Evidence-first research
Turn product pages, reviews, and discussions into Mac app research you can verify before you buy.
Hacker News
Hacker News
Show HN: Threshyr – An offline automatic time tracker with on-device AI
I've built and continuously improved Threshyr based on the problem I faced myself. I was working on more than 3 projects at one time. At the end of any day/week/month if I had to calculate how many hours I have worked on each one, I would always not be able to calculate an accurate time. Because I had to just reconstruct it from memory instead of any real record. Every tracker I tried solved this either by: - sending my activity to their cloud or - by making me press start and stop, which I most of the time forget or - requires a monthly subscription. So I built Threshyr to address all of these pain points. It is a background time tracker for Windows and macOS. It runs entirely locally, recording the duration and window title for active application and active browser(excluding Firefox) domain locally on your machine. It comes up with predefined categories for installed application and browser domain. Each category can be marked as Productive(green color), Neutral(gray color) and Unproductive(red color). Users can modify predefined and can also create their own custom categories. Threshyr utilizes categories, tagging rules and light weight offline AI model called Threshyr AI to classify activity for projects. Users can review the activity classified by Threshyr-AI, can modify the project or even create rules based on the classification. As users review more and more activities, Threshyr-AI gets more accurate with each review. Threshyr lets users see how focused they
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
FluidCast: Podcast Player — Ask Siri about your podcasts (50% off Pro)
**Problem** Most podcast apps lock you into one ecosystem, Apple users get the polished experience if you stay inside it, but if you have other devices you can’t access your library. FluidCast keeps your library in sync across iOS, macOS, Android, Windows, and Linux, and gives Pro users on-device AI tools to detect ads, and now to ask Siri AI about episodes. **Comparison** Overcast is a great player, but it’s iOS/Mac only - no Android, Windows, or Linux app. Pocket Casts covers more platforms, but its Plus subscription has quadrupled in price since 2019, and it has no built-in AI ad detection or one-time-purchase option. FluidCast’s free tier includes offline downloads, transcripts, Voice Lift, and local file playback. Pro adds AI ad skipping, cloud sync, and a Lifetime purchase if you’d rather not have yet another subscription. **Pricing (current promotions at the bottom of this post)** * Free — $0, forever (standalone player, offline downloads, transcripts, Voice Lift, local file playback, CarPlay/Android Auto) * Pro — $2.99/month or $17.99/year, 1-month free trial - Cloud Sync, Apple Watch, Ad Detection, and more * Lifetime — $99.99 one-time, Pro features forever, no subscription - same as Pro Full pricing & features: [https://fluidcastapp.com](https://fluidcastapp.com) Get it on Mac and iOS: [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fluidcast-podcast-player/id6754508580) **What’s new** Ask Siri about your podcasts (iOS/Mac). Siri answers from episode transcripts, metadata
Sep 14, 2026
Hacker News
Hacker News
Show HN: AgentDrive – persistent, versioned file storage for AI agents
We’re opening the private beta for AgentDrive, a persistent file/workspace layer for AI agents. AgentDrive gives agents: - Versioned artifacts and folders - Hosted MCP access for coding agents - Direct upload sessions for larger files - Share links and controlled public publishing - Workspace-scoped authorization and auditability - Many supported file formats such as MD, HTML, JSON, images, videos, and even spreadsheets The MCP surface is intentionally narrow and reviewed rather than exposing the entire storage API. It’s a private beta, so some features are deliberately out of scope for now. See more details: https://tokencanopy.com/products/agentdrive Try the beta: https://app.tokencanopy.com/drive/ For MCP clients: claude mcp add --transport http --scope user agentdrive https://drive.mcp.tokencanopy.com/mcp claude mcp login agentdrive codex mcp add agentdrive --url https://drive.mcp.tokencanopy.com/mcp codex mcp login agentdrive A public API/SDK integration experience is on the roadmap so that you can use AgentDrive in your product, but it is not available as a beta user interface today. We’d especially appreciate feedback on: 1. Was connecting and using AgentDrive through MCP clear? 2. Which tools or storage primitives are missing? 3. What would be the first workflow you ask your agents do with AgentDrive? Open source repo is also on the roadmap so that you can host it on your own infrastructur
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
Kinship Vault 3.0: shared vaults, password folders, and a dead man's switch, none of it running through a server of mine (Free tier, paid plans, lifetime option)
