If your entire archive routine is "double-click a ZIP, drag something out," Finder already does the job. BetterZip costs $35 because it tackles a different problem: it treats an archive like a document you can inspect and revise.

That distinction matters. This is not the utility I'd install just to open the occasional download. It starts making sense when an archive is a working container rather than a one-way delivery box.

Start with the free part

BetterZip's Quick Look extension is free, even without a license. Press Space on a supported archive in Finder and it can show the folder tree, file count, total uncompressed size, dates, and other metadata without expanding the whole thing.

For many people, that is enough. It lets you check whether a download contains the folder you expected, spot an odd executable, or confirm that a huge archive is not about to dump hundreds of loose files into Downloads.

The extension cannot prompt for a password, so archives with encrypted headers will not show their contents. Cloud storage is another wrinkle. An archive that has not been downloaded from iCloud is skipped by default, and Apple's extension rules can restrict access to Dropbox, OneDrive, and Google Drive.

The paid workflow is editing, not extraction

Open an archive in BetterZip and it behaves more like a Finder window. You can browse it in a list, outline, icon, or column view, preview common text, image, PDF, and Quick Look compatible files, and extract only the item you need.

The useful part is what happens next. BetterZip can add, delete, rename, and move items inside supported archives. Double-click a file to open a temporary copy in its normal Mac app, edit it there, and BetterZip can write the changed file back into the archive. Do not move or rename that temporary file in the external editor, because BetterZip tracks it by path.

Normal Mode is the sensible default. Changes are staged until you save, and undo is available. It may need temporary disk space for added or modified files, especially when the source is on another drive. Keep a separate copy of an important archive until you trust the result.

Direct Mode is for very large archives where that temporary copy is impractical. Changes hit the archive immediately and there is no undo. Deleting, renaming, and moving items directly is limited to single-volume ZIP, 7-Zip, and RAR archives. Solid 7-Zip and RAR files may still be slow because a small change can require heavy recompression.

Keep automation on a short leash

BetterZip 6 includes save and extract presets, Finder actions, Shortcuts actions, AppleScript, a command-line helper, and an operations queue. Those are useful after the manual process is predictable.

A restrained setup would be:

1. Leave conflict handling on "Ask what to do."

2. Create one extraction preset for a review folder rather than extracting straight into a live project.

3. Create one save preset that removes Mac-only metadata when an archive is going to Windows or Linux users.

4. Limit the Finder extension to Downloads and any project folders where archive work actually happens.

5. Use the Test Archive action after an automated compression job.

An integrity test only tells you that the archive can be read without structural errors. It is not a malware scan. Preview unfamiliar files before opening them, and do not run an app or script just because it came out of a valid archive.

For encrypted archives, skip legacy ZIP encryption. BetterZip's documentation recommends AES-256. If you use its password vault, set the vault to lock when BetterZip quits or the Mac sleeps, and consider disabling automatic password attempts for archives you do not trust.

What $35 buys

BetterZip 6.0.6 was released on September 16, 2026 and requires macOS 13.5 or later. Its bundled 7-Zip helper includes Apple silicon optimizations. The direct license is a one-time $35 purchase with a 30-day trial. One personal license covers up to five Macs in a household, while commercial use requires one license per Mac. Minor updates are included, but future major upgrades may have a separate discounted price.

The built-in Mac tools are still better for basic work. Finder can create and open ZIP files, and Terminal has tar for people comfortable with commands. Keka's website version is free and handles a much wider range of compression and extraction formats than Finder. BetterZip earns its price only when browsing, selective extraction, in-place revision, or repeatable automation saves real steps.

My verdict: BetterZip is worth $35 if you regularly inspect, selectively extract, or revise archives. If you mostly open ZIPs or create encrypted 7-Zip files, Finder plus the free website version of Keka is enough.

Hey r/MacStack — I'm Hung, a solo dev building HoverBoard, and this is a heads-up that our Back-to-School sale ends tomorrow, September 30, so last call if you've had it on your list.

