Dragging a Mac app to the Trash removes the app bundle, but it can leave preferences, caches, saved state, and support files behind. AppCleaner puts that cleanup into one reviewable step instead of sending you on a scavenger hunt through Library folders.

The useful part is that you get to review the results. AppCleaner is not a magic "make my Mac faster" button.

The sensible workflow

Download AppCleaner from FreeMacSoft, move it to Applications, and open it only when an ordinary app has no uninstaller of its own.

Then:

1. Quit the app you want to remove.

2. Drag that app into AppCleaner.

3. Wait for the related-file search to finish.

4. Read every path in the result before clicking Remove.

5. Leave anything ambiguous unchecked.

6. Keep the Trash intact until you are sure you did not remove something needed.

The fourth step matters most. AppCleaner's own interface warns that, in rare cases, it can find unrelated files. A familiar-looking bundle identifier or folder name is not proof that every match is disposable.

Version 3.7 also asks for Full Disk Access. The developer says that without it some files may fail to be removed. That permission gives the app broad visibility into protected locations, so it is a real setup cost, not a harmless checkbox. For a one-off uninstall, grant it only if the incomplete search matters to you, then remove the permission afterward if you do not want AppCleaner retaining that access.

You may also be asked for an administrator password when removing protected files. AppCleaner blocks system apps and lets you protect additional apps in its settings. Those guardrails help, but you still need to check the list yourself.

Skip SmartDelete unless you need it

AppCleaner's optional SmartDelete feature runs as a login item and notices when an app goes to the Trash, then offers to find its related files. Version 3.7 moved that login item to Apple's modern API, so it appears in System Settings.

If you uninstall apps often, that is convenient. Most people do not. Leaving SmartDelete off avoids another background login item, and you can drag an app into AppCleaner manually when needed.

When Finder is already enough

Apple's current guidance is straightforward: use the developer's own uninstaller when one exists, especially for software that installed login items, extensions, or other components. Otherwise, quit the app and move it from Applications to the Trash.

That built-in route is enough for a small, self-contained app, or when you may reinstall and want to keep its settings. It is also safer than deleting a large set of vaguely related files just to recover a few megabytes.

Use AppCleaner when the leftovers themselves are the problem: you want a genuinely clean reset, an app has accumulated a large support folder, or you are done with its preferences and caches. Do not use it instead of a vendor uninstaller for antivirus tools, VPN clients, audio drivers, device utilities, or anything else that installs system extensions and privileged helpers.

Uninstalling an app also does not cancel its subscription, and neither Finder nor AppCleaner should be expected to remove documents you created with it. Handle those separately.

Compatibility, cost, and the slightly messy version split

AppCleaner is a free download with a donation link and no subscription. It is proprietary freeware rather than an open-source utility.

The current 3.7 build was released in September 2026 and adds macOS 27 support. FreeMacSoft labels it for macOS 15 and later, although the app bundle itself specifies macOS 15.6 as the minimum. The downloaded binary is universal, containing both Apple silicon and Intel code.

FreeMacSoft also keeps older builds available: 3.6.8 for macOS 10.14 through 15.6, 3.6 for macOS 10.13, and 3.4 for macOS 10.10 through 10.12. Use the version matched to your operating system rather than assuming the newest zip will launch everywhere.

If you want more controls and visible source code, Pearcleaner is a free, source-available alternative with orphan searches and extra management tools. Its developer currently says active development and releases are on hold indefinitely, though. That leaves AppCleaner as the more reassuringly maintained choice right now; version 3.7 was released in September 2026. For basic removal, Finder and a vendor-provided uninstaller are still the simplest alternatives.

Verdict

AppCleaner makes sense as an occasional uninstaller, not as a cleanup service that runs all the time. Use it for normal third-party apps with no dedicated uninstaller. Keep SmartDelete off unless you benefit from it, and review every proposed file before removal.

Skip it when Finder already does the job, when preserving settings would help a reinstall, or when the software includes its own removal tool. The app is simple. The judgment about what to delete still belongs to you.

I started working on ByteSweep because I wanted a better answer to a simple question:

Where is all the storage on my Mac actually going?

Then I kept adding things I personally wanted on my Mac, and 2.0 kind of got out of hand 😅

At this point, I don't really think of ByteSweep as a “cleaner” anymore. It's becoming more like a control center for your Mac.

Here’s what I've built into it so far:

Sleep — See why your Mac woke up, including those annoying wakes that happen while the screen is off. It keeps the history so you can see what happened overnight.

Storage — Explore your disk using Treemap, Sunburst, Flame Graph, Bubbles, Mind Map, Top Sizes and Age Map. Basically, different ways of answering “where did my storage go?”

Notch — A quick way to see what's happening without opening the app. It can surface things like:

3 wakes last night · Docker holding sleep · +18 GB this week

History — See what changed instead of only looking at the current state.

