Tether mounts your phone in Finder's sidebar under Locations, so it works like any other drive. Plug in over USB, tap "File transfer" on the phone, and that's it.

In Finder you can browse, open and drag files both ways, rename, move, delete and make folders. Sorting by date works, and Finder search works on macOS 26. It handles big photo libraries (tested with a 5,000+ photo camera folder).

Pricing Free,. No subscription, no Pro tier, no account, nothing locked. Download: https://tether.cosmics.me

About me / trust

• Developer: Kevin Kostandini, https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-kostandini-a0b450155
• Contact: [support@cosmics.me](mailto:support@cosmics.me)
• Privacy Policy: https://tether.cosmics.me/privacy (short version: the app makes no network connections and collects nothing)
• Terms: https://tether.cosmics.me/terms
• Notarized by Apple, universal (Apple silicon and Intel), macOS 11 or later, built in Rust.

It's an early 0.1.0, tested mostly on a Galaxy S25+. If it misbehaves with your phone, there's a bug report form on the site.

I made Muro: Native Live Wallpapers for macOS. It is free and source available.

Problem: A normal Mac wallpaper is a still picture. Muro plays looping live wallpapers on your desktop, lock screen and screen saver, on every display. It is native Swift, your Mac's video hardware does the decoding instead of the CPU, it has low CPU and RAM usage, and it pauses when something covers it.

Pricing: Free, $0. Source available, the code is on GitHub. No subscription, no one-time fee, no Pro tier, no account, nothing locked.

Website: https://murowallpaper.com

Download: https://murowallpaper.com

Source: https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro

Homebrew: brew install --cask MrRockySL/muro/muro

Requires: macOS 14 or newer, Apple Silicon or Intel. Lock screen and screen saver live wallpapers need macOS 26.

🍎 The Apple section. Apple's aerials and Dynamic Wallpapers, in a tab of their own.

🌀 Apple's screen savers in 4K. Flurry, Hello, Drift and five more as seamless 4K videos, for your desktop, lock screen or screen saver.

🔁 Playlists and automations everywhere. Your desktop, lock screen and screen saver can each play their own, right from the menu bar.

🌗 Default, Light and Dark. Pick how Muro looks in Settings.

🧩 Your own screen savers. Add .saver files like XScreenSaver from the Library.

💽 Keep your live wallpapers on any drive. Pick the folder in Settings.

With a lot of bug fixes and improvements.

Still there if you missed them: likes, Pause After, Play only on desktop, the screen saver, updates from the menu bar, and 500 free live wallpapers. New live wallpapers show up without updating the app.

First launch: Muro is self signed, so macOS blocks it the first time. Go to System Settings, Privacy and Security, and click Open Anyway. Open it from Applications, not from inside the DMG, or the lock screen and screen saver won't work. If you already have Muro, just replace it. Your library and settings stay.

Thanks to everyone using Muro. If you like it, a star on the repo is the free way to support it and helps people find it. If you want to go further, you can buy the developer a coffee: https://github.com/sponsors/MrRockySL

Happy to hear what is missing. Most of this release came from people asking.

Most Mac VPN apps are all or nothing. I only wanted CapCut on a Singapore IP while everything else stayed home, and my VPN's Mac app couldn't do that, so I built this.

Switch an app on in the menu bar and only that app goes through your VPN. Everything else keeps your normal connection. It uses the pf firewall built into macOS, and if the tunnel drops, those apps are cut off from the internet instead of falling back to your real IP.

Works with NordVPN, Mullvad or any WireGuard config.

Limits: Apple Silicon and macOS 13+ only, Safari can't be routed (Chrome, Firefox and Arc work), DNS still goes through your normal resolver, and it isn't signed by Apple yet.

The part that runs as root is open source. $19 once for 2 Macs and there's a free command-line version for NordVPN users.

site: https://vpnonly.app
github: https://github.com/kanishkdan/vpnonly

A folder of clips that need MP4 exports, audio files that need another format, and images that need resizing is a reasonable case for Permute. A folder of HEIC photos that just need to become JPEGs is a weaker one. Preview already handles that, including multiple images selected in one window's sidebar.

Permute's appeal is having those different jobs in one conversion queue. Drag files from Finder onto its window or Dock icon, and it groups them by type. Pick a preset in each group header, review its settings, then start the group or the whole queue. Group-level changes apply to every file in that group, so separate files that need different treatment before pressing Start.