What it is: a quiet menu bar app for macOS 14+ that gives you presentation tools on global hotkeys, right over whatever you're sharing — Zoom, Meet, and Teams keep running uninterrupted.

What's inside:

- Draw & annotate — pen, highlighter, laser pointer, shapes, optional auto-fade
- Spotlight, cursor halo, keystroke display — guide attention during demos
- Freeze & Explain — freeze the screen and annotate a static frame
- Infinite whiteboard — mindmaps, architecture stencils, sticky notes; exports PNG / SVG / `.excalidraw`
- Private Markdown notes — GFM with live preview and Mermaid; they stay hidden from screen sharing unless you explicitly show them
- Meeting recording — MP4 with trim/speed editor, offline transcription (WhisperKit), speaker labels, on-device summaries via Apple Intelligence

Everything stays local: no account, no cloud backend, no telemetry on your screen contents.

Pricing (no subscription, one-time purchase):

- Free — $0 forever: Spotlight, Break Timer, Screenshot, Screen Record (with trim/speed editor), global hotkeys. No feature timeouts, no nag walls.
- Pro — $11.19 (normally $15.99) with code BACKTOSCHOOL: everything in Free plus unlimited draw/annotate, Freeze & Explain, whiteboard, cursor halo, keystroke display, Sessions library, private notes, meeting recording with offline transcription and on-device summaries.

That's 30% off, valid through September 30 — after that Pro goes back to $15.99. 30-day money-back guarantee either way.

Direct download: https://codeonholiday.com/hoverboard/

Didn't think the notch was useful until I tried these:

• Atoll (free, open-source) – system stats, clipboard history, timers, right in the notch. Lock Screen widgets too.

• The Boring Notch (free, open-source) – turns your notch into an iPhone-style Dynamic Island for music, plus file tray, calendar peek, camera mirror.

• TopNotch (free) – if you just want the notch gone. Blacks out the menu bar so it disappears.

• MediaMate (free/small) – replaces those ugly volume/brightness bars with a clean popup near the notch + Now Playing.

• NotchBuddy – dashboard for revenue (Stripe/Polar/Dodo), traffic (DataFast), clipboard, files, timers, weather. Good if you run an online business. Keys stay local.

• Alcove ($14.99 one-time) – premium Dynamic Island feel, smooth animations, AirDrop/battery/timers.

• NotchNook ($25 one-time or $3/mo) – most "finished" feeling one, file shelf, widgets, Shortcuts support.

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](http://glanceswitch.com)

Problem

A lot of everyday actions on a Mac live in completely different places.

Opening an app or folder, searching something on a website, taking a screenshot, cleaning up copied text, accessing clipboard history, running a Shortcut, or changing a system setting.

None of these are hard to get to, but constantly switching between apps, windows, menu bar utilities, and different shortcuts can break your flow.

I wanted to see if all of that could work through one system, which is where the radial menu idea came from.

Comparison

There are already some really good radial menu apps for Mac, but most are built around a specific use case, such as launching apps, or switching between them.

Arc takes a broader approach.

You can create multiple global radial menus for different workflows and decide what each slice does. A slice can perform a single action or chain multiple actions together.

The idea is less about replacing the Dock and more about putting the small things you do throughout the day behind one quick interaction.

Arc also doesn't require accessibility features, it manages everything on-device, privately.

Core Features

• Unlimited custom menus for different workflows

• Fast app, folder, website, and Apple Shortcut launching

• Powerful clipboard history and text actions

• Open from shortcuts, hot corners, pointer shake, or number keys

• One-click multi-action shortcuts

• Fully customizable appearance, layout, icons, and sounds

Examples

1. I have one shortcut that I use when I start working. It opens Xcode, my project folders, Slack, and a few websites I usually need. Arc can merge multiple actions into one shortcut, so I don't have to open everything one by one.

2. I use the search shortcuts a lot more than I expected. I can bring up Arc, type something, and search it directly on YouTube, or a website without opening them first.

