• Maccy for clipboard history management via simple shortcuts
• Stats for useful system metrics in the menubar
• LM Studio for easily exploring open source Large Language Models
• NoTunes to get rid of Apple Music launching when you connect your headphones
• Bitwarden for multi-platform password management
• Rectangle for keyboard-based window management
• Homebrew if you're a developer/sysadmin/command line user
• Fluent Reader to subscribe to RSS feeds

Rectangle for window snapping is a life saver!

IINA is like VLC but with a nicer interface.

brew is a CLI package manager.

OpenEmu is a great console emulation platform (like retroarch, but with a way better interface that’s designed for a desktop instead of a TV).

AltTab: Windows alt-tab on macOS

Rectangle: Keyboard based window management.

Linear Mouse: Per-device settings for Mouse, Track Pad, etc. Things like pointer super, scroll direction, and mouse acceleration.

I’m lost without magnet.

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/magnet/id441258766?mt=12

Raycast is like alfred but free.

CleanShot X is great for screenshots and screen recordings, and markup of them.

https://cleanshot.com/

Amphetamine - Keeps your Mac awake if you need to.

I would recommend SnazzyQ’s videos on macOS essentials:

https://youtu.be/h2xoRkzjQoc

1. Homebrew
2. Alfred
3. Amethyst
4. Kitty or iterm2
5. A web browser that doesn't suck (I recommend librewolf or Firefox)
6. A text editor that doesn't suck (I recommend NeoVim, vim, or vscodium)

Honestly very little. Mac already has a lot of functionality built in. I have only specialized programs for my workflows and not much else.

If you need a gui text editor, BBEdit is pretty good.

Others that I haven't seen suggested and that I personally use daily:

• KeepingYouAwake prevents the laptop to going to sleep (although there are tons of other ways to do it).
• Raivo OTP if you have an iPhone with Raivo installed it copies the TOTP to the mac clipboard
• Lulu as firewall for outgoing connections

Honestly, Alfred, Rectangle, AltTab and CleanshotX are almost essential, IMHO.

Witch - Brings Alt + Tab functionally to MacOS

Scroll Reverser - Lets you adjust the scroll direction on a per-input device level. The OS, by default, only has a single global preference. This lets me reverse my trackpad two finger scrolling without messing with my mouse setting, which gets everything moving as my muscle memory expects.

Speaking of mussel memory, this isn’t an app, but a System Preference suggestion. If you’ve got Windows style keyboard shortcuts, like Ctrl + C to copy, stuck in your head, you can go into Apple Menu > System Preferences, Keyboard, then click on the Modifier Keys button in the bottom right. Here, you can swap the command, control, and option keys around to move the functionality over to your expected key. I did Control key: Command, Option key: Control, and Command Key: Option so I can continue to do Left Modifier Key + C to copy.

I highly recommend Marta as an alternative dual pane file explorer. Capable macOS alternative to Total Commander; https://marta.sh/

Keyboard maestro

Homebrew, Iterm2, Keka, Menumeters/btop, newsboat/Vienna for rss, Keepass, Veracrypt, Sublime.

Learn keyboard shortcuts like

cmd+~ to cycle through different windows of a same appln

cmd+c and cmd+opt+v for cut and paste

cmd+mouse click on a folder opens it in a new tab

cmd+shift+4 for screenshot tool and change the settings to copy the screenshot to clipboard.

Cmd+space - spotlight. Hide folders if you only want it to open apps

One more thing switch doc type to plan text in TextEdit app to use it as Windows Notepad.

Little Snitch, awesome Mac GUI firewall. UltraEdit if you code, multi platform app. A secondary browser, Safari is not enough.

Edit: forgot something for file collections; DupeGuru. FOSS, multi platform, and did I mention free?

BetterTouchTool