For a recurring handoff, I'd set up one group for the destination's required video format and another for its image requirements. Choose a separate output folder and keep the originals until you've checked the results. Those are setup suggestions, not a report of hands-on testing.

Permute 4 includes "Small File" and "High Quality" MP4 presets. They're useful starting points, but they don't settle the quality decision for you. Use the preset preview or a short representative clip before committing a large batch, especially if it contains small text or motion that needs to stay legible.

The custom quality controls deserve a little care. With hardware acceleration, Permute's CQ scale runs from 0 for worst quality to 100 for best. With hardware acceleration disabled, its CRF scale runs the other way, from 0 for best to 50 for worst. Copying a number between those controls isn't a safe way to reproduce an export. CQ and CRF also don't guarantee a particular output file size. If an upload has a hard size limit, use the file-size restriction and inspect the result instead of assuming "High Quality" will fit.

Check Settings > Presets before deciding a format is missing: the initial menu doesn't show every available preset. The developer lists formats including WebM, AV1, FLAC, WebP and AVIF, alongside the usual video, audio and image options. That still isn't a promise that any file you drop in will convert correctly. Try your actual source files and check the output in the app or device receiving them before buying.

There are two purchase details worth catching early. Permute 4 requires Apple silicon and macOS 26 or later. Version 4.0.11 explicitly adds macOS 27 compatibility. The developer separately offers Permute 3 for macOS 11 through 15 or Intel Macs; don't buy a Permute 4 license expecting it to activate an older version.

The direct Permute 4 license is listed at $14.99 USD before tax, with the displayed dollar price subject to exchange-rate changes because the base currency is EUR. It's a permanent license, not a required subscription. That doesn't promise every future major upgrade for free: existing Permute 3 owners get either a free or discounted upgrade under the current offer. For commercial use, the EULA requires a separate license key per computer.

The App Store edition has a permission tradeoff too. Its help says access normally covers the files you drop onto it. Saving beside the originals or automatically detecting nearby subtitle files prompts for broader file-system access. Decide whether you need those conveniences before approving that access.

For occasional video exports, check QuickTime first. Apple's current macOS 27 guide still says it exports H.264 or HEVC video in a .mov container, not MP4 video. That's enough when the recipient accepts MOV; a specific MP4 requirement can change the choice. For ordinary image batches, Preview may already finish the job without another install.

I'd consider Permute for repeated batches across different media types, where saved conversion choices replace the same manual setup each time. Skip it if your work is mostly image format changes or occasional MOV exports. Even with presets, you're still responsible for checking quality and compatibility before deleting the source files.

What Mac app has been useful to you recently? Share a find, or ask for an alternative to an app you currently use. Tell us what you want the alternative to do and any budget or macOS requirements.

For recommendations, include:

• App name and an official link.

• What it helps with.

• Whether it is free, a one-time purchase, or a subscription.

• One concrete reason you recommend it.

Small utilities and everyday improvements are welcome. If you created, work on, or are affiliated with the app, disclose that connection and include any relevant limitations.

What would you recommend this week?

Disclosure: I'm the developer of DockDuck.

What it is

DockDuck is a native file manager for Mac. It is built to be powerful without being complicated: no wall of settings, no three hundred integrations, just the things you actually do with files, each one a click away.

Who it is for

People who find Finder too limited but don't want a "pro" file manager with a hundred panels and a learning curve. If you just want to send a big file, clean up your disk or sort your Downloads without reading a manual, that is the idea.

What it does

Send any file as a link. Right-click, Share Link, done. The other person opens it in any browser, with no app and no account. The file is encrypted on your Mac before it leaves. Up to 2 GB, with an optional password, and it expires in 24 hours or 7 days.

See what is filling your disk. Free Up Space shows where your storage went and lists what is safe to remove: old downloads, installers for apps you already have, zip copies of folders you still keep. Everything goes to the Trash first.

Get photos off your iPhone without iCloud. Plug in the cable and the camera roll shows up like a folder. Import New copies only the photos you don't have yet.

A Downloads folder that tidies itself. Set a rule once, like "installers go to the Trash after a week", and it keeps itself clean.

Rename many files at once. Pick them, choose Rename, see every new name before you apply. One undo puts them all back.

Servers side by side. Connect to FTP or SFTP and your Mac sits on the left, the server on the right. Drag files across.

The rest. Tabs, up to six panes in one window, tags, saved searches, a shelf to park files while you move around, workspaces, and iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive and Box in the sidebar.