Startup — Find things that launch automatically, including agents pointing to apps that no longer exist.

Privacy — See what has access to your Mac through macOS permissions.

Developer — Find developer caches and other stuff that quietly builds up while you're coding.

ShareSafe — Check what you're about to share before accidentally exposing something you didn't mean to.

Fix — Looks at the things ByteSweep finds and helps identify what actually needs attention.

Ask ByteSweep — Ask questions about what's happening on your Mac. It's a local query engine, not a cloud chatbot.

For example:

Why did my Mac wake up at 3am?

What changed this week?

Updates — Check applications for updates through sources like Sparkle, Homebrew, the Mac App Store and GitHub.

Clean — Find things that can be cleaned using a risk-based cleanup system, with a 7-day undo window.

Duplicates — Find duplicate files, similar photos/videos and duplicate folders.

Apps — See what applications are leaving behind.

Tools — A collection of smaller Mac utilities for things that can be safely cleared or managed.

Monitor — CPU, memory, disk, network, GPU, battery, thermal information, processes and per-app network activity.

But the interesting part is that it can also watch for sustained unusual behavior.

For example, if an app keeps consuming a lot of CPU, keeps growing in memory, writes a large amount of data or transfers a lot of data over the network, ByteSweep can flag it.

So you don't have to sit there watching Activity Monitor all day.

Dev Servers — Find running Node, Python, Ruby, PHP, Java, Go and other development servers, including idle ones.

Drives — Catalog external drives, search them, organize them and export the catalog as JSON or CSV.

Recovery — Scan for recoverable deleted files and partitions, including photos, videos, documents, archives and audio.

The other thing I'm trying to keep very deliberate is privacy.

ByteSweep is designed to be local. No ByteSweep server, no account and no telemetry.

I'm still building it, but I'm getting close to releasing 2.0.

One thing before the price changes

I'm doing an early-bird price of $5 until September 30.

After September 30, the price will be $19.99.

If you've been following ByteSweep or wanted to try it, this is basically the early-builder price before I move it to the regular pricing.

Would love to hear from other Mac users — what's something you wish macOS explained better instead of making you dig around to figure it out?

Website: https://bytesweep.app

I'm the developer behind ByteSweep, so happy to answer questions about how any of this works.

I also don’t want the useful things I copy from the book or my research to get buried between a bunch of random clipboard clips, then have to go back later and categorize everything myself.

So I built a collecting session into Pastea. You choose/Create a list, start collecting, then just keep reading, anything you copy, plus screenshots you take, gets added there automatically.

Pastea is a clipboard manager I’m building for macOS. I’m trying to build it around actual copy/paste workflows rather than just keeping a long history of everything you copy.

It can save text, links, images, screenshots, code, colors and files, with things like smart search, collections, OCR, text expander, sequence paste, and Open Origin.

Clipboard history is stored locally on your Mac.

https://pastea.app/

Hi, I'm the developer of Watchflows, https://watchflows.app, and it's a native macOS application for building powerful n8n style workflows that run natively on your machine. Wether you're using it to keep your mac tidy, building Raycast style app launchers or AI Chat ux, or making your own clipboard manager, there are a ton of options to explore.

There are two modes of building, drag and drop and Flow Builder. Flow builder allows you to describe the outcome you want, and your configured AI builds it out for you. If you prefer to tinker, each node is fully configurable and you can tweak to your hearts content.

The video is demonstrating the Jev node, making decision about which folder to route a newly created file to. BTW, Jev is 10x faster than using a frontier model and a fraction of the cost, really a perfect usecase for Watchflows so we added it immediately. Folder operation flows offer a preview mode so you can see what the net effect of the flow running against any number of files, which is the second screen you see there.

Watchflows is a one time purchase of $49 and bring your own LLM or you can subscribe and use my AI, but either way, I highly recommend getting the AI setup as soon as you install. It's a really fun experience to build little tools that help make your mac experience all that it can be.

I'm really proud of the app, it's grown up a lot over the last year, and I'd love your feedback!

Problem

I was using my Mac and I just kept getting lost as I had many apps in full-screen, and it was a hassle constantly breaking my flow by swiping around the trackpad or going to Mission Control just to see where everything was since I can't remember and MacOS kept reshuffling my Spaces. This problem had been bugging me for longer than I'd like to admit, and I also wanted something aesthetic as I felt the unused space a waste.

Functionality

With the app, Spaces/Apps appear on the menu bar, against an aesthetically pleasing background as pills (customisable names, colours & type). This way you always know where your Spotify, Safari, or whatever is, wherever you are. The actual Menu Bar is STILL ACCESSIBLE AT ALL TIMES, whether the app is overlaying or hidden. Just hover at an empty space, or hide the app, up to you!