Developer here. I posted here when the native Mac app shipped, and the thing people kept asking for in the comments was sharing: how do I give my partner the household logins without texting them. That is most of what 3.0 is. Shared vaults, separate vaults, browser extensions, and a dead man's switch, with one constraint running through all of it, which is that none of it touches a server of mine, because I do not have one. **Website**: [https://kinshipvault.app](https://kinshipvault.app) **All about the Mac version**: [https://kinshipvault.app/mac/](https://kinshipvault.app/mac/) **App Store:** [https://apps.apple.com/app/kinship-vault/id6764678332](https://apps.apple.com/app/kinship-vault/id6764678332) **Privacy Policy**: [https://kinshipvault.app/privacy](https://kinshipvault.app/privacy) **LinkedIn**: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amabm18](https://www.linkedin.com/in/amabm18) **Support**: [support@kinshipvault.app](mailto:support@kinshipvault.app) **Problem** Every household has the same scramble. A passport, an insurance card, a vaccination record, a will, the household login, needed at the exact moment nobody can find it. The usual fixes each have a cost: documents in a folder that syncs to a cloud you do not control, passwords in a manager that keeps a copy on someone else's server, and the sensitive scans in a camera roll that quietly copies to every device you own. Kinship Vault holds all of it in one place instead, documents and logins together, encrypted on device w
Sep 14, 2026
Hacker News
Hacker News
Show HN: Single-file private Markdown viewer
We built this to view Markdown files securely in our corporate environment as a lightweight alternative to firing up VS Code. It’s just a single HTML file that executes entirely client-side. Alongside standard rendering, it supports floating navigation, clean print stylesheets, and exporting the result to a standalone HTML file (and it works great on mobile). Live viewer: https://ibm.github.io/tsar-mcp/tools/MarkdownViewer/Markdown... Source: https://github.com/IBM/tsar-mcp
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
Muro 5.0 is out: Native Live Wallpapers for macOS, now as your screen saver too
I made **Muro: Native Live Wallpapers for macOS. It is free and open source**. Problem: A normal Mac wallpaper is a still picture. Muro plays looping live wallpapers on your desktop, lock screen and screen saver, on every display. It is native Swift, your Mac's video hardware does the decoding instead of the CPU, it has low CPU and RAM usage, and it pauses when something covers it. **Pricing: Free, $0. Open source under MIT. No subscription, no one-time fee, no Pro tier, no account, nothing locked.** Download: [https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro/releases/tag/v5.0](https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro/releases/tag/v5.0) Source: [https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro](https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro) Homebrew: `brew install --cask MrRockySL/muro/muro` Requires: macOS 14 or newer, Apple Silicon or Intel. Lock screen and screen saver live wallpapers need macOS 26. ✨ What is new in 5.0: Major new features, with major bug fixes and major improvements. 🌙 Screen saver. Muro can be your screen saver now, playing a live wallpaper instead of a still picture. You can set how long your Mac waits before it starts, right in Settings. 🖱️ Play only on desktop. The live wallpaper holds still while a window is open and plays when your desktop is clear. Each display decides for itself. 🔁 Replay on Clear Desktop. Pause After starts counting again every time your desktop is clear. 🖼️ Quit Muro and your live wallpaper stays. The desktop keeps a still of it, and the lock screen and screen saver keep t
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
Bytetally: see which app is uploading, where to, and cut off just that one (20% off lifetime for r/macapps)
I posted here a month ago. Two updates shipped since, but more than that, I think I explained this app wrong last time, so let me try again. I pitched it as a bandwidth thing. Most of you have perfectly fine bandwidth. That was never the problem. The problem is that your Mac talks to the internet all day and nothing tells you who is talking or what they are sending out. Activity Monitor gives you a number. It will not tell you that a process you have never heard of has been uploading steadily for the last hour. macOS has no answer for that at all. So Bytetally tracks upload and download per app, separately, and tells you when an app's upload suddenly spikes. From there you can see which websites that app actually talked to, and the other direction too, which apps talked to a given website. If you do not recognise the process there is a built in encyclopedia, because "is it safe to cut off geod" is a real question and nothing else on macOS will answer it. Then you can do something about it. Cut the app off. Or give it a speed limit instead, up or down, if you want it alive but quiet. Block a single domain without killing the whole app, so [telemetry.example.com](http://telemetry.example.com) goes away and the rest of the app keeps working. There is a rule centre showing how many times each rule actually fired in the last 24 hours, which is how you tell a rule that works from one that is quietly fighting something. The hard part is proxies. If you run ClashX, Surge or Quantumul
Sep 14, 2026
Hacker News
Hacker News
Show HN: I built Otis, a minimal AI agent that runs local models out of the box
Hi everyone, Been working on Otis, an open-source ai agent that gives you one minimal experience across local and hosted open-weight models, privacy-focused by design. On setup it recommends a local model based on the hardware Otis is running on, downloads it and runs it through llama.cpp for you. Ollama, LM Studio and Nvidia PAIR are supported too. Excited for everyone to try it and all feedback is welcome!
