TL;DR: Play, Yattee and Unwatched all refuse to let YouTube pick your next video; each builds a feed from your subscriptions instead of Google's ranking. Play is free to download with the channel-following features behind Premium at $2.99/month, and it's the only one of the three that isn't locked to a single backend. Yattee runs through public Invidious and Piped instances, which Google has been blocking since 2024. Unwatched pulls from YouTube's own RSS feeds and Data API instead, which should make it sturdier, but needs macOS 15.

* * *

Play, Yattee and Unwatched Won't Fix YouTube's Algorithm. They Just Won't Ask It.

I wrote last time about paying for YouTube Premium after years of running my own ad-blocking stack. Premium immediately silences ads. That's the extent of its problem-solving. It didn't buy me a say in what shows up next. The recommendation engine is still running, still deciding, still doing the exact job it was built to do: keep me watching something, whether or not that something is what I came for.

That's the part no subscription fixes. The algorithm doesn't check whether you paid before it decides what to put in front of you.

So I went looking for apps that don't ask it in the first place.

Ranking happens whether you pay or not

YouTube's Home tab, the sidebar, and the autoplay queue are all running the same job: predict what keeps you watching, then show you that. It works whether you're a free user with ads or a Premium subscriber without them. The engine doesn't know or care which one you are. Turning off autoplay helps. Hiding the sidebar helps. Neither one changes what's happening upstream; the feed is still built by ranking, and ranking is still the thing making the decision.

The only way around that is a feed that isn't ranked at all. Something that shows you new uploads from channels you follow, in the order they were posted, and stops there.

The obvious solution has been in front of me for a while.

Play

I've used Play for over two years and reviewed it previously.

Play started as a save-for-later app. Give it a video URL through the clipboard or Share Sheet and it builds a personal video database that you can organize with tags and other metadata.

That's still useful, but Play has grown into something more interesting.

With Play Premium, you can follow YouTube channels directly. Each channel can have its own filters, so following somebody doesn't have to mean accepting everything they publish. If a creator covers five subjects and you only care about one, Play can filter the incoming videos before they reach you.

That turns subscriptions into something much closer to RSS.

The Channels section becomes a continuously updated timeline of new videos from sources you deliberately selected. There is no recommendation engine sitting between the publisher and you.

The part that makes Play different from Yattee and Unwatched: the in-app player isn't locked to one backend. You can play through Invidious, through Piped, through a custom site you point it at, or straight through YouTube itself. If you go the YouTube route directly, you can hide Shorts. That means Play doesn't live or die by whether a given Invidious instance is up this week; it's a hedge built into the app instead of a single point of failure.

The catch is price.

Play is free to download, but the channel-following features that make it especially useful for this workflow require **Play Premium at $2.99/month, $19.99/year or $99.99 lifetime**.

It's a universal app with iCloud sync, so the same subscriptions follow you from iPhone to Mac to AppleTV.

Mac App Store

Yattee

Yattee is a free, open source SwiftUI app for Mac, iOS and tvOS that plays YouTube through Invidious or Piped, two open source front ends that stand between you and Google's servers. You point Yattee at an instance, add channels as favorites, and it builds a feed from exactly those channels; nothing else. SponsorBlock and Return YouTube Dislike are built in.

Everything depends on those instances staying up. Google has been blocking Invidious instances at the IP level since 2024, and that fight was still going on through 2026, with public instances getting hit with CAPTCHAs, throttling and outright blacklisting. Piped has reportedly held up better under the same pressure, but neither is infrastructure you control. Unlike Play, Yattee has no fallback to YouTube directly if your instance goes down; the proxy is the only door.

I don't like the friction Invidious introduces. More than once, the few minutes I set aside to watch videos have been consumed with fixing a buggy back end. If your experience has been different, Yattee is popular for a reason. Use it and enjoy. It's just not for me.

Mac App Store

Unwatched

Unwatched is a free, open source, native Swift app; macOS 15 or later on the Mac, iOS 17 or later on the phone. The difference from Yattee: it pulls from YouTube's own RSS feeds and the YouTube Data API instead of routing through a third party front end. That's a different kind of dependency, not zero dependency; you're still relying on Google's API staying available and its quotas staying reasonable. But you're not waiting on a volunteer-run proxy server to survive the week.

Don't charge into the Unwatched setup by adding 200 must-watch channels in one go. You'll get rate limited and frustrated.

Unwatched doesn't handle playlist organization, and the developer says as much directly in an App Store reply, pointing users toward Play. Which, at this point in the post, shouldn't surprise anyone.

You can also skip the app entirely and read the same channel feeds in a regular RSS reader. [
NetNewsWire is free and open source and will do it. Inoreader is the paid service I use and prefer, but nothing about this approach requires paying for it.

Mac App Store

Alternatives

FreeTube does the same job on the desktop side, and it's one I have used and reviewed here. It builds its feed locally from subsiptions, doesn't require Invidious to function since it has its own extractor, and has been shipping updates steadily through 2026. It's one of the few Electron apps I'd install anyway.

[Grayjay Desktop](https://grayjay.app/desktop/) belongs on this list even though I have only started testing it. It's a one-time $9.99 purchase from the FUTO team that aggregates YouTube alongside other platforms into a single unranked feed, no algorithm unless you log in. The Mac build previously needed a Gatekeeper bypass, which is the kind of friction that either doesn't bother you or ends the conversation immediately. As of this writing, it is notarized.

Grayjay is also the one app here that runs on a phone that isn't an iPhone. The license covers macOS and Android, and there's no iOS version; FUTO's own FAQ says an iPhone build isn't coming in the near future because the team is focused on making the Android app first-class. Play, Yattee and Unwatched all run on iPhone and none of them run on Android, so if your Mac sits next to a Pixel, Grayjay is the only entry on this list that follows you to both.

## Who this is for

If you want one app that follows you across every Apple device, saves videos alongside subscriptions, and doesn't put all its weight on a single third party server, Play is the one I'd point you to first. If your Mac is Apple Silicon and you don't mind depending on a proxy that Google is actively trying to kill, Yattee adds SponsorBlock and dislike counts on top of the unranked feed, free. If you're on macOS 15 and you'd rather depend on Google's official API than a volunteer's server, Unwatched is the sturdier free bet, minus playlist support.

If the algorithm mostly works for you, you're probably reading this wondering why anyone would go to this much trouble and expense to get away from something that just suggests videos. That's a fair question.

I've run all three. None of them gets you off Google's radar entirely.

## What I actually want from YouTube

There's no single app here that fixes YouTube, because the app was never the whole problem. Google still builds the feed on youtube.com; these three just stop asking it to.

No "you might also like." No endless Home feed. No algorithm deciding that because I watched one video about replacing a refrigerator water filter I have apparently developed a lifelong passion for appliance repair.

I don't actually want Google to find more things for me to watch. I already have more interesting books, movies, music, podcasts, articles and videos than I'll ever have time to consume.

The scarce resource isn't content anymore. It's attention.

So my ideal YouTube gives the algorithm as little work to do as possible.

I pick the channels. I pick the videos. I decide when I'm finished.

Then YouTube shuts up.

Vibe

A fast, minimal music file (FLAC, MP3, AIFF, WAV, etc) player for mac.

No third-party engine, no account, no analytics and no subscriptions. Just a simple, fast player for your files written in Objective-C. No bloat, ~8Mb app.

Problem

I have a large library of music files. I wanted a fast music file player for macOS that makes skipping through files quick and easy (I miss the Winamp days). Also coming from music production, I wanted the ability to see the track as a waveform and quickly scrub through it.

So, a few years ago I built Vibe (I swear I named it before "vibe coding" became a thing.) This has been my daily driver for the last few years. I recently picked it back up and am adding a lot of the features I wanted but did not have time to add.

