Setting up my new Mac (Part 1—the apps I use)
Tags: mac, productivity
Published: 2019-02-27 07:25:17

---
title: Setting up my new Mac (Part 1—the apps I use)
description: "I thought it'll be interesting to share 47 apps I use on a daily basis."
canonical_url: https://zellwk.com/blog/mac-setup-1
tags: mac, productivity
published: true
---

My first task in 2019 is to get a new computer. I didn't want to change computers, but my old one gave way and I had no choice 😭. 

Since I'm already switching computers, I thought it'll be interesting to share the apps I use on a daily basis. 

I hope you find some of them interesting! 



## Apps for writing

I do a lot of writing work (for the blog, and for the courses I make). Here are the apps I use: 

1. [Ulysses][1]. This is where I do my idea curation, outlining, drafting, writing, and editing work. 
2. [Rocket][2]: Rocket helps me write emojis as if I'm writing them on Slack. For example, to get 😀, I type `:grinning`. It has autocomplete features so typing emojis become a breeze 😁.
3. [Hemingway app][3]: I use Hemingway app to ensure my sentences are easy to read and understand. 
4. [Grammarly][4]: I use Grammarly to help me correct any obvious grammatical errors. 
5. [Word counter app][5]: This is a menu-bar app that tells me how many words I've written on my computer today. My highest track record is 12,000 words!
6. [Marked 2][6]: I use Marked 2 for converting Markdown (from Ulysses or my text editor, VS Code) into HTML or Rich Text. I then paste Rich Text into the WISYWIG editor in [Convertkit][7] (to send emails). 
7. [Skitch][8]: Skitch helps me annotate images quickly for articles. 
8. [Kap][9]: Kap helps me make gifs and videos that don't look janky (but the Gifs are quite big...). 

## Apps for coding

Of course, coding is a big part of my work. How else do I call myself a developer otherwise? 🤪

1. [Visual Studio Code][10]: My preferred text editor. I created a [video series][11] to help you set up VS Code if you want to use it. 
2. [iTerm2:][12] I prefer iTerm2 over the built-in terminal app. It's easier to configure, and I can have split screens (which makes multiple terminal windows easier to manage)\> 
3. [Tower][13]: I prefer Tower over other Git clients. If you want to try Tower, you can use `zell20` to get 20% discount off your first year! (I don't get money for sharing this). If you want to learn Git, I have a [video series][14] for you too. 
4. [Postman][15]: Postman is good for debugging API. 
5. [MongoDB Compass][16]: This is good for checking data stored in my MongoDB Databases. 

## Browsers I use

Like any other web developer, I install many browsers on my computer (primarily for testing). Here are the ones I use: 

1. Safari: My main browser for browsing
2. [Chrome Canary][17]: My main browser for debugging JavaScript. 
3. [Firefox Nightly][18]: My main browser for debugging CSS. 
4. [Chrome][19]: For debugging.
5. [Firefox][20]: For debugging.

(I rarely test against IE or Edge nowadays, because there's generally no need to anymore). 

## Design Apps

I may not look like it, but I'm also interested in Design. I design every website I build. Here are the tools I use: 

1. [Sip][21]: Sip is a simple color dropper tool. 
2. [Sketch][22]: For designing
3. [Typeface][23]: For managing typefaces on my Mac. It's much better than font book!  
4. [Adobe Fonts][24]: For syncing typefaces from Typekit (now Adobe Fonts) onto my computer. 

## Apps for creating videos:

I've been creating videos for \~1 year. Here are the apps I've been using: 

1. [Audacity][25]: For recording audio
2. [Screenflow][26]: For recording my screen and face
3. [OBS][27]: For positioning my face on the video. I hope I can use it for live-streaming sometime in the future. 
4. [Webcam settings][28]: Lights are set at 50hz over at my part of the world (it's 60hz in USA), so my webcam flickers when recording. This sets it right. 