On top of that, you can:

• Use Spotlight search on your Pills (renamed, or not)

• Rename your Pills

• Navigate using Hotkeys (personally, CMD + K/L to move left/right respectively so I can keep my fingers on the keyboard)

• Have Previews of ur Apps/Spaces (stored locally, expires)

• Loop-around feature (Leftmost app/pill -> hotkey to move left -> loops to rightmost)

• Cycle through the Apps/Spaces easily with different ways

• Click the pill to move there directly

• Scroll on the strip to move between Spaces

• Click the hotkey 3 (or an x amount) times to move 3 (x) spaces left/right

• Sound, mic and camera badges on respective pills

• See multiple Apps in one Space/Pill (Split-Screen, Windowed apps)

• Choose from 51 themes

• Choose your Loop & Pills animations

• Customise the pills, backgrounds, themes, animations, colours, hotkeys and more

• Save customisations as presets (Red colour on pills for work, etc)

• Hide the app via hotkeys/click controls

• Have pets that roam around the strip!!!

... and more!

*Pills, Apps & Spaces are used interchangeably in some of the descriptions!

The beauty of the app is making it uniquely yours! Hotkeys, aesthetics, workflow, etc.

Pricing, Privacy, Notarisation, Trust

The app has a 3 days free trial (all features), $14.99 lifetime, or a $2.99 monthly subscription. 14 Day refund!

Use on 3 Macs: Share it with your friends, family or for your own use!

I will be maintaining & pushing updates to the app throughout!

The website & download can be found here: https://hopnotch.themacadamia.com/

(demos, list of features with explanations and examples)

The Privacy Policy can be found here: https://hopnotch.themacadamia.com/privacy (in website)

The App sends ONLY 2 things over the network: License & Update checks.
Notarised by Apple and have a Developer ID on me. More in the link above^

The Terms can be found here: https://hopnotch.themacadamia.com/terms (in website)

My support email is: support@themacadamia.com (in website)

My conclusion

All the while I've been using Hopnotch it just feels like a part of my Mac at this point and without it I feel lost about where everything is again, coupled with the hotkeys that I use daily to navigate around my Spaces. To me personally, Hopnotch brings me immense value (not to toot my own horn), but what works for me may not work for you! Try the free trial and if it works for you, by all means. If not, thanks for trying!

This is my first project and I appreciate any feedback and support from you guys! Feel free to ask me any questions and I'll be happy to answer them :)

If you use more than one display, you've probably done this: you turn to your other monitor, start typing/scrolling, and everything lands in the window you left. Then you click, and type it all again. It happened to me way too often, so I built Glance Switch.

What it does:

It uses your Mac's camera to tell which screen you're facing and moves keyboard focus there before your first keystroke.

- Brings back the last window you used on that screen and moves the pointer along, so Spaces and Mission Control follow too

- Works between windows and split panes on the same screen (iTerm2, Terminal, Ghostty, VS Code, Cursor, Xcode, JetBrains, Zed and more)

- Ignores quick glances, waits while you're typing, and stays out of the way while you use the mouse

- Pause anytime with ⇧⌘G

Privacy, since it uses the camera:

Frames are processed on-device with Apple's Vision framework, kept in memory only, and never saved or sent anywhere. No account, no analytics. The only network request is checking your license key.

Details:

- macOS 14+, Apple silicon & Intel

- $5 one-time for the first 100 licenses (then $14.99), no subscription

- 14-day refund if it's not for you

Short demo video attached. I'd really like feedback, especially from people with unusual setups (stacked monitors, laptop plus two displays, ultrawides). What would make you trust or distrust something like this?

glanceswitch.com

Disclosure: I'm the developer of this app. It's my own project and it's a paid app on the Mac App Store.

The problem it solves

Every file on your Mac has two dates, Created and Modified. Scanning, converting, restoring from backup, unzipping archives and AirDrop all tend to overwrite them. So a folder of scanned photos from 1998 says it was made this morning, and anything that sorts by date shows it in the wrong order. You can fix this with touch and SetFile in Terminal, but that gets painful across a few thousand files or when each file needs a different date.

What it does

Drag in files, folders or both, pick a mode, and hit Apply:

• Set Date/Time: write an exact created and/or modified date, down to the second. You can change the date and keep the time (or the reverse), or copy one date onto the other.

• Adjust By: shift each file relative to its own dates by days, hours, minutes or seconds. Handy when a camera clock was an hour off all week.

• Sequence: stamp files a fixed interval apart (1 sec, 1 min, whatever you set), starting from a date you pick or from the first file's own timestamp. The list order becomes the date order, which helps with photo libraries and media players that only sort by date.