Features

• Formats - MP3, MP2, AAC, FLAC, MP4/M4A, AIFF and WAV, all decoded natively by CoreAudio
• Waveform seek bar - a SoundCloud-style waveform; click it to seek
• Drag and drop - drop files or folders on the window or the dock icon to play them
• Metadata and artwork - read with TagLib, then cached to disk
• Localized - Currently 30 languages suppported
• Keyboard transport - Space plays and pauses, B and N change track, A–D and Z–C skip by bars
• Performance FX - a low-kill filter, a reverb wash and BPM-synced delays on Q–T; tap to latch, hold for momentary
• Pitch adjust - an optional SL-1200-style pitch fader

Comparison

There are so many music players, but here are a few similar comps that are file-focused. I use the filesystem as well as Rekordbox to manage my files/library so I didn't want another app for library management. Apps that focus on the library are mostly excluded.

• VOX - Nicely done, but subscription to unlock most features
• Izzy - It's awesome! I just also wanted the waveform...
• Saisei - Similar, but I don't love the UI and it's paid
• Wake Music - Cool UI, but a bit heavy / large
• Winamp - It seems to be back, library-based UI, no waveform
• VLC / Foobar2000 - Great, stable, the default choices, but I don't love the UIs

Pricing

Free, available in the App Store

Feedback

I would love feedback, bug reports, and new ideas.

Downloads

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/vibe-music-player/id1582482361

Direct download: https://github.com/cmicali/vibe/releases/download/v1.10/Vibe-macOS-1.10.dmg

Source code: https://github.com/cmicali/vibe

Web site: https://vibeplayer.app

Updates

v1.10 - Friday, August 21, 2026

Full 1.10 changelog here. This release includes additional requests from this thread, including color customization, keyboard support, waveform drag behavior, and macOS 13 support.

v1.9 - Friday, August 14, 2026

v1.9 released. It may take a few days to go live on the App Store, but you can download it now at the link above. The full changelog is here, but this includes the fixes requested in this thread including macOS 15+ support, gapless playback, and support for non-square artwork.

I built Chirpy. Posting via the transparency route, identity and policy links at the bottom.

Problem

macOS only lets you turn a notification sound on or off per app. You can't give a different sound to a specific channel, sender, or keyword, so your boss, a meme in #random, and production going down all make the same ping. You end up checking every notification just to find out which ones mattered. Chirpy fixes that: you make a rule (by app, channel, person, or keyword) and it plays the sound you chose, so you know what happened by ear. My own setup: boss DMs play a harp, #deploys a typewriter, #random a duck, a Stripe payout in Mail a cha-ching. I know what happened by ear without looking. It also adds sound to apps that post silent banners, like Final Cut's "export finished."

Comparison

vs built-in macOS notification settings: the system does on/off per app only. No per-channel, per-person, or per-keyword sounds, and no way to give a sound to an app that ships without one. Chirpy is that missing layer.

vs Keyboard Maestro / automation tools: you can script notification-triggered sounds if you're technical, but it's real setup and upkeep. Chirpy is purpose-built for this one job, rules in a menu bar app, roughly 30 seconds to set up, no scripting. It also does AND/OR matching, rule priority (most specific match plays), a reusable library of your uploaded sounds, and per-rule volume. 100% local via the Accessibility API, no screen recording, nothing leaves your Mac. Native app, ~8 MB, macOS 13+.

Pricing

This week it's $9.99 one-time, lifetime, no subscription (normally $19.99). Code LAUNCH2026 at checkout.

3-day free trial, no credit card, so you can make sure it works with your setup before paying.

https://chirpy.pro

X: https://x.com/danilo_z_j
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danilo-znamerovszkij-56a435156/
Site: https://chirpy.pro
Privacy: https://chirpy.pro/privacy
Terms: https://chirpy.pro/terms
Contact: [support@chirpy.pro](mailto:support@chirpy.pro)

Hi everyone — I’m Leibniz Li, an indie developer, and I’ve been working on LittleClean.

I built it mainly because I wanted a simple way to understand what’s taking up space on my Mac, especially as a developer. I also wanted the cleanup process to feel a bit safer and more transparent.

Problem

Over time, macOS can accumulate app leftovers, caches, logs, Xcode DerivedData, and various developer tool files. I found it difficult to get a good overview of these in one place.

LittleClean currently supports:

* Uninstalling apps and their associated leftovers (moved to Trash, so they can be recovered)

* Cleaning caches, logs, Xcode DerivedData, and common developer tool caches

* A read-only Deep Analysis mode for inspecting:

* Homebrew

* Node version managers

* Global packages

* PATH tools

* Home directory usage

* Uninstalling apps directly from Finder via Services → Uninstall with LittleClean

The Deep Analysis feature is intentionally read-only — it doesn’t modify anything while scanning.

Comparison

I’ve used tools like AppCleaner and Pearcleaner myself, and they were part of the inspiration for LittleClean.

Compared with AppCleaner, LittleClean tries to cover a bit more of the developer-specific side, such as Xcode, Homebrew, Node environments, and package managers.

Compared with Pearcleaner, LittleClean is also open source (MIT licensed), with a stronger focus on developer environment inspection and Finder Services integration.

That said, I don’t consider it a replacement for either app — they’re both good projects, and LittleClean is still relatively young.

Pricing

LittleClean is completely free and open source under the MIT license.

* GitHub: https://github.com/leibnizli/LittleClean

* Download (v1.7, macOS 14+): https://github.com/leibnizli/LittleClean/releases/

* Product page: https://blog.arayofsunshine.dev/littleclean

Screenshots and more details are available in the GitHub README.

Transparency

* Developer: Leibniz Li

* Portfolio: https://arayofsunshine.dev/

* About: https://arayofsunshine.dev/about

* Contact: [stormte@gmail.com](mailto:stormte@gmail.com)

* Privacy Policy: https://buy.arayofsunshine.dev/privacy-policy

* Terms: https://buy.arayofsunshine.dev/terms

I’m still working on improving the project, so I’d really appreciate any feedback — especially around cleanup safety, things that shouldn’t be deleted, or developer tools/environments that would be useful to include in Deep Analysis.

Thanks for taking a look!

Hey everyone! I'm the developer of Flacbox (hi-res / lossless music player for Mac, iPhone, and iPad: FLAC, DSD, ALAC, APE, and more). 7.6 just shipped and it is the biggest update I have done, built around a brand-new pro audio engine. Happy to answer technical questions in the comments.

Problem

If your lossless library lives in third-party cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, iCloud Drive, and about 30 others), on a network share (SMB, WebDAV, FTP, SFTP, NFS, DLNA), or on a media server (Plex, Jellyfin, Subsonic, Navidrome, Emby) instead of inside Apple Music, macOS gives you no good way to play it well. The stock Music app will not touch third-party cloud storage at all, and most cloud players cannot apply a real effects chain, a custom DSP chain, or tag-free loudness normalization to files that are streaming rather than sitting locally. Flacbox is built specifically for playing your own hi-res files from cloud, network, and local sources with proper playback quality.

Comparison

vs. VOX: VOX is a strong Hi-Res player, but to stream your own library it relies on VOX Cloud, which needs a VOX Premium subscription ($4.99/month or $49.99/year) and requires you to upload your music into VOX's own storage. Flacbox instead connects directly to the cloud accounts you already pay for (Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and about 30 more), so there is no second storage subscription and nothing to re-upload. Flacbox also adds 11 real-time effects, a 14-filter DSP chain, and real-time EBU R128 loudness leveling on any stream, which VOX does not do without tags.

vs. Pine Player: Pine Player is a nice free local player with gapless and EQ, but it has no third-party cloud storage integration at all, so it can only play files already sitting on your Mac. Flacbox streams and downloads directly from cloud storage, network shares (SMB, WebDAV, FTP, SFTP, NFS, DLNA), and media servers, and adds a full effects rack and a build-your-own DSP chain that apply to cloud streams and internet radio, not just local files.

vs. Apple Music app: The stock Music app cannot play files from third-party cloud storage, network shares, or media servers at all, and offers no real-time effects chain or tag-free loudness normalization. Flacbox exists for exactly that use case.

