FileUtils updated to 1.6.1 with completely rewritten batch rename files
https://redd.it/1smj1hy
@macappsbackup

Best Mac IDE that is lighter than VS Code but still fully functional?

I’ve been using VS Code on my Mac, but I noticed it’s showing very high 12 hr power / energy usage, and my Mac gets noticeably warm while using it.

I attached a screenshot showing the energy impact.
My main issue is that I want something that feels lighter on battery and thermals, but I do not want to lose important features.

What I’m looking for in an editor/app:

lightweight and better for battery life
good performance on Mac
fully functional for real development work
support for extensions/plugins or built-in features close to VS Code
good for web/dev/general coding workflow

I’m not necessarily looking for the absolute most minimal editor unless it can still handle serious work well.

For those of you who moved away from VS Code on Mac:

what did you switch to?
was it actually better for heat/battery usage?
what do you miss compared to VS Code?

Would love recommendations for the best balance of lightweight + powerful.

https://preview.redd.it/bjbdxn416hvg1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=96922e10df0ee38a9930aa88c8f1fb60a5df51d9



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

Stolen from r/ClaudeAI
https://redd.it/1smwh75
@macappsbackup

AI knowledge base, what are you using?

Hey! I am looking for and app where I can dump everything I come across, (blog posts, social posts, links, PDF, videos etc.) and the app should automatically indexes and process the content.
Then I would like to be able to use it as:
\- A knowledge base I can navigate (e.g something like Obsidian, notion, wikipedia etc)
\- To be able to chat/query this content using AI.

What should I look into?

It's a plus if it has a behaviour similar to Pocket, where I can add content to in one click both from mobile and desktop.

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

VaultBar – A simpler way to encrypt files locally on macOS

https://preview.redd.it/yrd0h402vivg1.png?width=1600&format=png&auto=webp&s=e7e037270d1f7faf772beee6e51ddc4805ea75a6

Hey, I built a small macOS menubar app called VaultBar. It’s for encrypting and decrypting files or folders locally from the menu bar, Finder, or drag and drop.

I wanted something that feels native and quick, instead of a separate “security tool” you only open when you have to.

I’d be interested in honest feedback, especially on whether the website explains the idea clearly and whether the workflow makes sense.

Pricing is currently at $6.99. I have 10 promo codes if anyone wants to test it. Will post them below.

Website: https://benwie.ch/vault-index.html
AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/app/vaultbar/id6752836944

https://redd.it/1smym6o
@macappsbackup

Any users of apps such as Opal (Screen time control apps/ focus apps) willing to try out my app?

I am a one person developer. Opal is too expensive to use monthly and honestly the UI feels a little too busy for me so I built something for myself that I want to see if others find useful too.

I am only planning to target iOS for now. I have the app ready and already in apple App Store. Here is the link to App Store if you are interested to try: BetterYou

Is there anyone in this community willing to try it and give me feedback? I want to try to close gap with Opal to basically give a free alternative. I don’t plan to add any sort of fee. It is a passion project.

Last year I built another project as an alternative to pocket and it is still fully free, no ads whatsoever.

https://redd.it/1sn09pp
@macappsbackup

Tired of ‘Desktop 1’? Get custom names for Spaces. Made with 0 AI code.

https://redd.it/1sn8pqt
@macappsbackup

ScreenKite 1.0 released: Screen Recording & Video Editing Made Easy & Fast. Building a 10x Better Screen Studio and Loom (link sharing, flexible camera layout, HDR, Metal quick export)

https://redd.it/1sna216
@macappsbackup

Floxtop 1.9 – offline file organizer for macOS

https://redd.it/1sn8zev
@macappsbackup

Four months in on my local TTS Mac app what I got wrong about what people actually wanted

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

LicenseManagerPro – Keep all your software licenses organized in one place
https://redd.it/1snhonp
@macappsbackup

Looking for Power User Feedback on Five Apps

The Beginning



I'm looking for feedback on a few apps, some of which have been mentioned here many times, others not so much.

I'm looking for the answers to the following questions:

1. Did this app solve a problem you had? If so, what was the issue and the solution.
2. Who do you think is the target audience for the app
3. What's your favorite feature or biggest aggravation with the app?