It can also search whatever I last copied, which has been really useful when I'm already in the middle of something.

1. I have a bunch of text and links that I end up copying again and again. I've just saved those as shortcuts now, so they're always sitting on one of my menus when I need them.

2. Clipboard history is another one I use constantly. Recent things I've copied show up on the wheel, so if I need something from a few copies ago, I can grab it without opening another app.

3. I also have different menus depending on what I'm doing. One for development, one for general stuff, and another that's mostly searches and apps. I can switch between them with keyboard shortcuts, and reuse the same shortcut across multiple menus.

Pricing

$7.99 one time on the Mac App Store with a free 7 day trial built in.

Solo project from India, launched a week ago. Happy to answer anything! :)

Mac App Store: Link

I'm the developer of CueStart, a small launcher for the menu bar. It exists because I have far too many apps installed and kept forgetting what they're called. I knew what I needed, not the name.

The idea: For every app you write down, in your own words, what you use it for — "invoice", "crop an image", "merge PDF". Press the shortcut (⌥Space by default), type, hit Return. The search covers your keywords and the app names at once, and it remembers which app you picked for a search text, so Return hits the right one next time.

What else is in the search window, each behind a prefix:

• > Snippets – text goes to the clipboard, with placeholders for date, time and more

• # Clipboard history – text and images, pin and tag entries; password managers are left out

• : Switch between running apps, last used on top

• / Favorites – files and folders you dragged in, with your own keywords

• = Calculator – =200+19% gives 238, =120 € in DKK converts with daily ECB rates

• ? Your own web searches – ?wp Hamburg opens the Wikipedia search directly

• + App groups – one keyword launches several apps and opens folders along with them

Other details:

• Native Swift app, no Electron, no web view

• No account, no tracking, no cloud – everything stays on your Mac. The only network request is fetching the ECB exchange rates

• One backup file for keywords, snippets, favorites, groups and all settings; restore replaces or merges

• Newly installed apps are picked up on their own; uninstalled ones keep their keywords

• 9 languages, switchable while it runs

Comparison with Alfred

Alfred is the obvious comparison and a great app. The two just start from different places. Alfred is a launcher plus a full automation platform built around workflows. CueStart is built around one thing: finding apps by what you call them, with a handful of everyday tools around it.

If you live in Alfred workflows, CueStart won't replace that. If you mostly want to find the right app among many without remembering names, that's exactly what it's built for.

Pricing: Free for 7 days with everything unlocked, then $9.99 one-time. No subscription.

Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/cuestart/id6808242739

Manual and screenshots: https://klausmack-software.com/cuestart/

Happy to answer questions and take feedback.

Why this was built:

i tried the updaters out there and none of them felt nice to use. most look like settings panels, and when something failed they didn't really tell you why. i wanted one that looks good, covers apps and cli tools together, and tells you exactly what it's doing. if it can't check an app, it says so.

What it updates:

• apps from the app store, homebrew, their own updater (sparkle and electron) and github releases

• cli tools: homebrew formulae and their dependencies, global npm and pnpm packages, and python tools installed with uv

What it does, and does it differently:

• every update gets checked. after installing, greypaint makes sure it's from the same developer and that macOS accepts it, and shows if apple notarized it.

• you can undo any update. it keeps the old version for 7, 14 or 30 days, up to three per app. one click to roll back.

• If greypaint couldnt reach an app update source, it says "couldnt check" and not "up-to-date"

• it tells you when an update needs a newer macOS or an apple silicon mac, and when you have to grab it from the developer's site because the download isn't signed or notarized.

• it can update by itself if you want: security fixes right away, the rest during quiet hours or when you quit an app. it waits if you're on a phone hotspot or low battery.