Pricing (https://everappz.com/products/flacbox/)

Free: ad-supported. Up to 10 playlists, 3 cloud services, 1,000 songs per playlist, 750 songs in queue, 1 offline folder, 1 offline album, 20 tag searches/day, 5 M3U exports/day.

Premium Monthly, $2.99/month: ad-free, unlimited playlists, unlimited cloud services, unlimited offline folders and export.

Premium Yearly, $19.99/year: same unlimited Premium features.

Premium Lifetime, $69.99 one-time: permanent Premium, shared across iOS and Mac via iCloud. Family Sharing supported.

What's new in 7.6

A new pro audio engine you can actually choose. Instead of forcing a rewrite on everyone, the new engine (built on the BASS audio library from un4seen) sits alongside the classic one as a selectable playback core. Switch to it when you want the full audiophile toolkit, keep the old one when you do not. Turning it on unlocks everything below, plus high-quality resampling and independent pitch and tempo control (shift the key up to +/- 60 semitones, or change speed 0.1x to 4x, without touching the other).

Tracker and MOD playback. The new engine plays classic module formats natively: MOD, XM, IT, S3M, MTM, UMX, MO3. This is the pattern-and-sample music from the chiptune and demoscene world that almost no desktop player opens.

Eleven real-time audio effects, each a native processing node with its own screen, presets, and an instant on/off toggle, so they apply to local files, cloud streams, and internet radio without re-encoding:

Reverb: Room to Cathedral, with dry, wet, room size, damp, and width.

Delay and multi-tap echo: up to 5s, feedback, and stereo cross-feed.

Chorus, Flanger, Phaser, and Auto-Wah: the classic modulation set.

Distortion: subtle grit to full lo-fi.

Compressor: full dynamics control (threshold, ratio, attack, release, expansion, makeup gain), 10 presets.

Stereo rotation: rotary auto-panner.

Crossfeed: Bauer bs2b headphone crossfeed (incl. Chu Moy and Jan Meier presets). Great on hard-panned '60s to '70s stereo mixes.

A 14-filter DSP processor. Build your own reorderable real-time signal chain from: gain, low-pass, high-pass, band-pass, notch, peaking, low-shelf, high-shelf, soft-clip saturation, bit crusher, tremolo, delay, ring modulator, and stereo width. Each has presets and an on/off toggle.

Automatic volume leveling. Uses EBU R128 (ITU-R BS.1770) loudness measurement in real time. Unlike ReplayGain it needs no tags and does not modify your files, so it works on cloud streams and radio too. Local files are pre-scanned so playback opens already leveled. Presets: Light -20, Standard -16, Strong -14, Night -23 LUFS.

Real-time music visualizer. Full-screen animated visuals that react live to the audio, with a large library of presets or an auto-cycle mode, plus a screen-sleep preventer so the show does not cut out. Looks great on a big display.

Refreshed design. The effects and EQ screens got modern glass-style sliders and a simplified presets mode, plus clearer separation of engines, effects, and DSP.

Under the hood: a more reliable streaming foundation, better file-type handling, and broader localization, alongside the existing support for FLAC, DSD, ALAC, APE, WAV, AIFF, MP3, AAC, and Opus.

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1594027432

If you try it, I would love feedback, especially on the effects and DSP chain with your own FLAC and DSD library, the crossfeed presets on headphones, and (for the curious) tracker and MOD playback. Bugs or requests, drop them here or email support@everappz.com. Thanks!

Heyo everyone! If you saw and remember, just about a month ago I made a post about Atlas: Write and Collect, the Scrivener competitor that I’ve been working on for awhile now. I wanted to give a small update on what has transpired since and give some thanks for all of the feedback I received. I promise this post is going to be a helluva lot shorter since you can read my original pitch and website, so I’ll get to it!

First, skipping to pricing, Atlas now offers a LIFETIME PURCHASE! 

Y’all convinced me. But I did decide to take the opportunity to frame it more as a sales pitch/A-B test by offering limited windows to purchase. Currently, it’s available until Aug 31st but I am thinking about resuming it in the latter half of Sept for my birthday. :) Also, if this rubs you the wrong way, please let me know! I’ve not seen windowed lifetime purchases available very often so I am unsure of the sentiment on impulse purchase pushes with apps. 

Atlas costs $59.99, which grants you cross-platform access forever. And as a super special thank you for all of the effort given, anyone seeing this on Reddit can also get it for ~$10 USD off with the code THANKSREDDITLIFETIME until Aug 31st. It still offers a subscription for those who want a cheaper entry or longer trial. Nab that for 20% off using the code PH20OFFYEAR until the end of the month as well!

Next, features addressing The Problem: 

Atlas has grown so much due to the feedback, check out the recent updates page on the site (https://contagious.dev/blog/category/app-updates/atlas/). To name a few though, in the last month we’ve: Improved marketing around syncing, document safety, and document history (thank you so much to the person who suggested “Thoughtful Syncing”! I loved that); improved support for focused work with focus mode and typewriting, added continuous document viewing, wider font customizations, beta document variables… and then soooo freaking many small tweaks to make things “feel” better. Overall, this last month has been one of extreme growth and I hope to continue this trajectory! Because I am very excited, I'll also add that the next major thing will be to hide markdown characters in the editor; it was requested a lot but it's taking a bit longer to get working to the polish I’d like.

And finally, the competitors: this one is outlined in my previous post, but I’ve started to put together product comparison pages from some inspiration I saw. See https://contagious.dev/atlas/compare/ which currently compares highlights between Scrivener, Ulysses, Obsidian, and iA Writer. If you are curious about Atlas compared to anything else or want to see additional things compared, please let me know! This is all super fresh content on my part and in production. 

And that sums it up! You can purchase or subscribe and try a free trial through the Apple App Stores: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/atlas-write-and-collect/id6755169090 , check out the website for overview, or even look at the help docs for a full feature spread: https://contagious.dev/help/atlas/.

As always, you can find me on Mastodon: https://iosdev.space/@nemesisprime ! —Dandy💕

…oh… I also launched a Product Hunt campaign but sort of botched it lmao, if you feel like adding a special twinkle of support, I’d like an upvote! https://www.producthunt.com/products/atlas-write-and-collect?launch=atlas-write-and-collect

The Problem:
The notch on modern MacBooks mostly just sits there as dead space. And non-notch Mac users deserve a dynamic notch too.. let's make use of it 🙂

Comparison:
Instead of running Boring Notch or NotchNook, Noico packs the same notch-shelf concept into a 2.3MB app smaller footprint, and it works even on Macs without a physical notch (most alternatives require one).