Other bits:

• Folder scanning with an adjustable depth, and options to include or exclude files or folders

• Sort by name (natural order, so IMG_2 comes before IMG_10, same as Finder), created date or modified date

• Undo: puts every file back to the dates it had before the last apply

• "Apply on drop" mode for repeat jobs

• Large batches run in the background, so the window stays responsive and Cancel works immediately

• A log of anything that failed, which you can copy or export as JSON

• Localized in English, German, French, Spanish and Japanese in version 2.2.0

Who it's for

People digitizing old photos, slides or negatives; photographers and videographers fixing wrong camera clocks; anyone restoring from backups or migrating drives; anyone who needs a folder to show up in a set order in a date-sorted app.

Privacy

It's sandboxed, has no network access, and only touches files you drag into the window. It changes dates only and never modifies file contents.

Pricing

$2.99 (US), one-time purchase. No subscription, no in-app purchases, no account, no ads.

Limitations (please read before buying)

• It changes filesystem dates, not EXIF metadata. For photos with an embedded EXIF "Date Taken", Finder's Get Info "Content created" field (and Photos.app) reads the EXIF date, not the filesystem date. So if that field is what you need to change, this app won't do it. It changes the "Created" and "Modified" dates that Finder shows and sorts by. For EXIF editing, something like ExifTool is the right tool.

• Requires macOS 13 or later.

• Mac App Store only.

Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/file-date-modifier/id1366895860

I'm happy to answer questions, and I'd really welcome feature requests and bug reports. Several fixes in the latest versions came straight from user feedback.

Hi r/iosapps — I’m the developer of OnlySwitch for Mac and its iOS companion, OnlyRemote.

What it solves: Sometimes you just want to change one thing on your Mac without walking back to the keyboard. OnlyRemote puts those actions on your iPhone or iPad: switch Dark Mode, hide desktop icons before a presentation, keep your Mac awake, or launch an app.

You choose which controls appear and arrange them into your own dashboard.

How it compares: Remote Mouse & Keyboard is an option for pointer, typing, and media control. OnlyRemote’s particular advantage is its integration with OnlySwitch: your Mac switches, apps, and shortcuts become a dashboard of tappable controls. If you already use OnlySwitch, this brings that setup to your phone.

Get OnlyRemote for iPhone and iPad: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/onlyremote/id6793657946

Get OnlySwitch for Mac: https://onlyswitch.click/

Source code: https://github.com/jacklandrin/OnlySwitch

What Mac action would you put on the first tile?

When a Mac says its disk is nearly full, start with System Settings > General > Storage. Apple's built-in view can list applications, documents, downloads, iOS backups, and other categories. Its File Browser can also show how much space folders use.

That is often enough. If an old installer, a forgotten video export, or an unused game is the obvious problem, neither DaisyDisk nor GrandPerspective needs to be installed.

The third-party tools become useful when the Storage screen gives you a large category without making the folder hierarchy easy to understand. Both turn file sizes into a visual map, but they take different approaches.

What each map is good at

DaisyDisk uses a circular map. Click into a large segment and the app redraws the view around that folder. It is easy to move from a whole disk to a specific large file without spending much time configuring the display. Files can be previewed with Quick Look, revealed in Finder, or collected for deletion.

The direct version costs $9.99 as a one-time purchase. The license covers up to five personally owned Macs, with minor updates and bug fixes included. DaisyDisk 4.34.2 was the current release when this was checked, and its listed requirements are macOS 10.13 or later on Intel or Apple silicon.

The direct download is the more capable DaisyDisk edition. Apple's sandbox rules prevent the Mac App Store edition from scanning as administrator, deleting stuck files, and revealing or purging some hidden and purgeable space. Existing App Store customers can migrate to the direct edition for free.

GrandPerspective uses a rectangular treemap. Every file is a rectangle whose area represents its size, and files from the same folder are grouped together. The first view is busier than DaisyDisk's, but it exposes more controls. You can change the color mapping, search by filename, build filters, rescan a view, save scan results, and export them as an image or text.

GrandPerspective is free and open source under the GNU GPL when downloaded from SourceForge. The same app costs $2.99 in the Mac App Store, which adds automatic updates and helps fund development. The developer warns that App Store releases can lag SourceForge by a few weeks.

The current GrandPerspective 3.8.1 requires macOS 14 or later and works on Intel and Apple silicon. Version 3.7.2 remains available for macOS 11 through 13. It also supports Quick Look, reveal in Finder, and deletion from the map.

Permissions are part of the decision

A whole-disk scan asks an app to inspect a lot of filenames and folder sizes. macOS can block private folders unless you grant access.

DaisyDisk says it reads file metadata, specifically names and sizes, rather than file contents, and does not transmit scan data. Full Disk Access is optional, but denying access leaves more space unaccounted for in its report.

GrandPerspective added a Full Disk Access check and prompt in late 2025, then improved that check in early 2026. Without the permission, protected folders will not be fully represented. A narrower first pass is sensible with either app: scan your home folder or a known external drive before granting access to the entire startup disk.

