All of the New Apps = Hard Drive Chaos

BLUF - You need a plan to clean your mac hard drive. A plan, not necessarily an app. That plan is up to you, your technical competence and your time.

The new era of app "development" requires that everyone who uses more than built-in apps to have a plan for MacOS cleaning. The amount of trash being littered throughout the hard drive by vibe-coded, or new to software development, apps is only going to get worse.

Convention is no longer being followed. Many of the new apps just put files in random places across the hard drive and standard cleaners might not find them.

Some store their permanent preferences and data inside of cache locations.
Others store logs in /Users/Shared or /Documents.
Some store in multiple directories inside of \~/Library.
Most don’t come with an uninstall noscript.
Some create background tasks and install extensions with no cleanup noscript.
Add in local AI models and large data files: you’ve got a recipe for running out of disk space and it won’t be obvious why.
New self-hosted advocacy has people installing docker containers, tapping brew sources and trying all sorts of solutions without consideration to the cleanup repercussions.

The main cleaner apps won't account for these types of mistakes because they assume proper locations for storage that conform to proper developer locations.

I wrote a blog article about this for those interested: “Why Everyone Needs a Cleaning Plan for MacOS Computers”.

If you aren’t interested, pick your plan, your app, your process….but you actually need one.

https://www.trashpandamacos.com/blog

https://redd.it/1orf3q2
@macappsbackup

I built a native Safari power-tool for Mac (that you also get on iOS) to block trackers, force redirects, and fix annoying sites. It's live on Product Hunt today! (50%+ off over the weekend)
https://redd.it/1orkf3n
@macappsbackup

Sidebar the modern Dock replacement for macOS - Major 1.9.0 update
https://redd.it/1orin2p
@macappsbackup

In Search Of App Capable Of Advanced Indexing, Organization, Search and Meta Data For Image Files

A little background: I am a designer (mostly/sometimes). I've been doing this for a while and thus have utilized several computers/drives over the years. I am in the process of transferring files to a new system right now and in moving some unused stuff to my cloud storage, I started looking through some other previously-archived drives/directories and had a few moments of "oh that's where that ended up - that might have come in handy for XXX". I'm talking about image files of every sort... stock photos, sketches, mockups, web interfaces, icons, etc, etc... of various image file formats, including the editable ones like .ai and .psd. it seems that back in my younger years, I was not quite as organized as I like to think I am today so there is stuff EVERYWHERE.

What I would love would be to have a tool that can go through and index all of the various image files in all these archives (let's just say for the sake of keeping it simple, that they are all scattered about 1 gigantic external SSD accessible directly from the workstation on which this tool would be running), use AI to to figure out what kind of image it is (illustration, photograph, UI, etc) and add some other meta info like a denoscription, keywords/tags that then allows the files to be found via a search within this tool.

I've seen a few things out there that kind of come close but nothing that hits the nail right on the head for my level of clutter and lack or organization, or even good file names for that matter. Being able to include PSDs and AIs (and EPSs, PDFs and maybe even some OBJs and/or BLENDs) AND being able to auto-assign at least some keywords are pretty important.

Obviously, the free-er the better, but a tool of this magnitude would surely be worth paying for a license for me.

Any suggestions for something that comes close?

https://redd.it/1ornw1t
@macappsbackup

Need help naming my app. It's digital garden, personal space app where you can capture all things your like and care about.
https://redd.it/1orp70y
@macappsbackup

Alt Update - Multilingual Trannoscription Support for 100 Languages
https://redd.it/1oruie6
@macappsbackup

DockFlow review: Your Dock just learned to read the room
https://todayonmac.com/dockflow-review-your-dock-just-learned-to-read-the-room/

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

Inside the mind of a Dev — why do you make what you make?

As a daily visitor to this subreddit, I see many devs posting about their new apps, workflows every day here. I have also seen some devs working on improving OSS by adding features to make it much better.

On the other hand, I’ve seen a flood of similar apps - pomodoro timers, Todo manager, dock apps - often with just minor tweaks or fresh UI layers on top of already great originals. This sometimes makes the App Store feel a bit clogged and unbalanced, where genuinely good apps risk getting buried among dozens of near-copies

So I’m curious:

👉 What makes you to create something new, instead of working on available app when available?