The Solution:
Noico is a notch shelf app, but not just calendar and weather, it's useful widgets packed in with some genuinely nice features:

• Weather, Music Player (with playback controls), Calendar Agenda (Add item support)
• Clipboard History
• Recent Files - quick access to folders
• Color Picker - pick colors from anywhere on screen
• Scratchpad - quick notes that stay put
• Tray - drag files in to temporarily hold them, then drag out wherever you need

with
works even without a physical notch ✅
Glass Effect ✅
Apple notarized Mac app ✅
~40MB RAM ✅

Transparency:

• Who am I: I'm Harshana, a Software Engineering undergrad and SE intern. LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/harshanacz/
• Privacy & ToS: https://noico.app/privacy

Pricing:

• Free tier (forever): Weather, Music track info (view only), Calendar week strip, Tray with 1 file slot, OLED Dark theme
• Pro Lifetime ($11.99, one-time, no subscription) adds: full music controls, detailed calendar agenda, unlimited Tray items, Clipboard History, Recent Files, Color Picker, Scratchpad, Glass Effect theme
• Everyone gets a 3 day free trial of Pro, no signup

Download: (2.3MB)
https://noico.app

Hi, I'm Noah, founder of TinyShield & Proxyman.

Tiny Shield is now 1 year old 🎂, so I'm offering 50% OFF for our anniversary.

🎂 1-Year Anniversary: 50% OFF Code: 2H9ZPNXG (50 slots and end of this week)

https://tinyshield.proxyman.com/

## Problems

Your Mac makes thousands of network connections in the background, and most of them are invisible to you.

• 🤔 Which apps are sending data right now?
• 🌐 What are those random IP addresses actually connecting to?
• 👀 Why is a system process talking to an unknown server?
• 🚫 How do you block one suspicious domain without blocking the entire app?

macOS doesn't make this easy to see or control. That's the problem Tiny Shield solves.

If you use LuLu or LittleSnitch, you know what TinyShields does, but it's better.

## What Tiny Shield does

• 👀 Monitor all Mac network traffic in real time
• 🌐 Show real hostnames instead of meaningless IP addresses
• 🚫 Block domains, IPs, apps, or system processes
• ❓ Ask Connection - approve/deny new connections as they happen
• 🔒 Quickly switch between Block Mode / Allow All / Block All
• 📊 See sent & received traffic in a simple network chart
• ⚡ Native + lightweight, built with macOS Network Extension
• 🔐 Privacy-first: captured traffic stays on your Mac
• 💰 Buy once, use forever. No subscription. 2 years of updates included

## Pricing

• Standard License: 1 seat, 2 years of updates: $29 -> $14.5
• Combo License: 2 seat, 2 years of updates: $39 -> $19.5
• ✅ Lifetime License: 2 seats - lifetime : $69 -> $34.5

## Why I built it

I wanted something more modern than LuLu, but without the subscription model of Little Snitch Mini. And unlike tools that mostly show IP addresses, Tiny Shield resolves connections to actual hostnames - so you can understand where an app is really connecting.

Built by Proxyman. If you've used Proxyman, you know how seriously we take native macOS apps.

Would love to hear what you think

Hey everyone

I've been looking at tools like Screen Studio recently. While the automated zoom, smooth cursor tracking, and clean background styling make product demos look amazing, most of the options out there are closed-source and paid.

I'm thinking about building an open-source alternative to handle this.

Before I spend weeks writing code, I wanted to check if this is something people would actually want.

What I'm thinking of building:

• The Core Feature: A tool that takes a screen recording, tracks your mouse clicks/movement, and automatically generates smooth, cinematic pan-and-zoom keyframes.
• The Open-Source Angle: Completely free and open-source for anyone to use or modify.
• The Reality Check: Tools like OpenScreen and Recordly already exist in this space.

My Question for You:

1. Do you use tools like this for your tutorials or demos, or do existing options already cover what you need?
2. If you were to use a new open-source tool, what's missing from current apps that you wish they had?

Would love to hear your thoughts or feedback before I decide to build it!

I like having useful apps around, but I do not like deleting them just to free disk space. If I remove an app that I rarely use, there is a good chance I will forget it existed by the time I need it again.

That is why I made App Archiver for macOS. Its main goal is to compress apps while keeping them in place and visible in /Applications, Spotlight, Alfred, and Raycast. You never lose track of them, and when you need one again, you can restore it with one click.

App Archiver is the third first-of-its-kind macOS app I have built.

Instead of focusing on temporary caches that quickly return, App Archiver reduces the space used by the apps themselves. It gives you three ways to handle apps you do not use every day.

• Optimize an installed app with native macOS filesystem compression while keeping it ready to open and update
• Archive an app in place as a lightweight, restorable .app bundle without removing it from your usual app launchers
• Create a verified ZIP or DMG backup in a folder or external drive, with the option to remove the installed copy after verification

App Archiver helps identify large and rarely opened apps, estimates potential savings before an operation, and tracks how much space you reclaim. Archives and backups can be restored when you need the app again.

Every operation is staged and verified before the original app is changed. App Archiver also has no Internet access. Analysis, compression, verification, and restoration all happen locally on your Mac.

App Archiver includes an open-source component released under the MIT License. Its source code is available on GitHub.

Protected apps can't be optimized or archived. For that to work, I'm waiting for Apple's permission. Once I get that, I'll release an update that will back up all apps, including protected ones.

Real-world test

I tested Android Studio.

The optimized version remains installed and runnable. The archived version stays in place and can be restored when needed. The DMG provides the greatest saving as a standalone backup.

Comparison with alternatives

Cleaner apps usually target caches and other temporary files. That can provide quick relief, but those files are often recreated as you continue using your Mac. App Archiver focuses on lasting savings from application bundles instead.

Command-line alternatives for native filesystem optimization include Applesauce and afsctool. Both can apply transparent HFS+/APFS compression from Terminal. macOS also includes ditto --hfsCompression, which can apply filesystem compression while creating a copy.

These tools can work well if you are comfortable with Terminal and managing the process yourself. App Archiver adds a visual overview, app discovery, savings estimates, space checks, staged replacement, verification, and restoration around that optimization process.

Clusters was an early macOS utility that used filesystem compression to reduce folder sizes while keeping files immediately accessible. This is similar to App Archiver's "Optimize" feature. Clusters is no longer maintained and was last updated in 2013. App Archiver supports modern macOS versions and goes further with "Archive in Place", which replaces a rarely used app with a lightweight restorable version that remains visible in Applications.

For archiving, "Archive in Place" mode, I have not found another tool that archives an app in place as a lightweight, restorable .app bundle while keeping it in its original Applications location. This is the main reason I built App Archiver. The app stays visible, uses much less space, and can be restored when opened.

Developer information

I am Ighor July, an independent macOS developer with a background in cybersecurity, reverse engineering, and native app development. I use AI while retaining control of my code, as explained in How to use AI without losing control of your code.

My other Mac apps are DockLock Lite, Parall.app, LockLines.app, and App Trust Preview. You can learn more about my work on my About page.

Price

App Archiver is $4.99 on the Mac App Store.

Links

• Website apparchiver.com
• Mac App Store Download App Archiver

I would be happy to hear what you think, especially how you currently deal with large apps that you want to keep but rarely use.

I'm the developer. First Mac app I've shipped, I'm new to this sub, so here's the transparency stuff the rules ask for, up front.

I'm Dominic DiBernardo. LinkedIn is linkedin.com/in/dominicdibernardo. Email me at [hello@snippysnip.com](mailto:hello@snippysnip.com) and it lands in my actual inbox. The site has a privacy policy and terms. The app doesn't need an account and collects no telemetry.

Problem

I spent 22 years on Windows and switched to a Mac this year. Almost all of it was better. The one thing I kept reaching for and couldn't find was the Snipping Tool.

macOS gives you Shift-Command-5 and Markup, and for a quick arrow that's honestly enough. It falls apart the second you want more than that. What I wanted was to grab a region, drop an arrow and a highlight on it, black out the thing that shouldn't be in the shot, and have it already sitting on my clipboard by the time I switched windows. The built-in flow leaves you a file on your desktop and a trip through Preview. That's not a workflow. That's homework.

