USES

VS CODE

DAILY DRIVER

The editor, fully tuned

Bearded Theme in Gold D Raynh, Material Icon Theme and Cascadia Code. ESLint, Prettier, GitLens, Tailwind CSS IntelliSense, Error Lens, Console Ninja, Quokka and Import Cost for the web; Docker, Remote SSH, Containers, Python with Pylance and Jupyter, and Code Spell Checker for the rest.

XCODE

Where the Swift apps get built

Apple's IDE, used for the Swift apps. Simulators, Instruments and the signing tools come with it.

INTELLIJ IDEA

JVM powerhouse

The gold standard for Java and Spring Boot. Slow to start, irreplaceable in practice. Deep static analysis, refactoring, and framework support nothing else matches.

WARP

DAILY DRIVER

The terminal, reimagined

Block-based output, AI command search, and a UI that doesn't feel like 1985. The first terminal that made me actually enjoy the command line.

GHOSTTY

OPEN SOURCE

The fast, native second terminal

GPU-accelerated terminal with a native UI and plain-text config. The secondary terminal next to Warp.

zsh as the shell, with Starship drawing a fast prompt that shows the git branch and runtime versions only when they matter.

git for history, gh for pull requests, issues and repo work without opening the browser.

fzf for fuzzy-finding files and history, ripgrep for searching contents, fd for finding files by name. Fast enough that searching stops being a decision.

bat shows files with syntax highlighting, eza lists directories with more context, and zoxide jumps to folders by learning where you go.

jq to slice JSON from APIs and logs, tree to print a folder structure at a glance.

Converts, trims and re-encodes audio and video from one command.

Builds the CVs from their LaTeX source with a single command, no full TeX distribution to manage.

Generates the Xcode project from a YAML spec instead of editing the project file by hand.

Runs Cloudflare tunnels, which expose a local service to the internet without opening ports.

nvm for Node versions and pyenv for Python versions, one per project when a project needs it.

The languages installed on the machine right now: Node 24 and Python 3.13 for the web and scripts, Go 1.27, Swift 6.4 for the Mac apps, and Java 21 for Spring.

ORBSTACK

Docker and Linux, light on the Mac

A fast, lightweight way to run containers and Linux machines on macOS, with a small footprint compared to the usual alternatives.

DOCKER

Containerise everything

Dev environments, production services, CI pipelines. Compose for local stacks, Desktop installed for the GUI when needed.

Runs other operating systems as virtual machines on the Mac, including the ones that are not a container.

TAILSCALE

A private network across devices

A WireGuard-based mesh network that links machines and servers without port forwarding or manual VPN setup.

TERMIUS

SSH that syncs everywhere

Cross-device SSH client with built-in SFTP, port forwarding, and a host vault that syncs across devices. Clean UI — the Figma of terminal clients.

YAAK

The API client that respects you

What Insomnia should have stayed. Environments, collections, GraphQL, gRPC — all in a native app that doesn't require a login or a subscription to run a request.

Installed locally for development, so a real Postgres is always one connection string away.

Installed locally for the projects that run on MySQL.

RUNJS

A JavaScript scratchpad

Live results as you type, with Node.js and browser environments and npm packages, for trying an idea without creating a project.

BEEKEEPER STUDIO

OPEN SOURCE

Open-source database GUI

Clean, genuinely open-source database client. Postgres, MySQL, SQLite, and more — no subscription, no bloat, no locked features.

CLAUDE

The desktop app and Claude Code

Both the desktop app and Claude Code in the terminal. Claude Code reads the repo, runs commands, and edits across files.

CHATGPT

A second opinion

The OpenAI desktop app, installed next to Claude.

TYPEWHISPER

Speech to text on the Mac

Local speech-to-text for macOS that runs on-device, with optional cloud models. Dictate into any app instead of typing.

ELEVEN

Reverse engineering for agents

Take apart an app and ask an agent what it does. Agent-first reverse engineering for Mac, Windows and Linux.

ARC

DAILY DRIVER

The browser that rethought everything

Spaces, split view, command bar, and a UI that actually respects screen real estate. The browser that made me stop using tabs the old way.

CHROME

For testing and DevTools

Google's browser, installed alongside the others. Home of the DevTools most other browsers copy.

BRAVE

Privacy-first Chromium

Chromium fork with built-in ad blocking, fingerprinting protection, and no Google telemetry.

SAFARI

The WebKit check

Apple's built-in browser and the WebKit engine, the one that shows how a page behaves on Apple devices.