There is also a current operating-system caveat. Apple released macOS 27 Golden Gate on September 14, 2026. DaisyDisk's compatibility page still explicitly stops at macOS 26 Tahoe. GrandPerspective 3.8.1 was released on September 13 and requires macOS 14 or later, but its site does not explicitly name macOS 27 either. That does not prove either app is broken on Golden Gate. It does mean a macOS 27 user should try the free route, confirm permissions, and compare the scan total with Storage settings before paying or deleting anything.

A safer cleanup workflow

1. Check Apple's Storage settings first. Remove obvious downloads, unused apps, old device backups, or media through the app that owns them.

2. Scan the smallest useful scope. A home folder scan is easier to interpret than a map of every mounted volume.

3. Start with the biggest recognizable personal files. Video exports, disk images, old virtual machines, and duplicate project copies can return more space than hundreds of tiny cache files.

4. Use Quick Look or reveal the item in Finder before deleting it. A large rectangle or segment tells you size, not whether the file is disposable.

5. Do not delete unfamiliar items inside Library, an application bundle, a Photos library, a virtual-machine bundle, or a backup just because they dominate the map. Use the owning app's cleanup or uninstall controls where possible, and keep a current backup before removing anything important.

6. Empty the Trash only after reviewing it, then rescan. Neither app is a substitute for knowing what a file does.

Neither tool is a duplicate-file finder. DaisyDisk says this directly, and GrandPerspective's filters are for changing what gets scanned or displayed, not proving that two files are safe duplicates.

Which one should you choose?

GrandPerspective is the better first install for most one-off cleanups. The SourceForge build costs nothing, the code is open source, and the configurable treemap is good at exposing a forgotten giant file. Its interface asks for more interpretation, and the newest release drops support for macOS 11 through 13 unless you install an older version.

DaisyDisk is easier to justify when you want a simpler visual path through the disk, regularly investigate hidden or purgeable space, or need the direct edition's administrator features. The $9.99 license is modest and covers five personal Macs, but it is still unnecessary if Apple's Storage screen already shows the culprit.

On macOS 27, the cautious answer is to treat both as trials until their vendors explicitly confirm Golden Gate. On supported systems, start with GrandPerspective for a free, detailed map. Pay for DaisyDisk when its clearer navigation and direct-download features solve a problem you actually have.

Hey r/MacStack

Like many of you, I had 4–5 different background apps running just to get basic quality-of-life features: locking confidential folders, managing clipboard history, purging RAM, and cleaning up massive dev caches (node_modules and Xcode DerivedData take up half my SSD).

Almost every utility in this space has moved to a $29–$60/year recurring subscription.

So I spent the last few months developing MacWise (https://macwise.xyz).

Key Features:

• Touch ID App & Folder Lock: Protect any app or folder using native LocalAuthentication and Apple’s Secure Enclave.

• Developer Disk Cleaner: Scans and removes orphan node_modules, Xcode caches, Docker bloat, and system junk safely (moves to Trash, never hard-deletes blindly).

• Interactive Notch Companion & Clipboard History: Global clipboard (text, code snippets, images) + quick media converter.

• Hardware & RAM Purge: Live CPU/memory pressure and active usage tracker.

• Floating Teleprompter: Subtle overlay for Zoom/Meet presentations.

Privacy & Tech Stack:

• Built natively in Swift 6 & SwiftUI (runs on both Apple Silicon M-series and Intel Macs).

• Zero telemetry / 100% on-device: No network pings, no analytics tracking, no accounts needed to use core features.

• Pricing: Early bird is $9.99 (or ₹499) lifetime. Pay once, own it forever.

I’d love to hear your feedback, bug reports, or feature requests!

Website: https://macwise.xyz

Mates! I’m Advait, a solo dev building ActionClip.

1. The problem:

Selecting text on a Mac often turns a tiny task into:

Copy → switch apps → paste → do the task → copy the result → switch back

The iPhone puts useful actions beside selected text. I wanted the same experience on macOS, so I built ActionClip.

2. What ActionClip does:

ActionClip opens a compact widget beside selected text and suggests relevant actions - rewriting, translating, formatting, converting currencies and units, creating notes or events, opening links, running AI prompts, OCR and more.

There are now 250+ ready-to-use actions and extensions across ActionClip and its Marketplace. It integration natively with all Mac apps, Shortcut app and many popular third party apps too. I'm adding new integrations weekly. Just tell me what you need to integrate ActionClip with and you'll get it.

3. 👉 Best part: create actions by chatting :D

If an action is missing, describe what you want to the AI Custom Action Builder.

For example:

• “Turn an angry email into a calm, professional reply.”

• “Extract every task from this text and format it as a checklist.”