## General productivity apps

Here are some apps I can't live without on my Mac. 

1. [Alfred][29]: Alfred is Spotlight + so many things. 
2. [Airmail][30]: My preferred email client 
3. [Fantastical2][31]: My preferred calendar app
4. [Moom][32]: I use Moom to shift windows around on a Mac. 
5. [Notion][33]: I've recently started using Notion as a todo-list system. I may write about this in future if it sticks. 
6. [Odrive][34]: For syncing multiple Google Drives
7. [Dropbox][35]: Nothing to say here :) 

## Some Social Apps

1. [Messenger][36]
2. [Slack][37] 
3. [Telegram][38] 
4. [Tweetdeck][39]
5. [Whatsapp][40]
6. [Wechat][41]
7. [Zoom][42] - For video calls

## Miscellaneous apps

1. [1Blocker][43]: Blocking ads and other stuff on Safari.
2. [1Password][44]: Where I store all my password information.
3. [Beamer][45]: To put videos onto my Apple TV. 
4. [Clean my mac 3][46]: To remove applications cleanly.
5. [MplayerX][47]: For playing videos.
6. [Spotify][48]: Because. music. rocks.
7. [Vanilla app][49]: For managing the menu bar.

## Next up

I'll talk about my actual migration process in an upcoming article. It'll be nerdy and fun! 🤓. 

[1]:	https://ulysses.app
[2]:	https://matthewpalmer.net/rocket/
[3]:	http://www.hemingwayapp.com
[4]:	https://app.grammarly.com
[5]:	https://wordcounterapp.com
[6]:	http://marked2app.com
[7]:	http://mbsy.co/clb2r
[8]:	https://evernote.com/products/skitch
[9]:	https://github.com/wulkano/kap
[10]:	https://code.visualstudio.com
[11]:	https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLht38HefjmzGWN0CUHGqjliTSuhXFTDG5
[12]:	https://iterm2.com
[13]:	https://www.git-tower.com
[14]:	https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLht38HefjmzGpNHWKlTLQAbPlwFRFd-2z
[15]:	https://www.getpostman.com
[16]:	https://www.mongodb.com/products/compass
[17]:	https://www.google.com/intl/en/chrome/canary/
[18]:	https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/channel/desktop/
[19]:	https://www.google.com/chrome/
[20]:	https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/
[21]:	https://sipapp.io
[22]:	https://www.sketchapp.com
[23]:	https://typefaceapp.com
[24]:	https://www.adobe.com/sea/creativecloud/desktop-app.html
[25]:	https://www.audacityteam.org
[26]:	https://www.telestream.net/screenflow/
[27]:	https://obsproject.com
[28]:	https://itunes.apple.com/sg/app/webcam-settings/id533696630?mt=12
[29]:	https://www.alfredapp.com
[30]:	https://airmailapp.com
[31]:	https://flexibits.com/fantastical
[32]:	https://manytricks.com/moom/
[33]:	https://www.notion.so/?r=4602c9106bdb47dda92a22fcbfc8cc6d
[34]:	https://www.odrive.com
[35]:	https://www.dropbox.com
[36]:	https://www.messenger.com
[37]:	https://slack.com
[38]:	https://telegram.org
[39]:	https://tweetdeck.twitter.com
[40]:	https://www.whatsapp.com/download/
[41]:	https://mac.weixin.qq.com
[42]:	https://zoom.us
[43]:	https://1blocker.com
[44]:	https://1password.com
[45]:	https://beamer-app.com
[46]:	https://macpaw.com/cleanmymac-3
[47]:	http://mplayerx.org
[48]:	https://www.spotify.com
[49]:	https://matthewpalmer.net/vanilla/

<hr>

Thanks for reading. This article was originally posted on [my blog](https://zellwk.com/blog/mac-setup-1). Sign up for [my newsletter](https://zellwk.com) if you want more articles to help you become a better frontend developer.