PHI

A Chromium browser for Mac

A free, Chromium-based browser built as a native macOS app, with AI features that can be turned off in settings.

ZEN BROWSER

OPEN SOURCE

Firefox, but beautiful

Open-source Firefox fork with a clean sidebar-first UI, compact mode, and Arc-like spatial navigation. Privacy-first without sacrificing aesthetics.

FIGMA

From wireframe to handoff

Real-time collaborative and fast enough to keep up with thought. Used for everything from five-minute mockups to full design systems.

A free screenshot app with scrolling captures, OCR, annotation and pixel measurement.

IINA

OPEN SOURCE

The Mac media player

A modern, free and open-source media player designed for macOS, with plugin support.

UPSCAYL

OPEN SOURCE

AI image upscaling

Open-source AI upscaler that enlarges low-resolution images on the Mac, with no upload to a server.

DIFFUSION STUDIO

A video editor for agents

Edit videos with Claude Code, Codex or Cursor: agents analyze footage, cut clips and transcribe, and every edit stays in code.

HYPERFRAMES

HTML in, video out

The open-source framework for writing a video as HTML and rendering it, with a Studio app for editing. Built for agents.

OPENSCREEN

OPEN SOURCE

Screen recordings that look like demos

Free and open-source screen recorder for shipping product demos, with no watermark and no subscription.

TEXTREAM

A teleprompter that listens

Teleprompter that highlights the script in real time as you speak it.

RAYCAST

The launcher for everything

Launcher, window management, clipboard history and extensions, all one keystroke away.

NOTION

Docs, boards, and databases

Project planning, meeting notes, feature specs, and knowledge bases. Flexible enough to adapt to any workflow without fighting back.

TODOIST

Task manager that stays out of the way

Inbox, projects, priorities, due dates — and a natural language parser that actually works.

RAINDROP.IO

Visual bookmark manager

Save, tag, and organise bookmarks with screenshots and full-text search, as a desktop app on the Mac.

MARKEDIT

OPEN SOURCE

A small Markdown editor

A free, open-source Markdown editor for macOS. Opens instantly, with no project or workspace around the file.

ONE THING

One task in the menu bar

By Sindre Sorhus. Write the one task that matters most today and see it in the menu bar all day.

MOCHIBOARD

A cozy planning canvas

A planning canvas for the Mac, with a small pixel companion powered by Claude Code inside.

FOREL

Rule-based file automation

Sets rules that sort and move files automatically.

ICE

OPEN SOURCE

A menu bar manager

Hides and organises the menu bar icons so the notch area stays readable.

STATS

OPEN SOURCE

System monitor in the menu bar

CPU, memory, disk, network and battery readouts in the menu bar, at a glance.

DOCKDOOR

Window previews from the Dock

Hover a Dock icon to peek at its windows, and switch between them.

KEYCLU

Shortcuts for any app

Hold a key to see the keyboard shortcuts of whichever app is in front.

COCONUTBATTERY

Know the battery health

Shows live battery information and health for the Mac and for iOS devices.

LOCALSEND

OPEN SOURCE

Cross-platform AirDrop

Transfer files between any devices on the same network — no cloud, no account, no friction. Fast, private, and open-source.

THOCK

Mechanical keyboard sounds

Plays mechanical keyboard sounds as you type on the Mac keyboard.

UNCLACK

Mutes the mic while you type

Mutes the microphone when you type, so keystrokes stay out of calls and recordings.

Open-source CLI that cleans caches and optimises the Mac, installed through Homebrew.

PURGE

OPEN SOURCE

Free up the Mac, safely

Free, open-source app that clears caches and junk. Files go to the Trash by default, so anything can be put back.

RADIX

OPEN SOURCE

A disk space sunburst

Free, open-source disk usage analyzer that draws folders as a sunburst chart, to find what is eating the disk.

DROPPY

A Dynamic Island for the notch

Turns the notch into a file tray, clipboard manager and media player.

SAPPHIRE

Notch utilities

A notch utility with media controls, a file shelf, window snapping and calendar alerts around the notch.

MONOCLE

Dim everything but the window

Window dimming utility that darkens the rest of the screen to keep focus on one window.

MURO

Live video wallpapers

Native live video wallpapers with multi-display support.

VORSSAINT

OPEN SOURCE

A modular menu bar toolbox

A free, open-source menu bar app that bundles small tools. Install only the ones you use and keep everything local.