BookShelves eBook Reader - BookShelves is a modern ebook reader and library manager for macOS and iOS. It supports EPUB, PDF, MOBI, PRC, and Kindle formats with iCloud sync, a customizable reading experience, and thousands of free classic books built in.

Sidebar - Sidebar is a MacOS application that replaces the standard MacOS Dock. It feels more like the taskbar of other operating systems (e.g. Windows, Linux).

VaultSort - Organize, Secure, and Optimize Your Mac Files - File automation, cleanup, and security

Procman - Procman is a native process explorer for Mac that combines the hierarchy of pstree with the clarity of Activity Monitor. Instead of a flat list of processes, it shows a live parent-child tree so you can actually understand what spawned what, what's consuming resources, and how everything fits together.

Liqoria - Mac Music Player • Apple Music • Spotify • YouTube and more - An Apple Music alternative, improving your Spotify for Mac workflow, or comparing tools like Cider for Mac,

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

USB Status – Live USB and Thunderbolt statistic from the menu bar
https://redd.it/1snuunl
@macappsbackup

flickery – the full-featured flickr client for Mac – is now free
https://blog.eternalstorms.at/2026/04/17/flickery-v1-9-51-fixes-download-issues-is-now-free-and-on-life-support/

https://redd.it/1sny2eg
@macappsbackup

Prototyping a new pane UI for my terminal app - WDYT?

https://redd.it/1snt36g
@macappsbackup

Launchie 1.4.1 released - Launchpad alternative for MacOS

**MacOS removed the Launchpad:** Launchie brings it back - even better

**Launchie is almost there since**  Apple removed the Launchpad from MacOS. 48 hours later Launchie was born - and improved a lot on the way. There are many competitors like LaunchNext or LaunchOS - and they're doing also a good job!

What's awesome about Launchie:

* *Core features of the OG Launchpad*
* *Many customization options*
* *Open via Keyboard-Shortcut, Hot corner, app icon, menubar*
* *Use folders and spaces to arrange your apps how you like it*
* *Drag and Drop to rearrange icons*

*Who previously sent me a mail or a DM knows this - I reply to feedback, I implement features if I think they are useful. I am extremly grateful for all the feedback I got 🙏🏻*

https://preview.redd.it/xnqewo53fsvg1.png?width=2560&format=png&auto=webp&s=ed3778b2fccb3b02d2d988c497ac04b9a5de2e9b

Pricing: 
There were a lot of critique on my recent pricing, so I decreased it.

Also new is the option for a yearly or monthly subscription if you just want to test it.

US Prices:

\- 14.99$ Lifetime

\- 7.99$ Yearly

\- 1.99$ Monthly

AppStore: [Launchie on Mac AppStore](https://apps.apple.com/app/launchie-app-launcher/id6752657468?mt=12)

Changelog (full changelog on iTunes):

## 1.4.1


- Added a setting to hide the menu bar icon for users who prefer opening Launchie from the Dock.
- Launchie now keeps running normally in the background when the menu bar icon is turned off, so hotkeys, hot corners, and Dock launching still work.


- Added new Pro options: you can now choose between Monthly Pro, Yearly Pro, or Lifetime Pro directly in Launchie.
- Existing lifetime customers are still supported. Earlier one-time Pro purchases continue to unlock Launchie Pro permanently.
- Added a new Quick Access placement setting. You can now keep Quick Access pinned above the grid or place it inside the main scroll area.
- Improved Spaces in light mode. Selected space icons and chip outlines are now easier to distinguish against bright backgrounds.


## 1.3.11


- App installs and removals now show up much faster in Launchie. New and deleted apps are detected almost instantly in most cases, while the regular background refresh remains in place as a lightweight fallback.
- Fixed an issue where some iPhone, iPad, and web apps could disappear from Launchie after adding broad custom app directories.