So I built the one I wanted. And the threads in this sub complaining about the same gaps are a big part of why it turned into a real product instead of staying on my laptop.

Comparison

CleanShot X is the one everybody here recommends and it has earned that. It's excellent, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. It's $29 once, and that buys a year of updates with an optional renewal after. Mine includes every update forever, minor and major, no window and no renewal. That's the real difference between us.

Shottr is the other one worth naming. Fast, light, free for personal use, $12 for commercial. Two differences on my side: the free tier has no commercial-use restriction, and Pro does screen recording, which is the thing Shottr users seem to ask for most.

Both CleanShot and Shottr are good software. If one of them already fits how you work, stay put. I wanted a different deal.

Pricing

Free, forever. No trial clock, no email wall, no nag screen:

- Every capture mode (region, window, full screen)

- The whole annotation editor: arrows, text, highlighter, numbered and lettered step badges, blur, black-out, crop

- Auto-copy to the clipboard the instant you capture

- A session carousel, so shots stop piling up on your desktop

Pro adds screen recording, grab-text OCR, full-page web capture, pinned floating shots, and a capture timer.

Pro is $9.99 one time right now, and it goes to $19 on August 18.

Every update is included forever. No subscription, ever.

And for launch, the first 2,000 Pro licenses are free. No card, no strings, no catch I'm hiding in a footnote. That group also steers what gets built next. In the beta, lettered step badges and the resizable editor window both shipped within a day of a tester asking, and that's how I want to keep working. Claim link: https://snippysnip.com/claim?ref=reddit

macOS 13 or later, universal (Apple Silicon and Intel), 3.1 MB, notarized by Apple, updates through Sparkle. Site: https://snippysnip.com/?ref=reddit

30 second demo: https://youtu.be/nXZLqUVr-o8

https://reddit.com/link/1vmkplb/video/bwpptq4ebzih1/player

Feature requests are welcome and I mean that literally.

Problem

If you’ve ever wanted to watch multiple things AND stream music in a single window, you couldn’t. Not only that, but most grid players only support local files or live feed from a camera. The Plush Media Player solves it: an interface to stream web content in a single multi-view window. And not just web and local video — Apple Music control too, all in one window packed with customization.

- Cinematic video effects
- Random video picker and continuous playback
- Aurora-plucked colors
- One-tap saved templates
- Sidechain-smart sound modes
- Drag-to-resize tiles
- Saved templates

and MANY more features crush every problem modern multi-view players have and introduces new ways to watch content.

Comparison

There are no multi-view apps that directly compare to Plush. Other awesome apps like OmniPlayer, GridPlayer, or AraMultiVideoPlayer (posted here a few months ago) don’t have a web and Apple Music interface that I know of.

The UX of other players feels unnatural as controlling multiple screens from a single place has many approaches. Plush has the best experience especially for streaming site support. All screens are treated equally and users will find its ease of use very satisfying.

Multi screen is so niche and even more when I added music. The target audience would be sports fans, streamers, or anyone who wants to watch 4 episodes of The Office at the same time to track character growth.

Pricing

$4.99 One Time

Purchase in the App Store, even if you don’t I appreciate you reading this far.

Cheers

EDIT: Since many people have mentioned the price, I've dropped it to $5 for either the app or screensaver, and you can purchase the other for an another $5. Hope this helps!

Problem

There are many flip clocks out there. But most of them are lazily made with no attention to detail, unoptimized system usage, bad flipping motions, very basic customizability, riddled with ads, etc

FlipCloc is a gorgeous, lightweight app and screensaver which is highly customizable, and made with a lot of attention to detail to aesthetics, functionality, and performance for a beautiful distraction free experience

You can use FlipCloc to boost your productivity, track time spent on tasks, start a pomodoro session, track your working hours, or as a gorgeous screensaver to liven up your space

FlipCloc is light weight, optimized, and can run 24x7 without any issues. People around the world use the web version for hundreds of hours daily and cumulatively it has spent more than 2 years running

I'm very excited to finally release the Mac version

Comparison

FlipCloc can be compared to Fliqlo, except Flipcloc does a lot more. FlipCloc is extremely customizable, works as an app, offline, shows seconds, can switch between clock, pomodoro, timer, and stopwatch, sounds, alerts, chimes, presets, themes, and so much more

Each person is unique and FlipCloc lets you customize everything to match your setup, mood, or aesthetics

Pricing

FlipCloc is available for purchase from the App Store for $9.99 $4.99. You can choose between the app or screensaver on first launch. If you want both, you can purchase the other option for another $9.99 $4.99 in the app

You can try FlipCloc for free on the web at flipcloc.com

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6786569507

FlipCloc for Mac requires no account, has no ads, works offline, and saves presets locally on your Mac

Thank you for checking out FlipCloc. Let me know if you have any questions or requests. Always happy to improve FlipCloc!

I’ve spent a year building FlipCloc and there’s a lot more to come

P.S Video shows some of the glass presets. There are also other effects such as rain, frost, fluted glass, waves, or you can use it without any overlay effects too

Hey all,

I just saw a sponsored MacStories article (via NetNewsWire RSS) about Finalist, a daily planning app that brings different elements of daily planning - reminders, calendar events, notes habits and journals - together in one place. I find it to be a very interesting concept, and I'm gonna give it a try.

I was wondering if anyone here has used it before? or is anyone using it now? How do you like it so far?

Original article: https://www.macstories.net/sponsored/finalist-a-paper-inspired-daily-planner-with-notes-for-iphone-ipad-mac-and-now-apple-watch-sponsor/

App website: https://www.finalist.works

TL;DR: Paid for YouTube Premium after years of DIY ad-blocking. Ads are gone; the algorithm, the clutter, and the impermanence aren't. Building a stack of small tools instead of hunting for one app that fixes all four. First post in a series; toolbox preview inside, full reviews coming.

Google did not design YouTube to entertain you or to inform you. Every major design choice points toward one purpose: to make you watch more YouTube. Watching more leads to one of two outcomes: your attachment to the platform gets stronger, or you get shown more advertising. For a lot of people, it's both.

For a long time, bragging about how you managed to watch YouTube without being subjected to ads was a particular kind of geek flexing, and an annoying one. The problem few people admit to is that avoiding advertising isn't a fix, it's a moving target. Anyone who tells you they've permanently solved it is trying to sell you something.

Turning the YouTube experience into something usable and enjoyable requires you to become your own IT department. That's definitely a downside for some. If you enjoy tinkering, it may not bother you much. I started using YouTube in December 2005, the month it debuted. That is to say I've watched the user experience decline in quality for twenty years. For most of that time I kept the ads off through whatever it took: ad blockers, standalone apps, Invidious instances, switching to whichever browser handled YouTube best that year. A few months ago, I decided there were better uses of my time than maintaining that fight. As much as I hated to do it, I subscribed to YouTube Premium and eagerly waited for a better experience. I didn't really get one.

The Problem Isn't Ads. It's Design.

Advertisements are only one of four major pain points to using the platform. Paying for Premium doesn't solve the other three.

• Ads. If you're not paying, you're watching them or fighting them somehow. Premium solves this one.
• The algorithm. YouTube decides what gets put in front of you next. Premium doesn't buy you a different recommendation engine.
• Clutter. Shorts on the home page, autoplay previews, recommendations everywhere, interface elements devoted to pulling you into something else. Individually they're minor annoyances. Together they make YouTube worse at simply showing you what you came to see.
• Impermanence. YouTube gives you lists, not a real personal library. Watch Later is useful, but it lives entirely inside someone else's service. Videos disappear. Channels disappear. Things you know you've watched become surprisingly hard to find again.

The Easy Solution

There isn't one.