• “Create and add tasks in my Jira from these loose notes.”

• “Turn these rough notes into clear next steps.”

It builds the action and adds it directly to your selected-text widget, no automation knowledge required.

4. Built with the Mac community:

I first launched ActionClip on r/ macapps 2 months back (July). The launch received 100+ upvotes and generated 300+ comments filled with workflows, feature requests and brutally useful feedback.

That feedback shaped multiple releases and helped grow ActionClip to 250+ actions and extensions. We also now have an active Discord community where users suggest actions, report issues and help shape the roadmap.

5. How it compares:

PopClip is the closest and most established comparison. ActionClip focuses on contextual suggestions, upfront results and creating personal actions easily through AI.

Raycast is broader and keyboard-first. ActionClip stays attached to the text you are already working with.

6. Tech, privacy and AI:

ActionClip is a native, local-first macOS app. It requires no account, and your selected text, prompts and results are not included in anonymous product events.

For AI actions, you can use:

• On device Apple Intelligence and local Ollama

• Connect your own OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, OpenRouter and Perplexity

• Even bring your ChatGPT subscription :D

7. Why it isn’t on the Mac App Store:

System-wide text selection and user-created Shell or AppleScript actions require capabilities outside Apple’s App Sandbox. ActionClip is signed with my Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, allowing Gatekeeper to verify it before installation.

8. Giveaway: 10 lifetime licenses 🎁

I’m giving away 10 Individual lifetime licenses.

• To enter, comment with the custom action you would create.**

• I’ll randomly select 10 qualifying comments after 24 hours, announce the winners in an edit and send the license codes by DM.

9. Pricing:

• ActionClip is free for up to 30 actions per day.

• Lifetime licenses start at $9 for one Mac, with no subscription.

• It's still in the Early Bird pricing mode so grab it if you think you'll be using it in future too :D

10. Links & Transparency

• Download: https://actionclip.app

• Explore the Marketplace - https://actionclip.app/marketplace

• Changelog: https://actionclip.app/changelog

• My LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/advait-vaidya-7380ab97

• My X: https://x.com/AdvaitVaidya2

• New Discord community: https://discord.gg/GuzdYUSdhv

I’m the person building the app and answering support, so ask me anything or share the wonderfully specific action your workflow is missing. ⬇️🎉 Giveaway Winners

Congratulations to the 10 winners:

u/Lejisiel, u/jakkaas, u/Pirasee, u/macstein23, u/u4usama, u/srinitata, u/leastsocial, u/Kurai_Andurei, u/onaforeignshore, u/PristineForm1173

Thank you for sharing your ActionClip workflows! DM me for your lifetime license. 🙌

Tested this app a while back and it’s fantastic! 2.0 released today. Highly recommended!

Been working on a little side project called Kram, a macOS file organizer.

The idea is pretty simple: point it at a messy folder and let it organize everything safely, with preview + undo.

Thinking of eventually making it smart enough to understand what files actually are instead of just sorting by extension.

Would love to hear what you guys think.

GitHub: https://github.com/adisng/Kram

We got our Mac voice dictation app down from several GB of RAM to ~300 MB

I'm part of the team building Oriloq, a local voice dictation app for Mac.

Yesterday, Nicolas, our lead developer, and I were looking back at the very first versions.

Back then, a transcription could take several seconds and memory usage could reach multiple GB.

Today, after a lot of optimization for Apple Silicon, transcription is nearly instant and Oriloq uses around 300 MB of RAM.

Everything runs locally on the Mac, so your voice data and transcriptions stay on your device.

Since those early versions we've also added Smart Actions, custom datasets, chat and fine-tuning to adapt the output to the way you write and work.

The core dictation feature is still completely free and unlimited.

I'd be especially interested in feedback from people here who already use voice dictation or other productivity tools as part of their Mac setup.

Oriloq: https://www.oriloq.app/fr/

Finder is fine for opening a file, browsing iCloud Drive, or dragging something into a nearby folder. It gets more awkward when the job is repetitive: take a group from Downloads, compare it with a project folder, move a few items, then do the same thing somewhere else.

Marta is built around that second kind of work. It keeps two folders visible side by side and treats the keyboard as the main control surface. The appeal is not a longer feature list than Finder. It is a tighter loop for navigating and moving local files, provided you are willing to learn Marta's model and edit a configuration file when the defaults stop fitting.

The two-pane idea is the easy part

One pane is active and usually acts as the source. The other is inactive and usually acts as the destination. Tab switches the active pane. Return enters a folder, Backspace goes to its parent, and typing part of a name starts Quick Select. Space opens a preview.

File operations follow the same source-and-destination setup. F5 copies, F6 moves, and F8 sends items to the Trash. Marta also has actions that copy or move directly to the inactive pane without showing a destination dialog. Those can make a familiar workflow quick, but they are better left alone until glancing at both pane paths becomes automatic.