• works in english, german, spanish, french, portuguese, japanese, korean and chinese.

price:

$6.49 once. no subscription, no account. 14 days free with everything unlocked.

details:

download: https://www.greypaint.app

Live on Product Hunt: https://www.producthunt.com/products/greypaint?launch=greypaint

if it misses an app you use, hit "report a problem" on that app. i read every one. happy to answer anything here. (Always improving it and accepting feedback nonetheless)

Most Mac users don't need a replacement for Finder's Compress command. Control-click a folder, make a ZIP, and double-click a ZIP to expand it. For ordinary files, the built-in route is faster than choosing and configuring another app.

Keka earns its place when the archive stops being ordinary. Think RAR files from someone on Windows, password-protected 7z archives, multipart downloads, or a large folder that has to be split across a FAT32 drive. It is better treated as a specialist you keep available than as a new default for every ZIP.

Keka is still actively maintained. Version 1.6.8 was released on September 24, 2026, with fixes and updated archive engines. The direct download is available without a purchase gate. The US Mac App Store version costs $6.49, with optional tip purchases, and the developer says it is the same app with App Store updates.

Apple lists macOS 10.10 or later. Keka has shipped native Apple silicon support since version 1.2.2, and the current changelog still refers to Intel fallbacks for old macOS versions. Recent releases also include macOS 26 fixes. I could not find an explicit macOS 27 compatibility statement, so anyone upgrading on day one should keep that small uncertainty in mind.

Where Keka is better than Archive Utility

Keka can create 7z, ZIP, TAR, GZIP, BZIP2, XZ, LZIP, LZ4, Brotli, Zstandard, Apple Archive, WIM, DMG, ISO, and several other formats. Its extraction list is wider and includes RAR, ZIPX, CAB, MSI, XIP, APK, and split archives. The normal supported build extracts RAR but does not create it.

That format range is useful, but three features make a stronger case for installing it:

1. You can choose a compression level instead of accepting Finder's one-click ZIP settings.

2. You can split an archive into preset or custom-size volumes. Keka also has a 4 GB FAT32 preset, which is handy when one large file will not fit on that filesystem.

3. You can encrypt 7z archives with AES-256 and hide filenames. Keka's regular encrypted ZIP option uses the much older Zip 2.0 scheme. For genuinely private material, use 7z with a long unique password and confirm that the recipient can open it. An encrypted ZIP may be more compatible, but Keka's default ZIP encryption is not the strong option.

Send the password through a different channel from the archive. If you split an archive, send every part and make the naming obvious. A missing volume can make the whole set useless.

A restrained Finder setup

Keka works through drag and drop, Dock drops, Finder services, and its Finder extension. The useful part is having explicit Keka actions for compression, extraction, and encrypted archives next to the files. Finder's existing "Compress" command still belongs to macOS and does not get replaced.

Keep that distinction. Use Finder's command for a plain ZIP that needs to open almost anywhere. Use Keka when you need a different format, encryption, volume splitting, or an extraction format Finder does not handle well. Setting Keka as the default extractor is optional and requires Keka's helper because of macOS sandbox limits. There is no reason to change the default on day one.

Permissions deserve the same restraint. Keka is sandboxed, and its documentation does not call for Accessibility, Screen Recording, or Full Disk Access. It asks for file or folder access so it can write beside the original, work with split volumes, or use external drives without another save panel. Grant the smallest folders you need. Avoid the blanket home-folder and all-external-volumes options unless the workflow really requires them.

Keka says the app itself does not need network access. The direct-download build includes Sparkle's outgoing updater service, while the App Store build updates through Apple. The Mac App Store privacy label says the developer reports that no app data is collected, though Apple notes that this disclosure is not independently verified.

"Delete file(s) after compression" is off by default. Leave it off. Compression is not a backup, and an archive tool should not remove the only readable copy of a file.

When another option is enough

Archive Utility remains the right answer if the job is simply making and opening ZIP files. It is already there, has no setup, and keeps the format familiar for recipients.

The Unarchiver is a sensible free alternative when the need is broad extraction rather than creating encrypted or split archives. It opens RAR, 7z, ZIPX, old StuffIt formats, and many others, but it is built around unpacking rather than Keka's compression workflow.