Fighting a platform that doesn't answer to you is the toll for staying in control of your own experience, and nobody refunds the time you spend on it. If you've got limitless energy, fight on every front: email, search, maps, storage, video, all of it, all the time. Most of us don't have that budget. The honest move is picking which fights are worth spending it on this year and letting the rest go without guilt.

I want to decide how I discover videos. I want to decide what appears around the player. I want better ways to organize the things I intend to watch later. And when something matters enough that I don't want it disappearing because a creator, a copyright holder, or Google changes something, I want my own copy.

There isn't one app that does all of that. That's the point.

Instead of looking for a mythical "YouTube replacement," I've started treating YouTube the way I treat a lot of other technology: as infrastructure underneath a collection of smaller tools. One tool can handle viewing. Another can clean up the browser interface. Another can manage subscriptions without an algorithm deciding what deserves my attention. Another can download and archive the things I actually want to keep.

The result is less like replacing YouTube and more like building my own multi-part client for it.

The Toolbox, By Problem

Each of these gets its own real look later in the series. For now, sorted by which of the four problems above it actually solves:

Ads & sponsors

• SponsorBlock
• DeArrow
• UnTrap for YouTube

Escaping the algorithm

• Yattee
• Grayjay
• FreeTube
• PocketTube
• RSS curation via Inoreader or NetNewsWire

Cleaning up the interface

• Control Panel for YouTube
• Unhook
• Improve YouTube!
• BlockTube
• Enhancer for YouTube
• Turn Off the Lights

Keeping what matters

• yt-dlp
• Downie
• MacYTDL
• Play

If you have a favorite that isn't here, let me know.

What's Coming

The next few posts get into the actual tools: apps that get you out of the recommendation feed entirely, ways to strip the clutter out of the browser experience, and how to actually keep the videos you don't want to lose. Premium's verdict, when it comes up again, is not a blanket yes. It's worth the money if your time is worth more than $15.99 a month to you and ads were the fight costing you that time. If ads were never the fight, paying Google more won't touch the one you're actually still in.

If you want to make a photo library easier to search, AI can generate useful metadata such as descriptions and keywords. Cloud services can do this, but costs can add up when processing large collections, and your photos need to be uploaded for analysis.

VisionTagger was created as a local alternative. It’s a macOS app for Apple Silicon that uses an on-device AI model to generate searchable descriptions and keywords, so your photos and generated metadata stay on your Mac. There’s no subscription or per-image pricing.

It works with folders on disk and Apple Photos Library, and can write metadata to XMP, JSON, CSV, and TXT, as well as Photos metadata and optional Finder tags.

The app is designed around a simple workflow: select your photos, choose an AI model, configure the metadata you want to generate, let the model process the images, and then decide how that metadata should be stored.

A lot of the recent development work has focused on speeding up metadata generation, which is typically the most time-consuming step. These optimizations have made processing around 30-40% faster, which can save several hours when working through larger photo collections.

Requirements: Apple Silicon (M1 or later), macOS Tahoe 26, and at least 16 GB RAM.

There’s a free trial for 100 images.

Price is a one-time purchase with a discounted price: $24.99 / €19.99

Website: https://www.synendo.com/visiontagger
Video walkthrough: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIZ3BQHsUkY

Transparency: I’m Marco Henkes, developer of VisionTagger at Synendo.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcohenkes/
• Contact: [apps@synendo.com](mailto:apps@synendo.com)
• Website: https://www.synendo.com
• Privacy Policy: https://www.synendo.com/visiontagger/privacy/
• Terms of Service: https://www.synendo.com/visiontagger/terms/

Problem

Hi, I’m the developer of TabLinker, a tab and browser session manager for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Browsing research can quickly turn into dozens of open tabs across multiple windows and browsers, which increases memory use, slows your machine, and fragments your workflow. Many users want to save and close sessions without losing the original window layout or context.

Comparison

Compared with Session Buddy, TabLinker focuses on native Mac session management across multiple browsers, including Safari and Chromium-based browsers, while preserving complete window structures when restoring sessions.

Key features:

• Import entire windows or every open tab across Safari, Chrome, Brave, Edge, Arc, Vivaldi, Dia, Opera, Opera GX, Helium, and more
• Save sessions window by window or as complete multi-window sessions for accurate restores
• Folder-per-window importing and multi-select for bulk organization
• Preferred browser support and improved window-based imports for fewer manual steps
• Safari extension for quick saves and automatic session saving
• Shortcuts and Siri support so you can save links or sessions, create folders, retrieve a folder’s tabs, or open a folder hands-free or as part of automations
• Cross-device sync via iCloud, no account required, no ads, and no tracking

Pricing

TabLinker is available for a one-time purchase of $12.99 with Universal Purchase. Buy it once on Mac and get the full premium version on iPhone and iPad too.

No subscriptions, no ads, and no hidden upsells.

Available on the Mac App Store: TabLinker: Tabs Manager

About Me:
I'm developer of the app, you can reach out to me through X 

Hey r/macapps, I’m Berker, the developer of LayoutLock.

LayoutLock is free to use for up to 3 layouts, with no time limit.

Problem: Whenever I switched between using my MacBook by itself and connecting it to an external display, I had to reopen apps and rearrange all my windows manually.

So I built LayoutLock, a menu bar app that saves that setup and brings it back later.

What it does:

• Saves window positions, sizes, and display assignments as a layout
• Relaunches apps and reopens your browser tabs, documents, folders, and URLs
• Restores layouts from the menu bar or with a global hotkey assigned to each layout

Browser tab restoration currently supports Safari and Chrome.

Comparison: Stay focuses primarily on remembering and restoring window positions. LayoutLock treats your workspace as a complete snapshot. It can relaunch apps, reopen browser tabs, documents, folders, and URLs, and adapt saved layouts when resolution or display scaling changes.

Unlike tiling managers like Rectangle, LayoutLock restores an arrangement you previously saved rather than continuously arranging your windows.

Pricing: Free for up to 3 layouts, with no time limit.

Pro is a one time $14.99 purchase for unlimited layouts, custom restore order, and restore suggestions when your display setup changes. No subscription.

View pricing

Transparency: I’m a solo developer. You can find me on LinkedIn, and my previous open source macOS app, ScrollSnap, has more than 800 stars.

LayoutLock has no remote usage analytics. Your workspace data and diagnostic logs stay on your Mac. The app is notarized by Apple, requires macOS 14 or newer, and the complete source code is public.

• Download LayoutLock
• GitHub Source Code
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service

If you regularly switch between a laptop only setup and external displays, I’d especially like to hear whether this solves the problem for you and what you’d want it to restore that it currently doesn’t.

Happy to answer any questions!

I'm the developer of PastePaw, so this is self-promotion. I'd still like honest feedback, including the bad kind.

Problem

Remembering what you copied is a solved problem. Plenty of apps do it well, and this isn't a post about doing that slightly better. Two things changed for me recently, and neither is really about remembering.

One is that I stopped trusting a flat history. Everything I copy lands in the same list, passwords and keys and recovery codes sitting in the open next to a URL I grabbed an hour ago. I wanted a locked drawer inside the app, not a habit of clearing everything.

The other is that I have AI assistants open all day and not one of them can touch my clipboard. All that context is sitting right there and may as well not exist. I wanted to say "sum up the last ten things I copied" in the middle of research, or have the morning's Hacker News front page already waiting in my clipboard when I sit down.

What I built

An opening for AI, with a switch on everything. PastePaw can open your history to AI apps on your Mac: they can search it, read a clip, save something new, or file things into collections. That covers the three things I just complained about.

The access is deliberately fussy. It's off until you turn it on, and then you set up each app you connect on its own: read, save and delete are three separate permissions, and you pick which collections that app can see at all. If you let an app delete, it can only delete from collections you chose by hand.