👉 Would you rather work on your own app idea, or contribute to improving existing ones (if the project genuinely excites you)?

Would love to hear your thoughts! Hope this post sits well within the community rules :)


@Mods, I’m unsure of right flair to use, so please change it if necessary

https://redd.it/1orx2vs
@macappsbackup

Keyboard shortcut to 'love' an Apple Music Song, after 3.5 years

The app Looking Glass - Music Remote in the Mac App Store is a menu bar app that allows you to control or skip music etc.

If you're in the menu bar, you can hit "Cmd L" but if you're in something else it doesn't work. There's a submenu in the settings that allows you to record a custom keyboard shortcut, so I set mine to Ctrl Opt Cmd L and it works from anywhere.

I previously tried doing this through Apple's system settings and that never worked. I tried a few specific methods.

This is all I wanted from Apple Music ever.

I'm not dumb, but I might be, and I just wish this functionality was native already haha.

https://redd.it/1os15cs
@macappsbackup

Anyone here tried Refbox for keeping visual notes or refs on screen?

I came across of Refbox app and it looks interesting
From what i get it lets you keep images or notes floating over other apps, basically like a small workspace for refs and reminders

Anyone here has tried it for real work?
Does it feel smooth or get buggy?
Im trying to find something light that helps keep visual stuff in view without switching windows all the time

https://redd.it/1os2q1f
@macappsbackup

App similar to "Findings"

https://findingsapp.com

Discontinued a few years ago, it looks like a notes organizer geared to scientific stuff. Wondering if anyone used it and what they replaced it with, if anything.

I'm researching for a writing project and something like this seems pretty cool.

https://redd.it/1os44s8
@macappsbackup

BETA I made a posture reminder menu bar app

https://preview.redd.it/gxoqs2fil50g1.png?width=2296&format=png&auto=webp&s=f6116c11c91029399f0c496e5a4b11c63bf9be0b

https://preview.redd.it/5c012ohql50g1.png?width=1838&format=png&auto=webp&s=104a1071693dfa8c7b6382dc41d969bbc14dad4b

I always end up slouching in front of my laptop so I made a posture reminder app that shows me how I look every 20 minutes.


You can customize the interval and see some nice stats on how often you were straight v. straightened up, etc.


TestFlight: https://testflight.apple.com/join/Gtp7HEvd

https://redd.it/1os9a15
@macappsbackup

Does Betterdsipaly natively change DDC?

DOes betterdisplay natively change DDC, as in same as clicking the monitor's buttons to adjust brightness, contrast, etc? Also, if I can change brightness and volume with betterdisplay, I have DDC right? Idk what monitor model exactly, but I know it's an acer nitro VG something.

https://redd.it/1ose0zw
@macappsbackup

BuhoBarX

Another menubar management tool, it's nice and works ok-ish. The floating bar has some issues on my Mac, it should look like this...

https://preview.redd.it/25u4bneyo70g1.png?width=1108&format=png&auto=webp&s=08bf7a0781b9f04d2508645e0e6f76e5a0bce481

...but it looks like that

https://preview.redd.it/h2dlr2k6p70g1.png?width=736&format=png&auto=webp&s=c27bddb823341c007f30c328dfed29cc88e3b4c6

https://www.drbuho.com/buhobarx

https://redd.it/1osghb2
@macappsbackup

Is there any way to get always on top clock for MacOS Mojave?

I want to see the clock while other apps are full screen. Is there any way to do it on MacOS Mojave?

https://redd.it/1osg6wh
@macappsbackup

My MacBook Setup - What else should I do or change or remove?

