OpenVox 1.6.4 is out: local AI TTS, better audiobooks, M4B export, Conversations, and Local API

https://redd.it/1tnxg9u
@macappsbackup

I got tired of playing "Hard Drive Roulette" with my video projects, so I built a project-based backup app for Mac

https://redd.it/1to07zo
@macappsbackup

LaunchOS 2.0 - Rebuilt with AppKit to Bring Back the Classic Launchpad Experience

https://redd.it/1to4go4
@macappsbackup

Jott — Notes in your Mac's notch
https://redd.it/1to6gv8
@macappsbackup

TabSwipe — swipe through browser tabs on Mac like ChromeOS

https://redd.it/1to74k8
@macappsbackup

MegaCleaner 1.3 - native Mac cleaner with 39 per-tool scanners (Xcode, Docker, node_modules, simulator runtimes, browser caches, project logs, etc.), now with menu-bar mode, per-category scans and Reclaim Purgeable Space
https://redd.it/1to7q5z
@macappsbackup

I made LockLines, a Mac app for designing lock screen messages that actually fit

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

What's the best "off-label" use of an app (i.e. using it for an alternative purpose)?

Some of my favourites:
QuickTime Player - You can create time lapse movies from a folder full of photos
VLC - Use as a screen recorder
Telegram Desktop - Cloud file storage** (** a few risks here to understand)

https://redd.it/1to63o1
@macappsbackup

Layr - Touch based Clipboard
https://redd.it/1tod9d9
@macappsbackup

Synapse - 2.9MB Mac app that replaces screenshots, OCR, clipboard, Keep Awake & more (2.0.1 now live)

https://redd.it/1to5m4x
@macappsbackup

Testing recording buttons in Mac apps. Why they are not as simple as they look.

Hey all,

I'm building a transcription app for Mac, and one of the main elements of the app is the **recording button**: it starts or stops recording when you press it. It looks very simple, but it's one of those cases where something is very simple on the outside, but quite complex on the inside.

As a side effect of engineering the perfect button, I researched how recording buttons behave in other apps. I compiled this post from my findings in case anyone is interested in such things at the intersection of engineering and UX. I never imagined writing a review of Mac apps' recording buttons, but I find it interesting and here we are 😄

# Why is it not that simple?

In my app, when you press the recording button, the following happens under the hood:

* App checks microphone and system audio permissions.
* Shows a disclaimer reminding you to get consent from participants.
* Checks if another recording is in progress and asks if you want to interrupt it.
* Checks if the AI model and speech assets for the chosen language are available.
* Tries to reserve the chosen language locale.
* Checks if any meeting recording is playing now, and stops it.
* Starts microphone recording.
* Waits a bit to prevent races in CoreAudio and starts System Audio recording.
* Starts the mixer, which mixes system audio with microphone input to produce a single audio stream for transcription.
* Resolves the transcriber audio format.
* Creates and starts the transcriber.

The thing that adds complexity is that all these steps are asynchronous, and the world changes when we begin the next one. Also, each one can fail, resulting in some unexpected state.

# Problem

Imagine the case when the user starts a recording and wants to stop it immediately. In this case, the user presses start recording and presses stop after a couple hundred milliseconds:

https://preview.redd.it/zgnedd3nmi3h1.png?width=1428&format=png&auto=webp&s=6c101df3e3b0dcd59a8ef2a1a7cb7f7a2968488f

In this scenario, we end up in an inconsistent state: recording is ongoing, but the app shows that it's stopped. Oops.

# Obvious solution

The app would just prevent the user from interacting with it during start/stop. This guarantees that nothing will interrupt the flow during startup. However, it gives us the following problems:

1. The user is blocked for up to 1 second waiting for feedback. They are not sure what happened, whether recording has started or not. They wait for feedback to continue their work. This breaks the flow and produces a tiny bit of friction.
2. If the user changes their mind, they have to wait until the button is enabled again. Slight frustration again.

While these details might not even be noticed by people, they create repetitive friction every day. And that's not what I expect from a helping tool.

# Perfect button

I'd call the button perfect if it's:

* Functional
* Responsive

It means that the button should immediately and optimistically indicate a state change, and never be disabled.

Let's see how some of the apps handle this.

**Disclaimer**: I totally understand why some apps disable the button and I don't blame anyone for that, especially indie developers. Each solution has its pros and cons, and these apps have many strengths. I am sharing my opinion here.

# QuickTime

[QuickTime on macOS 26.5](https://i.redd.it/viyufutpmi3h1.gif)

https://preview.redd.it/0slad81bni3h1.png?width=1428&format=png&auto=webp&s=339a798da40f1976960ccab3175ac3e62f3ba701

Recording starts instantly. When I press stop, it takes some time, disabling the button for a while.