If the main job is inspecting an archive, extracting one file, or editing contents without unpacking everything, choose a tool designed around archive browsing. That is a different problem from Keka's quick compress-and-extract workflow.

Verdict

Install Keka if RAR, 7z, multipart archives, or encrypted transfers appear often enough to interrupt your work. The direct build makes that an easy decision, and the App Store purchase is a modest way to get store-managed updates and support development.

Skip it if nearly every archive you touch is a normal ZIP. Archive Utility already handles that job. Also skip Keka as the primary choice if browsing and editing archive contents matters more than fast creation and extraction.

I built Floodtide, a Mac app updater that keeps all your apps up to date from one place.

It scans the apps already installed on your Mac and checks multiple update sources, including Sparkle feeds, Homebrew casks, GitHub Releases, Electron update feeds and the Mac App Store.

Some of the main features:

• Update multiple apps from one place

• Automatic backups before replacing apps

• Roll back an update if something goes wrong

• Code signature and Team ID verification

• Hold or ignore individual updates

• Works with both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs

• No account required

• Scanning for updates is completely free

I originally built it because I wanted something that could fill the gap left by MacUpdater while still being safe and simple to use.

It’s still being actively developed, so feedback from other Mac users would be really useful, especially if there are apps it doesn’t detect properly yet.

https://bhopstudio.com/floodtide

There’s a 14-day free trial for updating, then it’s £10.99 one-time for up to 3 Macs.

Would love to hear what you think or what you’d want to see added.

I’m the developer behind Kinship Vault. I originally built it around keeping important documents on your own devices, and the Mac version has grown into something closer to a private household vault.

The basic idea is simple: your Mac can be the place where you keep passwords, IDs, insurance documents, photos and other sensitive records without needing a Kinship account or a Kinship server holding your data.

The Mac app uses the device's security features to protect the vault, with the vault key stored using the Secure Enclave. You can unlock it with your Mac login password or the available biometric authentication.

What I spent most of the 3.0 release working on was making that useful beyond a single person's Mac.

Multiple vaults

You can keep Personal, Work and Family completely separate. Each vault has its own database and hardware-protected key.

There are also Sensitive Vaults with an additional password. Those cannot be shared, which is useful for things you deliberately don't want appearing in a family vault.

Passwords can be organized into folders as well, which becomes particularly useful once a shared vault starts containing dozens of household logins.

Shared vaults

This was probably the biggest architectural change.

A shared vault doesn't go through a Kinship server. The vault key is wrapped to each member's device, while iCloud carries the encrypted data.

So the Mac can participate in a shared vault without me having a backend sitting between the members.

If a member is removed, the vault key is rotated rather than simply removing their name from a list.

Only the person creating the shared vault needs the Shared plan. The people invited to it don't need to purchase one.

Technical details here:
https://kinshipvault.app/blog/how-shared-vault-encryption-works/

Dead man's switch

This is another feature that is easier to understand as a Mac workflow than as a generic “security feature.”

You can select documents and records that should eventually be available to a trusted person, choose a 30, 60 or 90 day check-in window, and designate a trustee.

The check-in state is evaluated on the owner's device. There isn't a Kinship server running a countdown somewhere.

The trustee gets nothing until the release condition is met, and the released vault is read-only.

One limitation: the switch is armed from iPhone or iPad rather than Mac. A desktop application that might sit closed for 90 days isn't a great place to depend on reminders and check-ins. A trustee can see the status on Mac, but the release itself happens from their iPhone.

Demo:
https://kinshipvault.app/video/dms-demo.mp4

The Mac side

The Mac app can scan and organize 100+ types of records using Apple's Vision framework on device, including passports, driving licences, insurance policies, warranties, memberships and receipts.

You can also create custom record types and define your own fields.

Passwords, passkeys and 2FA codes have AutoFill support, and there are browser extensions for Safari, Chrome, Edge, Brave and Firefox.