Sep 14, 2026
Hacker News
Hacker News
Show HN: Single-file private Markdown viewer
We built this to view Markdown files securely in our corporate environment as a lightweight alternative to firing up VS Code. It’s just a single HTML file that executes entirely client-side. Alongside standard rendering, it supports floating navigation, clean print stylesheets, and exporting the result to a standalone HTML file (and it works great on mobile). Live viewer: https://ibm.github.io/tsar-mcp/tools/MarkdownViewer/Markdown... Source: https://github.com/IBM/tsar-mcp
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
Muro 5.0 is out: Native Live Wallpapers for macOS, now as your screen saver too
I made **Muro: Native Live Wallpapers for macOS. It is free and open source**. Problem: A normal Mac wallpaper is a still picture. Muro plays looping live wallpapers on your desktop, lock screen and screen saver, on every display. It is native Swift, your Mac's video hardware does the decoding instead of the CPU, it has low CPU and RAM usage, and it pauses when something covers it. **Pricing: Free, $0. Open source under MIT. No subscription, no one-time fee, no Pro tier, no account, nothing locked.** Download: [https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro/releases/tag/v5.0](https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro/releases/tag/v5.0) Source: [https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro](https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro) Homebrew: `brew install --cask MrRockySL/muro/muro` Requires: macOS 14 or newer, Apple Silicon or Intel. Lock screen and screen saver live wallpapers need macOS 26. ✨ What is new in 5.0: Major new features, with major bug fixes and major improvements. 🌙 Screen saver. Muro can be your screen saver now, playing a live wallpaper instead of a still picture. You can set how long your Mac waits before it starts, right in Settings. 🖱️ Play only on desktop. The live wallpaper holds still while a window is open and plays when your desktop is clear. Each display decides for itself. 🔁 Replay on Clear Desktop. Pause After starts counting again every time your desktop is clear. 🖼️ Quit Muro and your live wallpaper stays. The desktop keeps a still of it, and the lock screen and screen saver keep t
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
Bytetally: see which app is uploading, where to, and cut off just that one (20% off lifetime for r/macapps)
I posted here a month ago. Two updates shipped since, but more than that, I think I explained this app wrong last time, so let me try again. I pitched it as a bandwidth thing. Most of you have perfectly fine bandwidth. That was never the problem. The problem is that your Mac talks to the internet all day and nothing tells you who is talking or what they are sending out. Activity Monitor gives you a number. It will not tell you that a process you have never heard of has been uploading steadily for the last hour. macOS has no answer for that at all. So Bytetally tracks upload and download per app, separately, and tells you when an app's upload suddenly spikes. From there you can see which websites that app actually talked to, and the other direction too, which apps talked to a given website. If you do not recognise the process there is a built in encyclopedia, because "is it safe to cut off geod" is a real question and nothing else on macOS will answer it. Then you can do something about it. Cut the app off. Or give it a speed limit instead, up or down, if you want it alive but quiet. Block a single domain without killing the whole app, so [telemetry.example.com](http://telemetry.example.com) goes away and the rest of the app keeps working. There is a rule centre showing how many times each rule actually fired in the last 24 hours, which is how you tell a rule that works from one that is quietly fighting something. The hard part is proxies. If you run ClashX, Surge or Quantumul
Sep 14, 2026
Hacker News
Hacker News
Show HN: I built Otis, a minimal AI agent that runs local models out of the box
Hi everyone, Been working on Otis, an open-source ai agent that gives you one minimal experience across local and hosted open-weight models, privacy-focused by design. On setup it recommends a local model based on the hardware Otis is running on, downloads it and runs it through llama.cpp for you. Ollama, LM Studio and Nvidia PAIR are supported too. Excited for everyone to try it and all feedback is welcome!