# MacWhisper

[MacWhisper 13.21.1](https://i.redd.it/kpz67wesmi3h1.gif)

https://preview.redd.it/mvee9noeni3h1.png?width=1428&format=png&auto=webp&s=f8125ea89ad71e7dc650ab07e4bf9dfe4f7a1f01

There's a slight delay between the press of the start button and the appearance of the stop button. I can't stop recording immediately. Also, the button changes its position after I start recording, which requires additional cognitive

effort from me to find it.

# Superwhisper

[Superwhisper 2.14.0](https://i.redd.it/6dvivw9umi3h1.gif)

https://preview.redd.it/ct69hq0gni3h1.png?width=1430&format=png&auto=webp&s=1cccadab4aad7ca193b81cebaddc269d6c46bab7

This is the interesting one. It has a third state: transcribing. When I press start, it indicates that instantly. If I press stop immediately and nothing is recorded, it just stops instantly. And only if I press stop after it's running for some time, I have to wait for the transcription. I can clearly see that the developer thought about the implementation and put effort into it.

# Otter

[Otter 1.4.2](https://i.redd.it/hhseecvwmi3h1.gif)

https://preview.redd.it/lwp76v2hni3h1.png?width=1428&format=png&auto=webp&s=e12e3b688191081c1a07e9a86660c893124c57ea

As you can see, the button becomes disabled while it starts recording. And I need to wait before I can stop. It's difficult for me to understand what it does for so long.

# Talat

[Talat 0.11.5](https://i.redd.it/4m93b45ymi3h1.gif)

https://preview.redd.it/m3atxl1ini3h1.png?width=1430&format=png&auto=webp&s=108b79de24a8bedfb5343e0191078fca84d266aa

The button is disabled while recording is starting. The good thing is that the recording start is quite fast here, so it's mostly unnoticeable.

# iPhone Voice Memos

[Voice Memos on iOS 26.5](https://i.redd.it/0zy50ba0ni3h1.gif)

https://preview.redd.it/h7ur7s4jni3h1.png?width=1428&format=png&auto=webp&s=0fdf7517cea69bce025f9fc62997dd6c788f87ad

When I press start, it starts. When I press stop, it stops. Nothing more.

# Fireflies

[Fireflies 0.1.30](https://i.redd.it/a4zves03ni3h1.gif)

https://preview.redd.it/btjpsm8kni3h1.png?width=1428&format=png&auto=webp&s=599dd767ab3386007228d02313613a869a574f08

The button is locked during start, and it takes quite a time. The same thing for stopping. And I can't stop immediately if I changed my mind.

# Alter

[Alter 2.0.0-beta89](https://i.redd.it/uhqpmbp5ni3h1.gif)

https://preview.redd.it/fmwbefhlni3h1.png?width=1430&format=png&auto=webp&s=a38a8248ab7c421795b516584d46eb9b33d9e73e

When I press start, it takes some time to react. Alter doesn't show any progress during that time. If I try to stop recording immediately, the button still shows "Start Meeting Recording", and when I press it, it stops.

# Verdict

As you can see, most of the apps choose to disable the button during startup. As a developer, I understand why they do so. Also, I can easily imagine bringing that up at work and getting plenty of "Who cares?" replies. I understand that. However, would the original Mac exist without deep attention to details?

P.S. I skipped the engineering part since the post is already too long, and I'm not even sure if you're interested in it. Please let me know if you are, and I'd be happy to write about it.

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

PureMac Comparison to Mole, Onyx, CleanMyMac

I recently tested PureMac to see how it stacked up against Mole, Onyx, and CleanMyMac after reading a post on r/macapps. I have used Mole, Onyx, and CleanMyMac for 6+ years and am trying to decide whether, or not, to cancel my $35 CleanMyMac annual subscription when it expires in August.

PurePath (https://github.com/momenbasel/PureMac) is an App Uninstaller, Orphan Finder, and System Cleaner utility. Mole, Onyx (Titanium Software), and CleanMyMac (MacPaw Way Ltd.) include these features along with additional capabilities like system optimization and monitoring.

From the aforementioned website (Bold are my comments):

# Competitive Positioning >>

Apple sells base-model Macs with 256 GB SSDs that you can't upgrade. The Mac mini, the Air, every entry-level MacBook Pro - the drive is soldered down. The next storage tier costs more than a midrange Windows laptop. Once you've paid it, every gigabyte you've already bought matters.

