12 Recommended Apps I Use on My Mac

I feel like I might’ve written something like this before, but oh well.

I usually work on a MacBook, and here are the apps I find myself using a lot.

Doll

You know how some apps—like Discord—send notifications but don’t show up in the menu bar?

This app brings those icons into the menu bar and even lets you manage which notifications show up.

According to the official page, it works for apps like Slack too. I’ve definitely stopped missing notifications because of it.

Ice

This one lets you customize your menu bar in all sorts of ways.

I use it to add separators and hide certain icons I don’t always need to see.

Apparently it can also adjust the spacing between icons. I ended up tweaking things manually through the registry, so I can’t say much on that...

But just having the background image always visible gives it a surprising sense of openness—I really like that.

IINA

A solid media player for Mac.

I know most people don’t really watch or listen to local files much anymore, but if you do, this is probably your best bet.

I used to use VLC, but the Mac version is… kind of a pain to use.

My own app, Mac Classic Player, holds up pretty well in terms of speed and simplicity too.

IINA has more features though, so it depends on what you value.

Irvue

This app updates your wallpaper periodically.

It pulls from Unsplash, so the wallpaper quality is super high.

It works with multiple monitors too, which is great.

The settings are weirdly detailed though, which makes it kinda annoying to use… I'm half tempted to build a simpler wallpaper app myself.

Itsycal

Another menu-bar-based calendar app. Honestly, I think the default Mac menu bar is kinda garbage.

Clicking the icon pops up a monthly calendar, and it can show your upcoming events from Google Calendar and others.

The customization options are solid, and the app stays nice and simple. Out of all the calendar-in-the-menu-bar apps I’ve tried, this is my favorite.

KeepingYouAwake

Keeps your Mac from going to sleep—yep, another menu bar app.

You can set a time limit, but I just leave it on whenever I’m active.

Super helpful if you hate your Mac dozing off while you’re in the middle of something. Don’t abuse it, though.

Meeter

Yet another menu bar app that focuses on upcoming events.

Kind of overlaps with Itsycal, but this one is more event-centric.

The killer feature is that you can launch Google Meet or Zoom with a single click.

Also love that it shows a countdown to your next meeting right in the menu bar. Super handy.

qView

A simple image viewer.

It behaves a lot like the default image viewer on Windows, which I really like.

Startup feels a bit slow, but overall it’s easily the best in terms of usability.

Honestly, is it just me or is the default Mac image viewer kinda awful?

Raycast

This one barely needs an introduction—I won’t go into detail.

Personally, I love that I can do quick math in it.

I used to just Google calculations, but that stopped working one day. This fills that void nicely.

I’m not even using it to its full potential, so if you have cool tips or tricks, please tell me!

Responsively App

Lets you preview your site across multiple device sizes at once.

I used to pay for a similar app (forgot the name), but ChatGPT suggested this one and I made the switch.

It’s a little more bare-bones compared to the paid one, but for basic layout checks, it does the job just fine.

Only downside? The name and icon are seriously uncool.

uBar

Gives you a Windows-style taskbar on your Mac.

This is the only paid app in the list, but honestly, I can’t use a Mac without it anymore.

WattsConnected

Yet another menu bar app. This one shows how many watts your Mac is charging with in real time.

Not essential, but it’s nice to know your charger is working as expected. Quietly useful.

That’s about it. I was surprised myself at how many of these live in the menu bar.

Mac apps often assume you’re willing to pay for them, which might be a shock if you’re coming from Windows.

Major thanks to all the developers who make and release these for free—truly appreciated.