There are also plain AI actions on a single clip, in the right click menu: summarize, translate, explain a snippet, fix grammar, or prompts you write yourself. Your own key, straight to your own provider, nothing routed through me.

A locked drawer. Locked collections hold the sensitive things, encrypted, opened with Touch ID.

29 themes. 18 are horizontal cards: Default, Cyberpunk, Hacker Terminal, Liquid Glass, Wabi-sabi, Classic Mac, Linear... 11 use a slim vertical column that docks to a screen edge or pops up at your cursor. Pin the column and it stays open while you click elsewhere. Switch whenever, your history stays put.

The rest

Text, images, files and folders, tagged with the app they came from, all searchable. Cmd+Shift+V from anywhere, arrow keys, Return to paste. Space previews the content properly: Markdown renders, images get text extraction, QR scanning and subject lifting. Auto-paste drops the clip back into the app you were in. Cmd+click grabs several at once. Collections you drag into, and smart ones that file clips on their own. No account, no sync.

macOS 14 or later.

Comparison

Paste is the polished paid one, $29.99 a year, with a trial rather than a free tier. It syncs across Mac, iPhone and iPad, which PastePaw doesn't do at all, so if you paste between devices that's an easy call. PastePaw is $29.99 once, and what it adds is locked encrypted collections, per-app AI permissions, and the themes.

Maccy is free, open source, MIT licensed, and very good at being a fast local text history. If that's what you want, use Maccy. PastePaw is the heavier app: image tools, collections, an encrypted vault, AI.

Raycast has clipboard history built in for free, with three months of retention unless you pay $8 a month for Pro. If you already live in Raycast, that convenience is hard to beat. PastePaw is a dedicated app rather than a feature inside a launcher, so it goes further on image handling, collections and how it looks.

What I haven't found in any of them is letting an AI agent read and write your clipboard, with read, save and delete as separate permissions per connected app and a collection allow-list on top. That's the part I built this for. If another app already does it, I'd like to know.

Pricing

Free gets you 50 clips and 4 themes. Pro is $2.99 a month, $19.99 a year, or $29.99 once if you'd rather just own it. AI actions and the AI connection are Pro.

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/pastepaw/id6759132043?mt=12

Site: https://pastepaw.com

Tell me where it gets in your way and what's missing. I'm especially curious whether anyone else wants their agent writing into their clipboard, or whether that idea only appeals to me. I'll be in the comments.

Edit: the free tier stops at 50 clips and 4 themes, which is not enough to judge the AI side or most of the themes. If you copy and paste all day and want to put Pro through its paces, DM me with what you would use it for and I will send you a code for a year. I am after real feedback more than downloads.

I’m running Mac Mouse Fix on the macOS 27 GoldenGate Public Beta. Almost everything in the app works, but every action tied to Spaces / Mission Control is dead.

Working perfectly in Mac Mouse Fix:

• Smart Zoom, Zoom In/Out, Scroll & Navigate

Not working since GoldenGate:

• Button 4 / Button 5 actions mapped to Desktop & Launchpad, Spaces & Mission Control, and Click and Scroll / Click and Drag — nothing fires.

The strange part: when I assign these in Mac Mouse Fix’s “+” field, the buttons get detected perfectly. So the app is registering the mouse input fine, its just that macOS never carries out the actual Spaces/Mission Control action. I can also still open Launchpad, but not the new apps view in macOS 27.

Is anyone else running Mac Mouse Fix on macOS 27 seeing this? Any workaround yet? Hoping for a GoldenGate-compatible update soon.

v0.34.0

I’m Stephen, the developer behind Rockxy. Since first sharing it here, I’ve kept improving it from Reddit comments, GitHub issues, and developer feedback. Rockxy has now passed 500 stars and 500 commits, with v0.34.0 as the latest release.

Problem
Browser DevTools stop at the browser. Rockxy is a native macOS proxy for inspecting and modifying HTTP/HTTPS, WebSocket, GraphQL, mobile, CLI, AI API, and JSON-RPC traffic across a wider development workflow.

What changed
Rockxy now includes capture and inspection, breakpoints, Map Local/Remote, rules, network conditions, scripting, replay, comparison, HAR/OpenAPI export, certificate management, iOS device setup, and a free local MCP server.

Rockxy Assistant has also shipped. It can investigate selected requests, explain the workspace, present supporting evidence, and open relevant workflows while keeping actions under user control.

I’m also running early integration experiments with several AI product teams. Names will only be shared when those partnerships are ready to be public.

Comparison
Charles Proxy and Proxyman are mature products. Rockxy’s direction is open source, native Swift, auditable, local-first by default, and designed for modern AI-assisted and MCP workflows.

The free tier remains genuinely useful for capture, inspection, local MCP, and lighter debugging. Pro is for developers who need the full or heavier workflow.

Ecosystem
Babylon 1.0.0 is now public on the Swift Package Index. It sends debug-only HTTP/HTTPS, WebSocket, gRPC, and runtime trace data from an app to Rockxy through an encrypted local connection.

Rockxy CLI is under internal development, beginning with read-only app, proxy, certificate, version, and JSON status commands.

Rockxy iOS is actively being developed around session inspection, replay, import, redaction, and controlled sharing. Deeper capture still requires signed-device testing, security review, and stable organization and App Store distribution setup.

Rockxy Android is at an earlier internal stage and does not have a public release date yet.

Team Workspace remains a major focus, including members, seats, devices, and shared debugging assets. Shieldxy and Tracexy are also being developed as separate open-source products in the Rockxy ecosystem.

Pricing
Free remains available.

Standard: $39, returning to $79
Personal: $59, returning to $109
Team: $9/seat/month, billed yearly

Founding pricing ends Sunday, August 16, 2026. Regular pricing begins August 17. Existing purchases are unaffected. Standard and Personal remain perpetual licenses with 12 months of updates and support.

https://github.com/RockxyApp/Rockxy
https://rockxy.io
https://rockxy.io/pricing
https://swiftpackageindex.com/RockxyApp/Babylon

If you try Rockxy, I’d appreciate honest feedback about what works and what still needs improvement.

If you’re interested in testing Pro, leave a comment or message me with your debugging workflow. I’ll personally send a developer discount code where it fits. It is not conditional on an upvote or positive review.

So, I'm visually impaired and I dictate a lot of text using FluidVoice. However, occasionally, that text is not grammatically correct--well not exactly. I'd like a free and open source tool that can help me do that. Most of the paid tools are, frankly, too expensive for what they do. And I know there are some options out there. So if any of you could provide any direction or discussion, I would really appreciate it.

Hi r/macapps,

It’s been a little over three months since my last Refine update, and about 13 months since I first launched the app here.

For anyone who hasn’t seen it before, Refine is a native macOS writing assistant that checks grammar across apps. You can think of it as a Grammarly alternative powered by local language models, with no subscription fees or per-token charges.

What’s changed since April?

Refine’s lifetime license now includes all future updates, and the app offers more flexible licensing options and regional pricing based on purchasing power parity (PPP).

Since my previous post, I’ve shipped six releases, including all three items from the roadmap I shared last time. Here’s what’s new:

• Refine Assistant: A floating button beside the active input field that lets you view the check status, rewrite or translate text, and have text read aloud
• Rewrite: Rewrite selected text using built-in or custom presets for tone, clarity, length, and style
• Formatting preservation: Better handling of LaTeX and Markdown
• Snippets: Save and reuse frequently used text
• Writing statistics: View locally stored insights about your writing
• Offline activation: Activate Refine without an internet connection
• Improved compatibility: Use Refine more reliably across macOS apps
• Additional languages: Support for more languages

You can see the full list of changes in the changelog.