Most Mac cleaners are subscription apps that hide their disk usage behind a paywall, ship telemetry by default, and trade on FUD ("47 GB of junk detected!"). PureMac is the opposite:

One-time install. No subscription, no trial, no account. (Mole and Onyx offer frequent updates without requiring any accounts, subscriptions, or trials. CleanMyMac is sold on a subscription basis and requires an account.)

No telemetry. It never phones home. It doesn't even know you exist. (Mole and Onyx have equal privacy protections. CleanMyMac does not have these protections. Note: All of the products require Full File System access privileges to perform their tasks. )

Open source under MIT. Read the code, fork it, audit it. (Mole is licensed using the MIT Open-Source license, Onyx is donationware licensed using a proprietary license that doesn't allow for forking and derivatives. CleanMyMac is sold under a proprietary license through, in the USA, the App Store.)

Honest scans. "Junk" means actually-junk: cache directories the OS itself would purge, orphaned files left by apps you've already deleted, broken installer receipts, that 4 GB Xcode DerivedData blob from 2023. (Mole, Onyx, and CleanMyMac offer scan customization and a more comprehensive, out-of-the-box scan set.)

Real uninstalls. Drag an app, see every preference plist, cache folder, container, launch agent and log file it dropped across your library, remove all of it at once. (Drop and Drag is not implemented in by Mole, Onyx, or CleanMyMac. All three do offer other means to preview all of an apps artifacts including some not mentioned by PureMac. Optimization results previews are also featured in Mole, Onyx and CleanMyMac.)

(User, Dev and Support Ecosystem >> PureMac has a growing open-source ecosystem that may catch up to Mole's open-source ecosystem in the future. Onyx and CleanMyMac have typical proprietary software support offerings with CleanMyMac, as the much larger business, is richer and more efficient.)

# Product Description >>

App Uninstaller

Discovers everything in /Applications and \~/Applications, then uses a 10-level matching engine (bundle ID, team identifier, entitlements, Spotlight metadata, container discovery, company-name heuristics, partial path matches) to find every file the app dropped on your disk. Three sensitivity tiers - Strict, Enhanced, Deep - let you choose how aggressive that match is. Apple system apps are excluded from the uninstall list automatically.

Orphan Finder

Walks \~/Library and surfaces files left behind by apps that no longer exist on disk. The matcher compares against bundle identifiers and normalized names of every installed app, so a leftover \~/Library/Containers/com.foo.bar from an app you deleted in 2022 shows up clearly.

System Cleaner

Smart Scan runs every category in parallel. Each category is its own deliberate scanner:
System Junk - system caches, logs, temp files
User Cache - dynamically discovered, no hardcoded app list
AI Apps - Ollama and LM Studio

PureMac Comparison to Mole, Onyx, CleanMyMac

I recently tested PureMac to see how it stacked up against Mole, Onyx, and CleanMyMac after reading a post on r/macapps. I have used Mole, Onyx, and CleanMyMac for 6+ years and am trying to decide whether, or not, to cancel my $35 CleanMyMac annual subscription when it expires in August.

PurePath ([https://github.com/momenbasel/PureMac](https://github.com/momenbasel/PureMac)) is an App Uninstaller, Orphan Finder, and System Cleaner utility. Mole, Onyx (Titanium Software), and CleanMyMac (MacPaw Way Ltd.) include these features along with **additional** capabilities like system optimization and monitoring.

From the aforementioned website **(Bold are my comments)**:

# Competitive Positioning >>

Apple sells base-model Macs with 256 GB SSDs that you can't upgrade. The Mac mini, the Air, every entry-level MacBook Pro - the drive is soldered down. The next storage tier costs more than a midrange Windows laptop. Once you've paid it, every gigabyte you've already bought matters.

Most Mac cleaners are subscription apps that hide their disk usage behind a paywall, ship telemetry by default, and trade on FUD ("47 GB of junk detected!"). PureMac is the opposite:

One-time install. No subscription, no trial, no account. **(Mole and Onyx offer frequent updates without requiring any accounts, subscriptions, or trials. CleanMyMac is sold on a subscription basis and requires an account.)**

No telemetry. It never phones home. It doesn't even know you exist. **(Mole and Onyx have equal privacy protections. CleanMyMac does not have these protections. Note: All of the products require Full File System access privileges to perform their tasks. )**

Open source under MIT. Read the code, fork it, audit it. **(Mole is licensed using the MIT Open-Source license, Onyx is donationware licensed using a proprietary license that doesn't allow for forking and derivatives. CleanMyMac is sold under a proprietary license through, in the USA, the App Store.)**

