People are always trying to find free alternatives to paid tools/apps. So I’m building a macOS /iOS app directory to centralize them all into one place. It’s FREE to submit your app (devs) or recommend one (also what's missing from other directories?). Launching Monday!
https://redd.it/1oq5fi2
@macappsbackup

Building an AI that executes real work from voice searching for our ICP

Hey folks,

We’re two founders building something we’re really excited about: an AI that lets you talk to your computer like it’s a teammate.

You speak naturally, and things just gets automated. Tasks get handled in the background while you keep moving.

We’re still early, and while it could help lots of people, we don’t want to build for everyone.

We want to build for the people who’d feel the value instantly.

So we’re asking:

Who do you think deals with the most repetitive digital work that could be offloaded?

What’s something you wish you could just say out loud and have done automatically?

Any jobs, roles, or communities where you think this kind of voice-powered flow would immediately click?

Not trying to pitch anything, just trying to find the people who live this problem every day.

Even “this wouldn’t help me at all” is super useful.

Appreciate any thoughts ✌

https://redd.it/1oq8xhr
@macappsbackup

Just released Cyclework 2.5 – bug fixes, Apple Reminders integration, improved stats & more

Hi r/macapps,

I’m excited to announce that version 2.5 of Cyclework, my simple Pomodoro-style focus timer for macOS, is now live. This update focuses on stability, deeper integration with macOS, improved analytics, and broader language support.

What’s new in 2.5:

Bug fixes & performance improvements: the app is smoother and more responsive for managing work and break intervals.
Full Apple Reminders integration: sync your tasks and focus sessions seamlessly with Apple Reminders and Calendar for a unified, native macOS workflow.
Enhanced statistics & system logic: improved analytics to monitor your progress in a fluid and intuitive way.
Expanded language support: Cyclework now supports 12 languages, including Traditional Chinese and Polish, to reach more users around the world.

Cyclework remains a one‑time purchase (no subnoscriptions) and runs entirely on‑device.

Ready to boost your productivity? Download Cyclework 2.5 now from the Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/it/app/cyclework/id6754218094?mt=12

https://redd.it/1oqh3yb
@macappsbackup

Location services on my MacBook M2 not working unless I sharing my location to one of my family member ... Is this something new ?

The problem started about two weeks ago — every app that needs location data suddenly stopped being able to find even an approximately correct location.

For example:

⏺ The Weather app said I was in Istanbul.

⏺ Apple Maps, Safari, Find My, and all the others couldn’t show my location at all.

I thought it was an issue with macOS 26.01, so I reinstalled Sequoia on my MacBook Air M2 — but nothing changed.

All my settings were correct.

Then suddenly, I tried sharing my location with my mom — and boom, all the location services started working again. Maps, Safari, Weather, and Find My could all see my location. Before when location services worked I never shared my location to anyone...

Is this something new? Do I actually need to share my location with a family member to make it work?

https://redd.it/1oqjigd
@macappsbackup

Cardinal: I created a "Everything" for macOS

Cardinal: A fast file searching tool for macOS

After moving from Windows to macOS, I really missed Everything — that insanely fast file search tool. I tried a lot of alternatives on macOS, hit many roadblocks, and after a long while, I finally built my own version: Cardinal.

I’ve been using it for a while now, and it’s been great — it solves the problem where Spotlight just can’t find certain files, and it’s fast enough to feel instant. Personally, I love it, so I’m sharing it here in case others find it useful too.


The project is open source: https://github.com/ldm0/cardinal

You can download it here: https://github.com/ldm0/cardinal/releases/

UI: https://i.imgur.com/MkxfAaw.png






https://redd.it/1oqlo8b
@macappsbackup

Good Email application/client that also has an iOS implementation

I have been struggling to find a good Email client interface that fulfills my needs. I have tried using Apple’s Mail app and want to like it but it’s just missing too many critical features i need in my Email client.

First, it has no tag system. I understand it has a folder system to move emails bits it’s not the same. I’d like to be able to tag the emails in my inbox with something like “urgent” or “travel” without needing to have to move them out of my inbox.