My Mac setup



Hardware

\--------

M3 Max MacBook Pro 48GB ram 1TB SDD with macOS 26.0

CalDigit TS4 docking station

SAMSUNG T7 Portable SSD, 2TB External SSD connected to TS4

Synology DS423+ NAS





Apps

\---------

1Password - password manager and 2FA key manager

Active Backup for Google Workspace - Synology NAS app to back up my Google Workspace account files to my NAS

Aldente - helps prolong your battery's life

Alt-Tab, MissionControl+, WINS - allow you to manage and position your apps on screen

Amphetamine - prevents the mac from going into sleep mode

Arq - remote backup "just in case”

AutoMounter - to ensure that our NAS folders are mounted at startup

BackBlaze - another remote backup “just in case”

Barbee- an app that allows you to manage the ever-growing number of menubar app icons

BrewMate - handy UI for discovering, installing, deleting, and updating homebrew apps

Brightintosh - makes my macbook pro screen brighter

CarbonCopyCloner - makes scheduled backups to an external SSD or HDD

Caffeine - to provide a second layer of protection to make sure that my Mac does not go into sleep mode

Chrome - my primary browser - because that is what almost all of my clients and their customers use

CleanMyMac - all  in one system cleaner and tune up

Dato - menubar quick look at your calendar

HyperBackup - Synology NAS app to back up my Time Machine backup files from my NAS to an attached SSD

iGlasses - allows (some) control over the built in MacBook camera for Zoom

LanguageTool for desktop - grammar, spell checker, and style guide

Little Snitch - firewall

MalwareBytes - Malware protection

Parachute Backup - backs up your icloud data to a storage location somewhere else like an SSD or a NAS

PopClip - a huge timesaver, provides quick access to many functions when you select text on screen

Proton VPN (I only use it when I actually need to use a VPN though)

QSpacePro - an improvement over Finder, multiple finder panes

Raycast - a replacement for spotlight search that allows an amazing array of tools and ai assistance

RealVNC - for remote access from my other devices

Shottr - Much better for screenshots, especially annotating them 

Stealthly - automatically sets Do Not Disturb whenever your camera is in us, such as with zoom and facetime, to prevent messages from popping up in the top right corner of your screen

Sublime Text Editor

Supercharge - control over various parts of macos to make things work better

TimeMachine - built in mac app to backup your mac 









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

The best app for custom icons?

Wanna change default icons for my apps, the best app to handle it?

https://redd.it/1osmi7i
@macappsbackup

Calibre Gets Better With Every Update

https://preview.redd.it/t8tvkq9vw80g1.png?width=3702&format=png&auto=webp&s=7747ba578a69512e5a759cbc842d0a8d418e2820

The free and open-source e-book manager, Calibre, by developer Kovid Goyal, has been around for quite a few years now. It is multi-platform, with versions for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It is somewhat homely, although it includes functions to customize its appearance. It definitely does not follow typical macOS interface standards, so if that's something you require, you might have to compromise if you want access to Calibre's features. However, for anyone with a moderate to large-sized collection of e-books, it is a must-have toolbox, and after using it for a decade, I am still finding new things it is capable of doing.

When you use Calibre to organize your collection of e-books, it can quickly show you all the books by the same author or in a book series or even books based around a specific set of topics if you take the time to tag your books when adding them to the app. It supports a huge number of formats (EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, PDF, TXT, CBZ/CBR comics, etc.) and has a built-in format converter if you want to standardize into something like ePub. The built-in viewer is perfectly fine for reading books on your computer. The Calibre database allows you to create your own fields with a list of data types that you can use. You can choose to display them or not, and organize your books accordingly. It's easy to dump your entire collection into a single logical organization but view different subsets as virtual libraries. You can group books by very specific criteria, such as books about baseball published in the 1990s with a four-star or above rating that you have already read and own a physical copy of.

Calibre has a robust collection of free plug-ins that are integrated with other services such as Goodreads, The Open Library, and Hardcover. You can tap into the review and book jacket databases of many different websites. If you are looking for a book that you do not own, you can search for it from within the Calibre interface using both free and paid websites. Calibre can perform many actions on individual books, such as page counts and determining reading levels. You can choose to have it index the contents of your entire collection of e-books, which will enable you to quickly perform full-text searches, a feature that can be invaluable when doing research. You can use Calibre to edit e-books and to join and split e-books, which is useful when you have an omnibus edition of a collection and you want to make individual files.

If you use an electronic reader of almost any type or vintage, you can use Calibre to add and remove content, especially file types that the native software doesn't handle well. If you want to read news articles and magazine articles on an e-reader, Calibre has built-in functionality to download and format them for you.

I keep my Calibre library in a couple of places: my always-on Mac and mirrored to my self-hosted server. I have local and remote access to it, allowing me to share books with other people via links and email and to read anything in my collection from a browser, no matter where I am.