Honest scans. "Junk" means actually-junk: cache directories the OS itself would purge, orphaned files left by apps you've already deleted, broken installer receipts, that 4 GB Xcode DerivedData blob from 2023. **(Mole, Onyx, and CleanMyMac offer scan customization and a more comprehensive, out-of-the-box scan set.)**

Real uninstalls. Drag an app, see every preference plist, cache folder, container, launch agent and log file it dropped across your library, remove all of it at once. **(Drop and Drag is not implemented in by Mole, Onyx, or CleanMyMac. All three do offer other means to preview all of an apps artifacts including some not mentioned by PureMac. Optimization results previews are also featured in Mole, Onyx and CleanMyMac.)**

**(User, Dev and Support Ecosystem >> PureMac has a growing open-source ecosystem that may catch up to Mole's open-source ecosystem in the future. Onyx and CleanMyMac have typical proprietary software support offerings with CleanMyMac, as the much larger business, is richer and more efficient.)**

# Product Description >>

**App Uninstaller**

Discovers everything in /Applications and \~/Applications, then uses a 10-level matching engine (bundle ID, team identifier, entitlements, Spotlight metadata, container discovery, company-name heuristics, partial path matches) to find every file the app dropped on your disk. Three sensitivity tiers - Strict, Enhanced, Deep - let you choose how aggressive that match is. Apple system apps are excluded from the uninstall list automatically.

**Orphan Finder**

Walks \~/Library and surfaces files left behind by apps that no longer exist on disk. The matcher compares against bundle identifiers and normalized names of every installed app, so a leftover \~/Library/Containers/com.foo.bar from an app you deleted in 2022 shows up clearly.

**System Cleaner**

* Smart Scan runs every category in parallel. Each category is its own deliberate scanner:
* System Junk - system caches, logs, temp files
* User Cache - dynamically discovered, no hardcoded app list
* AI Apps - Ollama and LM Studio

logs, caches, opt-in history cleanup
* Mail Files - downloaded mail attachments
* Trash Bins - empties all bins, including external volumes
* Large & Old Files - >100 MB or older than 1 year (never auto-selected)
* Purgeable Space - reclaims APFS purgeable space via diskutil
* Xcode Junk - DerivedData, Archives, simulator caches
* Brew Cache - respects custom HOMEBREW\_CACHE
* Node Cache - npm, yarn classic, pnpm content-addressable store
* Docker Cache - images, containers, build cache

**Scheduled Cleaning**

Optional. Configurable interval (hourly to monthly), with auto-clean threshold so background runs only fire when there's something meaningful to remove.

# Overall >>

I found PureMac to be very fast and accurate using the "Enhanced" App Scanning setting, comparable to the three other apps.

PureMac's safety (the probability of accidentally deleting a system-critical file), security and privacy are equal to Mole and Onyx. PureMac beats CleanMyMac on security and privacy.

Mole, Onyx, and CleanMyMac offer a total Mac maintenance solution. PureMac is a point solution that includes a subset of the other's features.

Mole implements a clean, easy-to-use CLI. Perfect for those of us ("Hey Boomer" 😉) that grew up using the keyboard and a terminal to run our systems. PureMac, Onyx, and CleanMyMac implement GUI's with CleanMyMac's the most esthetically pleasing and easy-to-use.

PureMac's Ecosystem seems to be vibrant and involved with the project. Mole's Ecosystem is more mature and robust compared to PureMac's Ecosystem. CleanMyMac's Support offering is typical for a well-healed proprietary license software company, robust and multi-channel. Onyx's support is primarily website only text.

As always, value is most important metric to consider. IMHO, CleanMyMac, while the most comprehensive, mature, and elegant solution of the four is not worth the $35 annual subscription fee when compared to the open-sourced, security and privacy-oriented Mole.

PureMac and Onyx are good fits for those seeking free, alternative solutions.

Thanks to r/macapps posters for the inspiration.

**Sources:**

* [https://github.com/momenbasel/PureMac](https://github.com/momenbasel/PureMac)
* [https://github.com/tw93/Mole](https://github.com/tw93/Mole)
* [https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/index.html](https://www.titanium-software.fr/en/index.html)

https://redd.it/1tokpo2
@macappsbackup

Popclip question

Maybe I didn't look hard enough but is there a popclip extension that strips text to make it plain text?

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

OS Why I Replaced Jettison with Ejectify After 15 Years

https://preview.redd.it/8s42j4lbsk3h1.jpg?width=248&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bd90e20575157316d86b34b630b8bf19753cb16a

In trying to be open-minded, I recently agreed to try Ejectify (€6,99), an app that performs a task for which I already had a solution: to automatically eject external disks from my Mac before it goes to sleep and to remount them when it wakes. I worked off a MacBook for a long, long time, and I needed a way to just shut it, unplug, and move on without getting nagged to death about thumb drives and external volumes. I've been using Jettison ($6.95) to do that since I saw it in Macworld in 2011. The developer, St. Clair Software, also makes Default Folder X, History Hound, and App Tamer, all good apps in their own right.