## 1.3.10


- Fixed an issue where non-app files could appear in the "All Apps" view when a custom directory pointed to a broad location. Launchie now validates each discovered .app bundle by checking for a valid Info.plist and filtering out background-only daemons, preventing system internals, framework helpers, and non-macOS files from cluttering the app grid.
- Improved horizontal swiping for Spaces and the root view, especially on the trackpad. Space switching now feels more natural and immersive, with better control to prevent accidental jumps across multiple spaces.
- Made switching between the root view and Spaces feel faster and more natural by tightening the transition animation and reducing the heavy bounce.


## 1.3.9


- Added "Send to Position" support for folders — right-click any folder to move it to an exact grid position, just like apps.
- Fixed "Send to Position" not working when viewing a Space — it now correctly reorders items within the active Space instead of silently modifying root-level positions.
- Fixed an issue where Pro purchases were not recognized, causing legitimate buyers to lose access to Pro features.
- Restore Purchases now syncs with App Store servers, fixing cases where previous purchases were not detected.
- Purchase alerts now show accurate titles and messages instead of a generic error for all non-success outcomes (e.g. "Purchase Pending" for parental approval, or no alert at all when the user simply cancels).
- Pro status loads instantly on

launch instead of briefly showing the free tier while verifying.
- Removed the App Store vs Direct Download version distinction — the app now always checks StoreKit entitlements directly.

AI Disclaimer: Of course I did use AI to work on this project. Code completion and Codex CLI.

https://redd.it/1so885u
@macappsbackup

I built a lightweight, native Finder extension with RedQuitter, Secure Erase, and Advanced Context Menus

Like many of you, I love macOS, but I’ve always been a bit baffled by some of Apple’s unique design choices. Why can’t we just cut and paste a file natively with Cmd+X? Why do apps stay open eating RAM when you click the red 'X'? And why is the context menu so limited?

I got tired of installing 5 different heavy menu-bar apps just to get these basic functionalities. So, I spent the last few months scratching my own itch and built a tool called FinderTools.

It’s a 100% native Swift extension (zero Electron garbage, negligible RAM footprint) that deeply integrates into the OS and adds these missing power-user features.

Here is what it actually does:

* ✂️ **True Cut & Paste:** Finally, hit Cmd+X to actually cut a file in Finder, and Cmd+V to paste it. Exactly the way it should be.
* 🛑 **Advanced RedQuitter:** When you close the last window of an app using the red 'X', it completely terminates the app instead of leaving it hiding in the background.
* 🔥 **Zero-Fill Secure Erase:** Erase sensitive data physically with zero-byte overwriting directly from the context menu so it can't be forensically recovered.
* 📦 **Native Archiver:** Compress, password-protect, or extract ZIP and TAR.GZ instantly from the right-click menu.
* ⌨️ **Advanced Shortcuts & Menu:** Create an empty text file anywhere with a hotkey, instantly open Terminal in the current directory, or use the "Clipboard Navigator" to jump to Windows-formatted paths.

I just released the website ( [https://findertools-a79c5.web.app](https://findertools-a79c5.web.app/) ) and I’m looking for some brutal early feedback from this community!

🎁 **Early Access for you:** Since I’ve discovered some of my favorite apps on this sub, I want to give back. The first 100 people from this subreddit that want to try it can use the code **First100** at checkout to get it at half the normal cost forever **(Lifetime license, valid for up to 3 personal Macs)**.

I’d love to hear your feedback, feature requests, or let me know if you hit any bugs. I'll be hanging around in the comments!

Thanks for your attention, Paolo

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

Lantern: real Google search & view websites from anywhere on your Mac with Option+Space.
https://redd.it/1soie48
@macappsbackup

Using an App to Monitor File System Changes for Uninstalling Applications

I was wondering if anyone has experience using an app to monitor file system changes for the purpose of uninstalling applications, I found a tool called FSMonitor, which seems to do that. I'm not entirely sure how it works, but I assume it tracks which application created each file, allowing you to locate all files created by that app and completely uninstall it.

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

Looking for the app that shows “active windows” from an app

Hi, a while ago, I saw an app in this group, the OP told that you can see all the active windows from apps and can switch intuitively from one to another.

It’s not about cmd+tab. So I remember it had this search alike window, and you could see exactly like a list in a board. Can someone help me to find the app? Used ask feature but it didn’t return anything. Thank you ☺️.

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