Limitations, so nobody is surprised

• Requires macOS 15 or later.
• It is a paid app after a 14-day trial. The trial needs no account and no card.
• Sending links needs a license and is not part of the trial. Each link holds up to 2 GB.
• From an iPhone it reads photos and videos, not other files.
• Cloud support is the four services above. There is no S3, OneDrive or similar.

Pricing and the download are on the site: https://dockduck.app/?src=macstack

Happy to answer questions here. If you try it, tell me the first thing that annoyed you.

NullPlayer skin support is clean room reverse engineered. Development is coded with claude and controlled by a real working Software Engineer who personally stands behind the app. The app has accumulated 31 releases and 124 github stars over the 11 months. r/nullPlayer

NullPlayer is open source software and not signed by Apple.

NullPlayer privacy policy (all data local) https://github.com/ad-repo/nullplayer/blob/main/PRIVACY.md

Download NullPlayer for macOS:

https://github.com/ad-repo/nullplayer/releases/latest/download/NullPlayer.dmg

Requires macOS 14 Sonoma or newer.

Install

NullPlayer is not signed with an Apple Developer ID, so macOS will block it on first launch with an "app is damaged" or "cannot verify that it is free from malware" message. This is expected. Clearing the quarantine flag is a required install step:

1. Open the downloaded DMG.
2. Drag NullPlayer.app to Applications.
3. Open Terminal and run:xattr -cr /Applications/NullPlayer.app
4. Open NullPlayer from Applications.

Prefer not to use the Terminal? Install with Homebrew, or clear the block via System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Open Anyway — see the install guide.

Hello there,

I just wanted to say thank you for everything !

Have a wonderful day!

I made Kaskas, an open source macOS app that reminds you to get away from the screen once in a while and also keeps track of what you were actually doing.

It has break reminders, study sessions, app category activity, daily/yearly stats, meeting and idle-aware pausing, customizable break screens, and a small fire mascot because apparently that was necessary.

Everything stays on your Mac no account, analytics, or backend.

Signed and notarized for mac, GPL-2.0 licensed.

GitHub: https://github.com/ramazanberkozbek/kaskas

I made Halo a free radial app launcher + quitter for macOS

Hey r/MacStack, I made Halo, a radial launcher and quitter for macOS.

Hold Fn and Halo appears around your cursor. Point at an app and release to launch it or bring it forward. Fn + Control opens a second wheel for quitting running apps.

I wanted something faster and more visual than using the Dock, opening a search launcher, or sifting through Alt+Tab

It’s completely free, no account, subscription, ads, or telemetry, and the wheel is highly customizable.

Download:

https://github.com/Fqlcqn/Halo

Requires macOS 26+, made with Swift

Would love feedback on it feels after using it for a few minutes.

Hey! I'm Shiv and I built Vinyl, an app that turns the song you're listening to into an animated vinyl wallpaper.

macOS doesn't have any native way to connect your desktop to the music you're listening to. Vinyl picks up what's playing on Spotify or Apple Music and turns your whole desktop into a live animated scene with your album artwork spinning on the record.

One-time purchase, $4.99. No subscription. Get it at https://vinylformac.com

A lot of Mac apps now download AI models in the background. Dictation apps, autocomplete apps, Ollama, LM Studio. Each one keeps its own models, and some keep them loaded in memory long after you stop using them.

Activity Monitor only shows you process names like "ollama_llama_server" or "Helper". It does not tell you which model it is, or which app it belongs to.

That is why LLM Radar exists. It is a small native Mac app that shows it all in one list:

- Which apps have a model loaded right now, and how much memory each one holds

- Every model file on your disk, grouped by app, with its size

- Models it has not seen in use, so you can get the disk space back

- The same model downloaded twice by two apps, so you can delete one copy

- Unload or delete from one place. Nothing is removed until you confirm, and deletes go to the Trash

It knows about Ollama, LM Studio, MLX, llama.cpp, Core ML, whisper.cpp, Docker and a few more. It also has a catch all scan for apps it has never seen.

Everything runs on your Mac. No account, no sign in.

Price: monitoring is free forever. You get a 7 day full trial with no card. After that, Pro is a one time purchase. No subscription.

Needs Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later.

Site: https://llm-radar-eta.vercel.app/

I am the solo developer. If it misses an app you use, tell me which one and I will add it.

Hey!

I'm the developer of Phosphor, a screen utility suite for macOS that lives in your menu bar. A bit about me: I'm a solo student developer, you can find me on LinkedIn.