The reason I opted to try Ejectify is that it ticks some boxes that are pretty important in 2026. It's open source and on Github, meaning you can essentially get it for free if you have the chops to build it. You can also see how the developer, Niels Mouthaan, responds to issues, both in troubleshooting and in planning for additional features. I've used other apps from Niels, and he has provided me with good support.

Aside from philosophical differences with Jettison, there are also some features added by using Ejectify.

Volumes are managed individually, not as one size fits all, so you have more control.
Provides a way to force unmount a disk on a case-by-case basis.
Allows you to mute "Disks Not Ejected Properly" messages if you and macOS can't reach an agreement on what that means.

The full Ejectify feature set (from the website):

Helps prevent "Disk Not Ejected Properly" notifications after wake.
Helps reduce the risk of data loss or corrupted volumes by safely unmounting them first.
Lets you choose which supported volumes Ejectify manages, including external volumes, ejectable internal volumes, and disk images.
Supports automatic unmounting when the display turns off or the system starts sleeping, then attempts to mount volumes again after wake.
Includes force unmount, force mute notifications, and instant "Unmount all" actions, plus a global keyboard shortcut for manual unmount-all.

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

Survey: Did you buy Cotypist?

got an email from Daniel this morning suggesting he’s already cut the price on renewals, and adding an extra three months to the first year if you purchase by today.

I know this community has been fairly vocal with its criticism of his pricing structure. I personally would be OK with a more modest one time lifetime payment, to entertain a subscription option it would have to be dirt cheap, like two bucks a month, max.

anyway, I know a lot of us have said “no way” in various threads but with the beta expiring tomorrow, I’m curious if anyone here said “okay” and pulled the trigger? no need to defend or justify your decision to those who don’t agree, it’s your money to spend as you please.

mostly I’m just curious if there actually is an audience willing to pay his prices that we don’t hear from; or if the general feedback that it’s too expensive is universal.

https://redd.it/1tor581
@macappsbackup

Sonexis - Drag-and-drop real-time system-wide audio effects for your Mac

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

Automatically set folder icons on your Mac based on their names

https://redd.it/1tp0977
@macappsbackup

Update Side Calendar 2.1.0 — drag events, recurring events, custom hotkey

Hey r/macapps,

Quick heads‑up before anything else: I’m the developer of Side Calendar.

Before anything else, a real thank you to everyone who's reached out with suggestions, bug reports, and feedback — this release exists because of you. And a special shout-out to Max

For anyone who hasn’t seen it before: Side Calendar is a slide‑out menu‑bar calendar for macOS. It sits on the edge of your screen, pops in when you need it, and disappears when you don’t.

# What’s new in 2.1.0

Drag to reschedule — grab an event in the day view and drop it onto a new time. Resize handles let you adjust the duration in the same motion. No pop‑ups, no forms, no fuss.
Recurring events — daily, weekly, monthly, or custom repeats right from the add‑event sheet. Edits behave the way you’d expect.
Custom global shortcut — set whatever hotkey fits your workflow. ⌘⇧C, ⌥Space, anything.
Panel polish — smoother animation, rounded corners, and a proper resize handle so the panel adapts to your setup instead of the other way around.

Download: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/side-calendar/id1435738245

Price: $3.99

How it's different from the calendar app you're already using

Not a full window. Most macOS calendar apps take over your screen or sit in the dock. Side Calendar lives on the edge and slides in on a shortcut — no dock icon, no app-switching, no focus stolen from what you're doing.
Not just a menu-bar dropdown either. Most menu-bar calendars are read-only month grids that drop down for two seconds. Side Calendar is a full agenda + day view you can actually work in — drag events to reschedule, resize to change duration, add and edit in place.
You decide when it's there. Bind your own global shortcut for instant access, pin it open if you want it always visible, hide it again with the same keystroke.
Native sync, no new account. Reads from macOS Calendar and Reminders — whatever you've already set up it just works.

Now I’d love your input.

2.1.0 was a big update, but the roadmap from here is wide open. I’d rather build what you actually want than guess.

What would you like to see next in Side Calendar?
Week view? Better reminders support? Natural‑language event entry? Meeting links? Time‑zone tools? Something totally different?

Drop your thoughts — I read everything, and whatever comes next will be shaped by this thread.

https://redd.it/1toz1e3
@macappsbackup