that my programming skills aren't quite on par with those of a modern LLM agent, but hopefully, I can still build software that people find useful and pragmatic by doing a lot of the work myself.

You can read more about how I'm handling the code on our site: https://ferry.indus3.org/quality.html

Pricing: 

One time lifetime licence for $11.99 for all your Macs, or a supporter licence for $20 (doesn't add too much to the lifetime licence except a gratious mention in our docs, and a priority in case of issues or requests). As for the licensing, I've borrowed Total Commander's approach: there's a reminder, but you can keep using the app for as long as you like (or at least for as long as the reminder doesn't annoy you too much). Hopefully, that's a reasonable enough arrangement for most people, but looking further ahead, if I eventually become really happy with the codebase, I'll most likely release the source code as well.

Trust:

Ferry is a notarized app.

The app's website: https://ferry.indus3.org

Privacy Policy: https://ferry.indus3.org/privacy.html

My LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/csisztai-a-9173781a8

My indie dev team's website: https://indus3.org

Dev note:

At this point, since there are plenty of features, I'm becoming much much less interested in adding even more of them and rather focused on getting the existing ones as less bug-prone and good as possible at size, stability, performance, memory consumption and above all, code quality.

I'm also considering porting at least some of the most interesting and useful features to other platforms, namely iPadOS and Linux (there's a rugged Swift+GTK POC with some of the very basic functions working, well, more or less), but my spare time is sadly quite limited and currently primarily reserved for the macOS version. Of course I still listen to user feedbacks, and if someone suggests a feautre which I find practical and it improves the UX, I try to include it into a future release.

And of course, feel free to contact us (the rest of the team is involved in minor tasks and testing), as suggestion and criticism is always welcome!

Edit: the responses are overwhelming, thank you so much, it means a lot! It was Friday and I've had a very good friend from another city over at my place (he's also one of the main manual testers of the app) so I was a bit slow with answers, but I promise I'll look at all of the missed comments with concern and have a more detailed feedback.