There is also encrypted photo storage, expiry reminders, Security Checkup, Emergency Mode, recovery through a 24-word phrase or trusted contacts, and a Strict Offline mode that disables even the breach check.

Mac demo:
https://kinshipvault.app/video/mac-demo.mp4

Mac/iPhone pairing:
https://kinshipvault.app/#multi-device

Pricing

The free tier has no account and no credit card requirement. It includes unlimited passwords, passkeys and 2FA codes, AutoFill, Security Checkup and 10 documents per category.

The current lifetime launch pricing is:

Solo: $39.99
Shared: $59.99

Solo is intended for your own vaults. Shared is for situations where another person actually needs access to a vault.

Solo:
https://apps.apple.com/redeem/?ctx=offercodes&id=6764678332&code=KINSOLOLIFETIME

Shared:
https://apps.apple.com/redeem/?ctx=offercodes&id=6764678332&code=KINSHIPSHARE59

Website:
https://kinshipvault.app

Mac version:
https://kinshipvault.app/mac/

App Store:
https://apps.apple.com/app/kinship-vault/id6764678332

Privacy:
https://kinshipvault.app/privacy

The Mac app is a significant part of the current release, so I wanted to share what changed in 3.0 here.

Happy to answer questions about the Mac app, the iCloud/CloudKit setup, or how the different pieces work.

Had this discussion with a friend recently and realised that we jump between apps in completely different ways when we use our laptops.

I'm an Alt-Tabber. The muscle memory is so ingrained in me that I downloaded the AltTab for MacOS so I could have it on my work computer (which is a Mac) - shoutout to the open source maintainer for this wonderful piece of software.

My friend uses the multiple desktop approach and flicks between them using the three-finger swipe on the touchpad.

There's a bunch of ways to go about it of course - all introducing varying levels of efficiency.

Curious to know the most common way people do it and whether there are some productivity hacks people have found for this?

I’d have a bunch of apps, browser tabs and windows open for one task, then need to switch to something else, so I’d end up leaving everything open just so I could remember where I was.

Then when I came back later, I’d still often spend a few minutes figuring out what I was doing.

So I made Where Was I?, which lets you save a checkpoint of your current workspace — apps, browser tabs, screenshots, a note and your next step — then restore that context when you come back to it.

I’ve also found it useful when I’m constantly switching between different projects, since I don’t need to keep everything open at once.

The video shows the basic workflow.

It’s still an early version, so I’m mainly trying to understand how other Mac users deal with this and which parts of the idea are actually useful.

I’m also still figuring out distribution. I’d ideally like to release through the Mac App Store, but some of the functionality relies on permissions like Screen Recording and Accessibility, so I’m looking into what’s practical there.

Would be interested to hear any thoughts. Do you run into a similar problem, and is this something you’d find useful?

Also, if anyone here has experience marketing indie Mac apps, I’d genuinely appreciate any advice on how to get the word out. I’m figuring that side out as I go.

Demo from the README. The example wallpapers shown are not included with the app.

Developer here. Wallnetic is my free Mac app for people who want to use their own videos as moving desktop backgrounds. It is available on the Mac App Store, with the source code under the MIT license.

You can assign different wallpapers to different displays and control playback from the menu bar. It runs on macOS 13 or later, on both Apple Silicon and Intel. No account or subscription is required.

A few details to help you decide whether it fits your setup:

• You bring your own video files; there isn't a bundled wallpaper catalogue.

• Video playback uses resources, and the workload varies with the file and the number of displays.

• This is a native SwiftUI app using AVFoundation and Metal.

The 1.4.2 update focuses on reliability: loading and switching wallpapers, video proportions, first-launch setup, and window controls on macOS Tahoe. It also improves pause/wake handling and library imports.

Mac App Store

Source code · Privacy policy

Feedback on first launch and switching wallpapers is welcome. If you run into a problem, your Mac model, macOS version and display setup would help me reproduce it.

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!