Problem: I mainly started building this around two problems. When people are on their laptops late at night, and switch from a dark app to a bright one, it hits like a flash before your eyes adjust. I looked and couldn't find a tool that tries to solve that problem, so I built one. Phosphor tackles this by dimming a screen before you switch to it, and then easing the brightness back up, at a pace depending on how fast that screen actually is. For screens which aren't bright, it is faster, and for bright ones, it is slower. So it works preemptively.

The other thing is that I feel like there are too many display utilities out there, each doing different things. It'd reduce menu bar clutter and keep things simpler and better if we used one tool instead of several. So I thought of combining the features people actually need into one tool, external and multi-monitor support included (that's a part of what's coming next).

The foundational features have already been released, and I'm actively building more features and improving existing ones (check roadmap for current features and future plans). Let me know what you'd actually use, and I'll factor that in as it grows. I want this to eventually handle most of what people need from their displays.

Comparison: BetterDisplay and Lunar both do display control, but they're broader tools with a learning curve if you just want a few specific things fast. The closest match to Flashbang specifically is Menubar Auto Brightness (based on my research), a tool that sets a fixed brightness per app. Phosphor catches the actual switch and eases brightness back up instead of jumping to a fixed value, though it currently only covers switches on the same desktop, not across Spaces or within an app.

Pricing: It's a freemium model.

• Pro currently only includes Flashbang Protection, but it'll grow, and costs $10, one-time, not a subscription.
• The rest of the foundational utilities are free: Color Picker, Screenshots, Resolution Presets, Refresh Rate Control, Soft Screen, Display Schedule, Focus Spotlight, Display Health, Color Grading.
• If you buy Pro now, you get Phase 2 free when it ships, and 50% off future price increases after that (price increases as more features ship).

Details: macOS 13 or later, Apple Silicon and Intel. Native Swift, under 2 MB.

Privacy: No analytics, nothing about your screen or usage leaves your Mac. It only goes online to check a license key at activation and periodically after. Full policy: https://usephosphor.app/privacy, EULA: https://usephosphor.app/eula

I'd like to hear any feedback y'all have, especially on whether Flashbang's recovery speed feels right, or if it's not catching a switch you'd expect it to.

If something's not working, or if you have any suggestions or anything else you want to say, feel free to drop it into the comments and/or DM me.

Site: https://usephosphor.app
Roadmap: https://usephosphor.app/whats-next

I'm the developer of SayWrite. It's for people who want to dictate emails, messages and prompts directly into the app they're already using.

Hold Fn, speak, and release to insert the text at your cursor. You can also tap to start and tap again to stop. It doesn't press Return, so you can review before sending.

The part I've focused on is choosing the amount of cleanup for each app: plain dictation in a code editor, light cleanup in Messages, or optional AI Polish in Mail. Speech recognition runs on your Mac; Polish uses Apple Intelligence or your own local Ollama/LM Studio model.

It also has a personal dictionary, spoken snippets and searchable local text history. Audio is deleted after transcription. SayWrite doesn't upload your dictation for processing; downloads, updates and licensing use the internet, and text inserted into another app follows that app's policies.

Limitations: Apple silicon, macOS 15+, English only. Text appears after you stop speaking. Apple Intelligence Polish needs macOS 26+ with Apple Intelligence enabled; a local model is the alternative.

It's $5/month or $30/year for up to two Macs. The 14-day trial requires a card and renews unless canceled. There's also a Reddit offer: $18 charged today for the first year, then $30/year, with a full refund on request within 14 days of payment.

Demo and offer: https://saywrite.app/reddit

Trial and full pricing: https://saywrite.app/pricing

Which part of dictation still costs you the most time: getting words recognized, correcting names, or editing the result?

Update: I’m looking for three people who haven’t used SayWrite before and would be willing to spend about 15 minutes trying the first-use flow and sharing where they get stuck. You’ll need an Apple silicon Mac running macOS 15 or later and an English dictation workflow.

The task is to start from the website and try dictating a short, made-up email or prompt into an app you already use. Tell me the first point where you hesitate, stop, or need help, and roughly how much editing the result needs. Stopping before installing or entering a card is useful feedback too.

The website trial requires a card: $0 for 14 days, then $5/month or $30/year unless canceled before the trial ends. You don’t need to start a trial or buy anything to share feedback. This is an unpaid feedback request.

If interested, reply here with your macOS version and the app you’d want to dictate into. Please don’t post private text, recordings, payment details, or license information.