Second, the iOS Mail app is missing features the Mac version has. I tried using the flags as an alternative to tags even though you limited in number to what Apple gives you. This would be okay on Mac, where I can filter the emails I’m viewing by flag color and also create smart folders that have rules based on things like sender or what flag an email has. This is impossible to do in Mail for iOS, where you can can filter by flag color (only by a general flagged or not flagged), and you also cannot view the smart folders setup on Mac.

I’ve been taking a look at some other alternatives but everything seems to fall short in one way or another. I’d need a client which provides apps for Mac and iPhone (actual applications, not just accessing on the web) and offers robust features like a tagging system that would also sync between the various operating systems.

Is there any solutions out there that offer such an experience?

Thanks!

https://redd.it/1oqnbai
@macappsbackup

Alt - Local AI Lecture Notetaker, Completely Free
https://redd.it/1oqs00c
@macappsbackup

Looking for feedback: a macOS file manager to reduce file-handling friction for knowledge workers

Hi folks,

We're a small bootstrapped team building a macOS app to solve knowledge workers' file handling problems. If you create, edit, or move files daily on macOS, you're exactly who we want to hear from.

Survey (2-3 min, anonymous): [https://tally.so/r/44Xk0o](https://tally.so/r/44Xk0o)

We're tackling problems like:

* remembering names and paths to find things.
* duplicates and version mess across folders.
* rebuilding windows/tabs/filters to resume work.
* repetitive renaming/moving/tagging/converting files.
* cluttered or hard-to-maintain folder structures.

So we're running this survey to learn which of these problems we should focus on first, and to reflect that in what we build.

Sample survey items:

* Which of these are your top 3 pains when handling files?
* How many files do you create/edit/ review/move per workday?

We don't collect personal identifiers. No PII, no device IDs or IPs stored.

Thanks for helping us shape the first build. If this post isn’t appropriate here, happy to adjust or remove.

https://redd.it/1oqrzjf
@macappsbackup

People Sure Are Picky About PDF Tools

https://preview.redd.it/b0k7kfxc6uzf1.png?width=730&format=png&auto=webp&s=ea66f9dc45181cf1c57910228e267f2c379dbb55

Few categories of software arouse as much debate as apps designed to work with PDFs, primarily because there are such a variety of use cases and work flows around these documents. As anyone who has ever worked in IT support can tell you, every ignorant enterprise user that has ever lived is convinced they need Adobe Acrobat Pro - to hell with its huge footprint, huge cost and hefty learning curve. Even knowledgable Mac users who are infrequent users of PDFS, remain in the dark about all the powerful features available in the native macOS Preview app:

Annotate and mark-up Documents & Images: add highlights, underlines, shapes, text boxes, free-hand drawing, callouts, sticky notes.
Fill out PDF forms / add signatures: you can type into detected form fields and insert an e-signature with a trackpad or camera.
Rearrange, delete, insert pages in PDFs: drag pages in the sidebar, drop in images or other documents, merge PDFS.
Obscure or permanently hide sensitive content in PDFs/images: Black-out areas so they cannot be recovered.
Export/convert file formats: e.g., change image formats, export PDFs with encryption/passwords, save in different file types.
Built-in OCR/text selection on images (in some cases): lets you hover/select text in an image and copy it.
Password protect & set permissions in PDFs when exporting: you can lock a document so it can't be printed/copied/edited.

Users who have easily defendable specific needs for powerful PDF apps include those in academia, the legal profession and finance, where there are often laws concerning data retention for the massive amounts of data generated. And, of course there are lots of one off cases for different roles that can be incredibly specific.

For many users, occasional PDF needs can be easily met by free online tools that do document conversion, signatures and advanced annotation:

iLovePDF | Online PDF tools for PDF lovers
[Smallpdf.com - A Free Solution to all your PDF Problems](https://smallpdf.com/)
Best PDF Editor | Edit, Sign, Merge & Secure

For my advanced needs, which are primarily the conversion of large PDFs into ePub and other formats along with adding OCR to PDFS that don't have it. I am partial to Abby Fine Reader, which is a hefty $70 a year.

