My Uses - Productivity Tools & Developer Setup

Hey there,

In this blog post, I'll share some of the productivity software I use on Mac OS. The list does not contain the most popular and common tools that developers are already aware of.

Password Management

Bitwarden - Open-source password management software with high security. I am using it for 2 years. It has apps on android, iOS, and browser extensions.

Notes

OneNote - I have been using it for 3+ years. It has powerful features for hand-writing + text. I use it on my iPad for hand-written notes only.

GoodNotes - I have been using it for 2+ years. I use it for PDF annotation on my iPad. Initially, I used it for hand-written notes but there are some limitations such as fixed-width, can't add space on a page, etc...

Notion - I use it for my personal knowledge management. Everything such as bookmarks, personal log, etc...

Developer Tools

Insomnia REST - I used postman for a good number of years, but I felt it become heavy. Hence, I started using insomnia and loved it for its simplicity.

SnippetLab - This is paid software. I use it to store my code snippets. It has good integration with GitHub gist. I felt it's worth the money.

SourceTree - I am a command-line guy. But, sometimes I try GUI tools too. I use sourcetree for all my git-related work. Sublime Merge is a good alternative though.

Tableplus - A database management tool. It has free + premium plans. For me, the free version sufficed.

There's an open-source alternative called DBeaver

Utility Softwares

This list is interesting. These are some of the underrated software.

Hyperswitch - In MacOS, CMD+tab shows only applications not windows. Hyperswitch shows windows and it has a lot of customization features such as showing windows in the current space, current screen, etc...

There's an open-source alternative called AltTab

ScreenFocus - When working with multiple monitors, you don't know which screen you're in. This software solves the problem by dimming inactive screens. It's paid software though.

Spectacle - This tool allows easy resizing of windows with keyboard shortcuts. This is very helpful when you are multi-tasking or require multiple apps to be displayed.

Pasteapp - This tool helps me in managing my clipboard effectively. When you press CMD+Shift+V it shows a pop-up.

HiddenBar - I used to have a lot of icons on my menu bar which makes it difficult to navigate. This tool helped me to de-clutter with a click of a button. There's a famous paid alternative called Bartender but I felt it's too complicated.

ItsyCal - In mac, there's no default calendar menubar icon. Every time we want a calendar, we need to open the default app. This app shows the calendar and is easy to navigate.