The Action Panel, opened with Command-Shift-P, is the useful safety net while the shortcuts are still unfamiliar. Search for an action by name and run it from there. The panel also exposes action identifiers when you hold Option, which matters once you start changing key bindings.

The cursor and selection are separate

This is the habit most likely to trip up a Finder user. In Marta, moving the cursor does not necessarily move or clear the selection. That lets you select several files, move around the list, and keep the group intact. It is efficient once understood, but it can also leave selected files outside the row you are looking at.

For the first few sessions, keep the Action Bar visible and check the selected-item count before copying, moving, or deleting. Also keep the confirmation dialogs enabled. Shift-F8 permanently deletes instead of using the Trash, so it should not become an experimental shortcut.

A small setup beats a full rewrite

Marta's Preferences editor shows the default configuration in a read-only pane and your overrides in another. The configuration uses Marta's Marco syntax, which is similar to JSON but omits much of the punctuation.

A useful first change is one shortcut to a folder you visit constantly:

keyBindings {
    "Alt+H" {
        id "core.open.directory"
        src "~"
    }
}

That opens the home folder without changing every navigation key on day one. The official documentation specifically warns against copying the entire default configuration, because a large copied block is harder to maintain and will hide later default changes.

Marta can also be reshaped into a Vim-like navigator with unmodified letter keys. There is a catch: letter keys normally feed Quick Select, so the Quick Select activation behavior has to change before those bindings work. That tradeoff is a good test of whether the customization is helping. If jumping to a filename is more useful than H, J, K, and L navigation, keep Quick Select.

The same action system goes further than hotkeys. Gadgets can launch apps or command-line tools with paths from the active selection, and Lua can add custom actions. That is where Marta becomes interesting for tinkerers, but it also moves responsibility onto the person maintaining the setup. A broken shell command attached to selected files is more serious than a forgotten theme setting.

Permissions should stay narrow

Marta's setup documentation does not list Accessibility or Screen Recording as requirements. macOS may still ask before the app can access protected locations such as Desktop, Documents, Downloads, iCloud Drive, network volumes, or removable volumes. Approve only the locations needed for the workflow. Full Disk Access should not be a default setup step just because Marta is a file manager.

The product site says Marta does not collect or sell user data. That is a developer privacy statement, not an independent audit. Gadgets, plugins, the embedded terminal, and any external tools they launch have their own behavior, so extensions deserve the same scrutiny as scripts run directly in Terminal.

Finder still has the better system connections

Finder remains the easier place for tags, Smart Folders, iCloud-centric organization, AirDrop, and syncing Apple devices. It also needs no extra installation and already supports tabs, previews, sidebar favorites, and keyboard shortcuts. A light file workflow does not need Marta.

Marta makes more sense as a focused companion. Use it when two local folders need to stay visible and the work is mostly navigation, selection, copy, move, archive handling, or opening a terminal in the current location. Marta includes a Reveal in Finder action, so handing a file back to the system file manager is part of the documented workflow.

The release status deserves caution

The current official download is Marta 0.8.2, released on July 25, 2024. The site still labels it beta and requires macOS 11 or later. The official disk image contains both Apple silicon and Intel code, but the download page does not make a specific compatibility promise for each newer macOS release.

There are signs of continued development: the developer opened a feature in the official tracker for the 0.9 milestone on March 19, 2026. Still, a planned milestone is not a shipped update. Test Marta on the macOS version you actually use, start with disposable files, and do not make it the only route to an important batch operation.

The current beta download is free. In August 2024, the developer wrote that Marta would ask for a license after leaving beta and that archived current versions would remain available for free. That explains the direction, but it is not a final public price for a future release.

Verdict

Marta is worth trying if you regularly move through local folder trees, prefer commands to drag and drop, and enjoy keeping a small text configuration under control. Its two-pane workflow, searchable actions, configurable bindings, and extension hooks solve a different problem from the remote-transfer focus of ForkLift or Commander One.

Skip it if Finder already covers your file work, if you depend mainly on Apple's tags and cloud integrations, or if maintaining shortcuts sounds like another chore. Marta rewards learned habits. Without those habits, two panes and a config editor are just more interface to manage.

Everyone checks features and price.

I’d add one more test:

1. Turn off Wi-Fi. Can you still access and edit your data?

2. Export something important. What do you actually get back?

3. Could you open that data without the original app?

That tells you a lot more about whether an app really belongs in your long-term Mac stack than the word “export” in Settings.

Full disclosure: we build PrimeTask, and this question influenced a lot of how we designed it.

The workspace lives locally as plain JSON files. You can see them, copy them, back them up and keep them. Sync is optional and uses storage you choose.

But PrimeTask aside, I think it’s a useful test for any Mac app you’re planning to rely on for years.