Currently, SwiftDoo PDF for Mac is on sale for $7.99, a considerable discount from the usual price of $98. At the discounted price, it's a decent bargain if your PDF needs fall in the these categories:

Text/Image/Link editing \-- Unlike many simpler PDF viewers, you can edit text, change font/size/style, insert images, and embed hyperlinks. (Vendor version 2.0.0.3 added this explicitly.)
Annotation tools \-- Highlights, underlines, strikethroughs, sticky notes, shapes, drawing freehand: useful when marking up documents rather than just reading.
Page-/document-management \-- You can rotate, insert, delete pages, reorder, etc. Good for cleaning up multi-page PDFs.
Security features \-- Password protection, permission settings (view/copy/print/edit) are included in the Mac version.

When compared to the Windows version of the app, the Mac version comes up short, primarily because it lacks OCR conversion and batch conversions. It's also not optimized for Apple Silicon, meaning it requires Rosetta which will not be supported after the current version of macOS. You can spend more money and get more features from other PDF suites like PDF Expert ($140 one-time) and Foxit PDF Editor ($130 - year)

https://redd.it/1oqubfj
@macappsbackup

Rule the Rule of Three 🤓
https://redd.it/1or033j
@macappsbackup

Is Wispr Flow worth it?

Hey guys, I was just wondering if Wispr Flow is worth paying for.


Currently with the student discount and everything, I believe comes up to $6 USD, which is about $8.25 CAD. At least that's for me and the price that it's given me on the Wispr Flow app.

Just wanted to know your thoughts on whether paying for Wispr Flow is worth it or if we should seek out a better and free alternative out there.

I mainly use it on my iOS device, and sometimes on my computer as well.

https://redd.it/1or39k3
@macappsbackup

From the OffersDen community on Reddit
https://www.reddit.com/r/OffersDen/comments/1opt2j5/whos_looking_for_sora_2_invite_codes/?share_id=fEVhHVUZDrSlhvF5ekME7&utm_content=1&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&utm_source=share&utm_term=22

https://redd.it/1or43sm
@macappsbackup

Rogue Amoeba audio apps sale thru November

Mac audio users, Rogue Amoeba is having one of their rare app sales, announced via their customer email newsletter. For November (the 11th month of the year), there is a discount of $11 off any purchase from Rogue's store, via discount code PUMPKINSPICE. Here is their store:

Rogue Amoeba | The Rogue Amoeba Store

I'm a user of several RA apps, and consider them to be great apps from a solid developer that has offered good support to users for many years. The two apps I use the most are Audio Hijack (for capturing app and external audio; I esp. like its scheduled capture feature), and Fission (for lossless editing of compressed audio files, like MP3s). Highly recommended.

Worth noting is that macOS Tahoe's v. 26 shipped with audio bugs that impacted some RA apps and apps from other audio devs. The newsletter notes that Apple fixed the main bugs in v26.1, and RA's latest updates make their apps compatible with Tahoe, as long as one upgrades to 26.1.

https://redd.it/1or6zj6
@macappsbackup

Animated/dynamic wallpaper app that has the default wallpapers

Hey y'all,

I'm looking for an animated wallpaper app for my macbook. I like the default wallpapers (specifically the tea gardens one), so what I'm looking for is an app that basically keeps the default wallpaper's animation on even when you've logged in.

I'm also interested in dynamic (as in changes depending on the time of day), high quality wallpapers app with a nature's aesthetic like the default ones. I'd appreciate some help with finding this stuff :)

Thanks!

https://redd.it/1orb3ot
@macappsbackup

Griddle - now free forever

Hi Reddit, the last time I did a giveaway and it was well received, I was excited, I launched my first Mac app. Some of you supported and paid for the full version.

I still use griddle everyday, it is easily the best tiling manager (for me at least). And I want to just give this to everyone for free.

Thanks for making this fun.

Price: $0

https://getgriddle.app/




https://redd.it/1orcqo1
@macappsbackup

Cloud Gaming (Open for Tester)

Cloud gaming is here 🚀
You can now play AAA games straight from the cloud — no high-end PC needed.

We’re opening Storm for early testers ⚡️

Available on Mac, Windows, & Linux.
Join the community and get early access 👇
🎮 Discord: https://discord.gg/PNbZZ597

https://redd.it/1orfz17
@macappsbackup