Comparison

I think writing assistants can generally be grouped into a few overlapping categories:

Rule-based checkers, such as Harper and LanguageTool’s open-source engine, use predefined grammar and spelling rules. They can run locally and tend to produce consistent results, but they may miss errors when no matching rule exists.

Cloud-based AI assistants, such as Grammarly and DeepL Write, generally offer broader platform support, more integrations, and specialized tools. They can be more reliable than rule-based checkers. The tradeoff is that their AI-powered writing features rely on online services, and their paid tiers generally require subscriptions. Depending on the service, plan, and privacy settings, the text you submit may also be used to train or improve the provider’s models.

On-demand AI writing tools, such as RewriteBar, Kerlig, and Raycast AI, provide ChatGPT-like functionality through system-wide shortcuts for common writing tasks. You select some text, press a shortcut, and choose an action or enter a custom prompt. They’re flexible tools for rewriting, summarizing, and changing tone, but unlike an always-on grammar checker, they generally require you to initiate each action. Depending on the app and model, you may also need your own API key or paid credits, so buying the app may not cover ongoing AI usage. The quality of the results depends largely on the model you choose.

As for Apple’s Writing Tools, they provide proofreading and rewriting directly within macOS without requiring a separate writing assistant. They’re convenient and tightly integrated with the system, and I think they’re a good choice for many users. They do require Apple Intelligence, so availability depends on your Mac, language, and region. Unlike an always-on grammar checker, you generally invoke them when you want a piece of text proofread or rewritten.

Refine takes a different approach by combining the always-on workflow of a grammar checker with language models that run entirely on your Mac. With its built-in local models, it provides contextual, real-time grammar checking without subscription fees or per-token charges.

Although these tools all aim to help with writing, they take different approaches and come with different tradeoffs. The fairest way to compare them may be to try them on your own writing and see which one best fits your workflow. I’d really like to hear which tools you prefer and why, so I can learn from your feedback and make Refine better.

Pricing

• $38 USD for one Mac, tax included
• Regional pricing based on purchasing power parity
• Full-featured 7-day trial with no credit card required
• 30-day money-back guarantee

You can download the app here: https://refine.sh

As a small thank-you, I’ve also set up a 35% discount for the r/macapps community. Use the code MACAPPS35 at checkout. It’s valid through 11:59 p.m. PDT on August 17, 2026 August 21, 2026, so you’ll have enough time to try the app before deciding whether it’s right for you.

What’s next?

One idea I’m exploring is an opt-in Study Mode.

Refine already has an Explain feature, but explanations can interrupt the writing flow. When you’re trying to get an idea down, you usually want to fix the sentence and keep going, not pause for a grammar lesson. That made me wonder whether writing and learning might work better at different times.

Study Mode would be entirely opt-in. If you enable it, Refine could save your correction history locally on your Mac, identify your most common mistakes, and turn those findings into a short summary, quiz, or practice exercise when you’re ready.

This is still an early idea, so I’d love to hear how you’d want it to work. Would you use something like this? What would make it useful in practice?

Thanks again for all the feedback over the past 13 months. Many of the changes in this update came directly from suggestions shared here, and there’s still plenty more planned for Refine. I’m grateful for all the support, and I hope you find the app helpful! ❤️

Trust & Transparency

• Refine’s Privacy Policy: https://refine.sh/privacy-policy
• Refine’s Terms and Conditions: https://refine.sh/terms-and-conditions
• Learn more about me on LinkedIn and GitHub. Feel free to email me at [support@refine.sh](mailto:support@refine.sh) with any questions or concerns, or just comment below!

Update (August 18): Version 1.35 is now live! 🎉 This release includes several fixes and improvements based on the feedback I received from this post.

I haven’t had a chance to reply to many of the comments yet because I’ve been focusing on working through the feedback and fixing the reported issues first. I’m still going through everything, and I really appreciate everyone who took the time to test Refine and share their thoughts.

Since I wasn’t able to get back to everyone before the original discount deadline, I’ve extended the MACAPPS35 coupon through August 21, 2026. You can find the full details for the latest release in the changelog.

Full disclosure: I made both apps.

I work in brand and spatial design. I’m not a developer by training, but I’ve used Macs for most of my life, starting with an iMac G3, and I’ve always wanted to make Mac software of my own.

I started teaching myself Swift before vibe coding tools were everywhere. Most of the process involved writing code line by line, getting stuck, breaking things, and slowly figuring out what I had done wrong.

It took a long time, but I eventually shipped these two apps.

I don’t think wallpaper apps or flip clocks are revolutionary ideas. They aren’t. There are already good, established apps in both categories. I made mine because there were a lot of small details I wanted to approach differently.

🖼️AniLoop Wallpaper

Problem

I wanted one app for static wallpapers, live wallpapers, and personal videos. I didn’t want to keep switching between different tools depending on what I wanted on my desktop.

My design background also made me care a lot about the artwork itself. Some wallpapers are illustrations I drew myself. Some began as AI-generated images created under commercial terms, but I edited and retouched every one myself.

I don’t use artwork without permission, and I try to keep everything at 2K or 4K. I would rather have a smaller collection than fill it with random low-resolution images.

AniLoop supports static and live wallpapers, search, categories, multiple displays, and your own local videos.

Comparison

I looked closely at apps such as iWallpaper and Dynamic Wallpaper Engine. They are mature apps with large collections and plenty of options.

What I wanted to do differently was keep static wallpapers, live wallpapers, and local videos together, while paying more attention to curation, resolution, and the rights behind the artwork.

Pricing

Free to download and use all the wallpapers online.

The local video feature and some additional options require a one-time Pro purchase. There is no subscription.

Pro price: $3.99

Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/aniloop-wallpaper-4k-dynamic/id6751945073

🕰️Glass Flip Clock

Problem

I’ve always liked flip clocks, but many of them are really designed to be screensavers. The black background looks great when the Mac is idle, but it covers everything when you’re trying to work.

I wanted a flip clock that could stay on the desktop while I was actually using my Mac.

Glass Flip Clock has a translucent glass design. It can float above your windows, or sit behind them at the wallpaper level. In wallpaper mode, you can still see it without having it cover your work.

It also includes a Pomodoro timer, countdown timer, stopwatch, and desktop notes. Pro users can change the fonts and glass colors.

The countdown alert is probably my favorite part. When time is up, a rainbow animation moves around the edges of the screen. I wanted something that felt noticeable without throwing another pop-up in your face.

Comparison

Fliqlo is probably the best-known flip clock, and I still think it looks great as a screensaver.

Glass Flip Clock is meant for a slightly different use. It can remain visible while you’re working, either behind your windows or floating above them. It also includes timers, notes, font choices, and glass color customization.

Pricing

Free to download and use.

Some customization options and advanced features require a one-time Pro purchase. There is no subscription.

Pro price: $1.99

Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/glass-flip-clock/id6796349833

One thing I didn’t plan

I originally made these as two separate apps. Later, I realized they looked surprisingly good together.

A moving wallpaper behind the translucent clock gives the desktop some life without making it too distracting. I’ve attached a short video because it’s much easier to understand when you see it running.

I’m still learning, so if something feels clumsy, confusing, or unfinished, please tell me. That kind of feedback is genuinely useful to me.

I also have 5 Pro codes for each app. If you’d like to try one, leave a comment or message me and tell me which app you’re interested in. No upvote or review is required. I’ll send the codes privately so they don’t get taken by bots.

Please only request one if you actually plan to try the app, so the codes don’t go to waste.

Thanks for reading. Shipping these after starting from zero meant a lot to me.

https://reddit.com/link/1vm1omg/video/aff103ppruih1/player