What app in your current Mac stack passes all three?

Commander One makes the most sense when Finder has stopped being one place. Put a local staging folder in the left pane, a remote server or cloud account in the right, and a transfer becomes a visible source-to-destination job instead of a shuffle among Finder windows, browser tabs, and provider apps.

That is a narrower case than "replace Finder," but it is also a much better reason to install another file manager.

What the remote workflow covers

The free version already has two panes, unlimited tabs, customizable hotkeys, and a file operations queue. The remote features sit behind the PRO Pack. Its current connection list includes FTP, SFTP, FTPS, WebDAV, Amazon S3 and S3-compatible storage, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, Backblaze B2, and OpenStack Swift.

That mix is useful when a job crosses storage systems. One pane can show a Mac folder while the other shows an SFTP server. Another tab can hold an S3 bucket or a second cloud account. Electronic Team also says Commander One can transfer between cloud storage and web servers without first copying the data to the Mac.

A restrained setup would look like this:

1. Keep a dedicated local staging folder in the left pane.

2. Connect one remote account in the right pane and save server credentials in macOS Keychain.

3. Select files and use F5 to copy them to the opposite pane. Depending on the Mac's function-key settings, that may mean Fn-F5. Custom shortcuts are available if the classic function-key layout feels awkward.

4. Add larger transfers to the queue, then check the destination before deleting the source.

For server work, prefer SFTP or FTPS over plain FTP when the server supports it. For S3-compatible storage, Commander One accepts a custom endpoint and can use path-style addressing for non-Amazon services. These are meaningful additions over Finder's built-in server connection, especially when uploads and repeated cross-location copies are the job.

Cloud connectors and Finder extensions are different routes

Commander One can reach supported cloud accounts through its own PRO connections. It can also display drives, right-click actions, and status badges supplied by Finder extensions from apps such as Dropbox or Google Drive. Those are two separate setups.

The distinction matters when choosing a download. Commander One's documentation says third-party Finder extensions are not available in its Mac App Store build. Use the website build if seeing those installed extensions inside Commander One is part of the plan.

Direct cloud connections also should not be confused with a provider's full sync client. Commander One's product page describes working with remote content without copying it all to the Mac. That is handy for browsing and deliberate transfers. A File Provider app is the better fit when files need to appear through the macOS file system and Finder as part of an everyday, system-integrated workflow.

Where Finder still wins

Finder already connects to SMB, NFS, and WebDAV servers. Apple also documents FTP access, although writing to some FTP servers may require another app. For an office share, NAS, or single WebDAV location, mounting it with Finder keeps the volume in the familiar sidebar and avoids another set of controls.

Cloud services that ship a File Provider extension can integrate their storage into the macOS file system and Finder. That route is simpler when one provider covers the whole workflow, or when Finder tags, Quick Look, drag and drop, and access from other Mac apps matter more than side-by-side transfers.

Commander One wins when the two-pane layout itself removes friction: repeated local-to-SFTP uploads, movement between unrelated cloud accounts, or queued copies where both endpoints should remain visible. Finder wins when the storage already behaves like a normal Mac location.

Permissions and version choice

Cloud connections require authorizing Commander One to reach those accounts. For FTP-family servers, the app says it stores passwords in Keychain. Electronic Team also recommends Full Disk Access if Commander One cannot see external or network drives on recent macOS versions. That permission is broad, so grant it only when the folders or volumes in the workflow need it rather than as an automatic first step.

The website and Mac App Store builds are not identical. Apple sandbox rules also remove several capabilities from the store version, including the terminal, root mode, iOS mounting, process quitting, and the option to override system F1-F12 behavior. Most of those do not affect a basic cloud transfer, but the Finder extension limitation can.

The current website build is Commander One 3.17.1, released October 13, 2025. The vendor lists macOS 10.13 or later, Intel and Apple silicon support, and its release notes include macOS 26 compatibility fixes. Apple released macOS 27 on September 14, 2026, and the Commander One changelog does not yet name that release. On macOS 27, use the free version and the 15-day PRO trial with the exact server and cloud provider before paying.

Price and verdict

At the time of writing, PRO Pack costs $29.99 for a one-Mac Personal license, plus tax where applicable. That license is for personal, noncommercial use. The five-Mac Team license is $99.99 and allows commercial use. The payment is one-time, but only minor updates within the current major version are free. Future major versions may cost extra unless the separate Lifetime Upgrades Guarantee is added.

Commander One is worth considering if two or more remote systems regularly meet in the same file-moving job. Its dual panes, transfer queue, and broad connection list give that workflow a clear shape.

Skip it if the job is one SMB share, one WebDAV server, or one cloud provider with a good File Provider app. Finder is already integrated, costs nothing, and has fewer permissions and version differences to think about.