# Strengths

Versatility
Conversion
Metadata and library management
Device and content server support
Open source and extensibility
Frequent updates and new features

# What Mac Users Don't Like

Non-standard interface
Poor handling of complex conversions (although to be fair, even expensive paid apps like Abby Fine Reader can struggle with these)
Complexity and learning curve
Limited support for older macOS versions - There are versions of Calibre that will work all the way back to OS X versions, but don't expect them to match the latest version feature for feature.

# What's New

If you used Calibre in the past but haven't checked it out recently, here are a few of the latest feature additions:

Native Kepub support for Kobo readers
"Connect to folder" capability to treat remote folders as if

Calibre Gets Better With Every Update

https://preview.redd.it/t8tvkq9vw80g1.png?width=3702&format=png&auto=webp&s=7747ba578a69512e5a759cbc842d0a8d418e2820

The free and open-source e-book manager, [Calibre, by developer Kovid Goyal](https://calibre-ebook.com/), has been around for quite a few years now. It is multi-platform, with versions for Windows, Linux, and macOS. It is somewhat homely, although it includes functions to customize its appearance. It definitely does not follow typical macOS interface standards, so if that's something you require, you might have to compromise if you want access to Calibre's features. However, for anyone with a moderate to large-sized collection of e-books, it is a must-have toolbox, and after using it for a decade, I am still finding new things it is capable of doing.

When you use Calibre to organize your collection of e-books, it can quickly show you all the books by the same author or in a book series or even books based around a specific set of topics if you take the time to tag your books when adding them to the app. It supports a huge number of formats (EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, PDF, TXT, CBZ/CBR comics, etc.) and has a built-in format converter if you want to standardize into something like ePub. The built-in viewer is perfectly fine for reading books on your computer. The Calibre database allows you to create your own fields with a list of data types that you can use. You can choose to display them or not, and organize your books accordingly. It's easy to dump your entire collection into a single logical organization but view different subsets as virtual libraries. You can group books by very specific criteria, such as books about baseball published in the 1990s with a four-star or above rating that you have already read and own a physical copy of.

Calibre has a robust collection of free plug-ins that are integrated with other services such as Goodreads, The Open Library, and Hardcover. You can tap into the review and book jacket databases of many different websites. If you are looking for a book that you do not own, you can search for it from within the Calibre interface using both free and paid websites. Calibre can perform many actions on individual books, such as page counts and determining reading levels. You can choose to have it index the contents of your entire collection of e-books, which will enable you to quickly perform full-text searches, a feature that can be invaluable when doing research. You can use Calibre to edit e-books and to join and split e-books, which is useful when you have an omnibus edition of a collection and you want to make individual files.

If you use an electronic reader of almost any type or vintage, you can use Calibre to add and remove content, especially file types that the native software doesn't handle well. If you want to read news articles and magazine articles on an e-reader, Calibre has built-in functionality to download and format them for you.

I keep my Calibre library in a couple of places: my always-on Mac and mirrored to my self-hosted server. I have local and remote access to it, allowing me to share books with other people via links and email and to read anything in my collection from a browser, no matter where I am.

# Strengths

* Versatility
* Conversion
* Metadata and library management
* Device and content server support
* Open source and extensibility
* Frequent updates and new features

# What Mac Users Don't Like

* Non-standard interface
* Poor handling of complex conversions (although to be fair, even expensive paid apps like Abby Fine Reader can struggle with these)
* Complexity and learning curve
* Limited support for older macOS versions - There are versions of Calibre that will work all the way back to OS X versions, but don't expect them to match the latest version feature for feature.

# What's New

If you used Calibre in the past but haven't checked it out recently, here are a few of the latest feature additions:

* Native Kepub support for Kobo readers
* "Connect to folder" capability to treat remote folders as if

they were USB storage devices
* Interface changes in the Mac version to meet some Mac design specs
* Improved opening speeds for large ePubs
* Light/Dark mode for the display grid using book covers
* Metadata merging (including comments) for books
* Bulk operations improvement, including the ability to cancel remaining actions in a large queue without losing the actions already performed on the queue.

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

EXIF Editor Tool 2.0 is here
https://redd.it/1osaw01
@macappsbackup