List of recommended OS X software

For a more complete collection of terminal applications, be sure to check the GNU/Linux applications page.

Package Managers

• Homebrew - Free
• Cakebrew - Graphical client for managing Homebrew.
• MacPorts - Free
• Portage - Free

Terminal Applications

• iTerm 2 - Free
• TotalTerminal - Free

File Management

• TotalFinder - $18

FTP Clients

Transmit for OS X.

• Transmit - $34
• Cyberduck - $24

Online Storage

• Dropbox

Network Monitoring

• Little Snitch - $35
• Wireshark - Free

System Monitoring

• MenuMeters - Free
• iStat Menus - $16

Productivity

nvALT has a customizable interface.

• Dropzone - $10
• CloudApp - Free
• imguru and imgurBar - Free
• nvALT - Modified version of the lightweight note taking app Notational Velocity. Has the option to save notes as plain text files.
• TodoTxtMac - Open source to-do manager for mac using the todo.txt format.

Audio Players

While expensive, Fidelia offers a lot of extra options and features for audiophiles.

• iTunes - The default audio player. While not very customizable, it features good sorting options and integration. Can't play FLAC files.
• Fidelia - At $20, it's a pretty harsh price for a music player. Unless you really need those advanced features, stick to a cheaper player.
• Swinsian - Also $20, but made by a /g/ user.
• Sonora - Original devs have abandoned it. Seemingly no github activity.
• Ecoute
• Enqueue - $10
• Vox - Minimalistic alternative to iTunes that also has the ability to play FLAC.

Command line players

• moc
• cmus
• ncmpcpp + mpd (+ mpdas for last.fm scrobbling.)

Audio Tools

• last.fm - Find new music based on what you're listening to.
• XLD

Video Players

• MPlayerX
• VLC
• mpv

Web Browsers

For more detailed information see Web browsers.

Safari

Safari is the default web browser in Apple's Mac OS X. It is based on Apple's Webkit layout engine, a KHTML fork.

• Webkit Nightly

Firefox

Firefox is free software developed by Mozilla. It is highly extensible via addons and included as the default browser in many GNU/Linux distributions.

• Firefox Beta
• Firefox Aurora
• Firefox Nightly

Chromium

Chromium is the free and open source developer version of Google Chrome. Its tracking features can be easily disabled.

• Google Chrome
• Google Chrome Canary

Opera

Opera is a proprietary web browser developed and maintained by Opera Software.

• Opera Next

Chat clients

• Adium - Customizable chat client with loads of themes, soundpacks and other plugins.
• Skype

Internet Relay Chat (IRC) Clients

HexChat

• HexChat is a popular replacement for the XChat IRC client, a client which offered a free binary for Linux but charges money for the Windows version. HexChat is a continuation of XChat and makes both its source code and binaries available to users of all platforms it's created for. Like its parent software, HexChat is licensed under the GNU GPL. It includes all the basic features one would need, and can be ideal both for new users and IRC veterans.

Mail

Airmail for OS X.

• Thunderbird
• Airmail - $2
• Opera Mail

Utilities

Application Launchers

• Alfred - Simple but efficient application launcher. Best in combination with the Powerpack.
• Launchbar - A little more complicated than Alfred, has a few convenient features that Alfred lacks.
• Quicksilver

Ricing

• Obsidian Menu Bar - Changes the color of the menu bar to black.
• Bartender - Utility to clean up and manage your menu bar.
• Geektool - Add shell scripts and images to your desktop.
• Bowtie - Customizable display for the music you're listening to.

Window Management

• Spectacle - Open Source window managment tool.
• BetterSnapTool
• Moom

Other

Growl allows for many different types of notifications.

• BetterTouchTool

• PCKeyboardHack - Change the functionality of the "Caps Lock" key.
• KeyRemap4MacBook - Remap the keys on your keyboard and change the key repeat settings.
• jitouch 2
• Handbrake - Utility for ripping movies.
• 1Password - Safely store all your passwords.
• Growl - Alternative notification system with good customization features. Best in combination with HardwareGrowler. $4 or build from source.
• f.lux - Utility for changing the color tone of your display.
• Automator

System Maintenance

Misc.

• coconutBattery - Utility for checking battery health.
• Appcleaner - A free and good way to uninstall software.
• Onyx

Disk tools

DaisyDisk gives you a graphical overview over used disk space.

• DaisyDisk - Gives you a graphical overview over your file system.
• Disk Inventory X - Free alternative to DaisyDisk.
• Gemini - Intelligent duplicate remover.

Torrent Clients

• Transmission - Simple and lightweight open source torrent client.
• rtorrent - Terminal torrent client.

Archiving Tools

• The Unarchiver or the CLI version
• The Archive Browser - $4

Coding

• BBEdit
• TextWrangler
• TextMate
• MacVim
• Coda
• Sublime Text

Images & Graphics

Compression

• ImageAlpha - Program for reducing the file size of PNG files.
• ImageOptim - Software for reducing the size of JPG and PNG files.

Editing

Pixelmator in action.

• Preview - The default image viewing and editing app. Lightweight and functional alternative for simple edits.
• Skitch - Simple editing program for adding anotations to images.
• Pixelmator - A good and affordable ($30) alternative to photoshop.
• Acorn - Similar to Pixelmator.
• Sketch - Another alternative to Pixelmator.
• GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program. Free open source image editing program.
• Camerabag - Easy-to-use photo editing tool.

Viewing

• Preview
• PhotoStickies - Stick photos to your desktop.

Gaming

• OpenEmu - Free video game emulation program.
• Steam

Other Platforms

• List of recommended Windows software
• List of recommended GNU/Linux software
• List of recommended Android software
• List of recommended cross-platform software