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
[OS] Lap — 6 months later: 2.3k stars, 10k+ users, 200+ issues fixed (v0.3.2 major update)
\[Problem\] About 6 months ago I posted here about Lap — I couldn't find a good way to browse and manage very large local photo libraries on macOS without cloud lock-in, so I built one myself. \[Features\] Lap is a local-first photo manager focused on speed and simplicity for large collections: * Local-first by design: your photos stay on your own disk, with no required cloud account or upload. * No library lock-in: work directly with your existing folders instead of importing everything into a closed database. * Private AI tools: search, similarity, smart tags, and face features run locally on your machine. * Built for large collections: optimized for smooth browsing and organization across libraries with 100k+ files. * Open source and free: no subscription, no forced ecosystem, and code you can inspect. \[Update\] Since that first post, I've been mostly heads-down on new features, user feedback and bug fixes: * 200+ issues resolved * 2.3k GitHub stars, 10k+ users * Latest version: v0.3.2 — core features are now feature-complete and stabilizing \[Feedback\] The basics are solid now, so this is a good point to hear from more people. What's missing, what's confusing, what would make Lap a daily driver for your library? Bug reports and feature requests are both welcome. \[Pricing\] Free and open source [https://github.com/julyx10/lap](https://github.com/julyx10/lap) \[Change log\] [https://github.com/julyx10/lap/releases](https://github.com/julyx10/lap/releases) \[AI Disclaimer
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
I built MacGuard, a motion alarm for Apple silicon MacBooks (free Mac app, optional $9.99 companion)
Hi, I'm Grisha, the developer of MacGuard. The short video attached to this post shows the real app in action. I arm MacGuard, move the MacBook, the local siren starts, and an alert appears on my paired iPhone. # Problem I wanted my MacBook to react immediately if somebody touched or moved it while I was briefly away from my desk in a café, library, coworking space, or office. MacGuard runs from the menu bar and can detect: * Physical movement * Keyboard or pointer activity * Lid activity * Reopening or waking the Mac The alarm runs locally on the Mac and does not require an internet connection. If you pair the optional iPhone or iPad companion, MacGuard can also send remote alerts and provide up to three incident photos. Internet is required for those remote features. If Camera Evidence is enabled, incident video is saved locally on the Mac. The video is not uploaded to the cloud or sent to the phone. MacGuard is meant to be an extra deterrence layer alongside Find My, not a replacement for it. # Comparison The closest alternatives I found are Clyde and Stealward. Clyde is closer to a simple lid alarm. Stealward takes a broader approach with live video and AI features. I wanted something in between: movement, input, lid, and wake triggers with an immediate local siren, while incident video stays on the Mac and phone evidence is limited to up to three photos. MacGuard covers more types of interaction than a lid-focused alarm without adding live viewing or AI monitoring. # Pri
Sep 14, 2026
Hacker News
Hacker News
Show HN: Authorize MCP tool calls without giving agents the credentials
Hey HN, Adam here. We built a small MCP example around a single problem: How do you let an agent use a tool that needs credentials without giving the credentials to the agent? The demo has two tools. One is open. One is protected. When the agent calls the protected tool, Keydris checks the policy first: ALLOW → run the tool REJECT → stop The credential stays on the server. The agent never sees it. We do the check through a small middleware on the MCP server called the KIT Reader. Repo: https://github.com/keydrisLabs/mcp-auth-keydris-template We're early. If you're building with MCP, Claude Code or Codex, I'd love to know how you're handling this today and where you think this approach breaks. We support other elements like integrations etc but would love your feedback
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
Raycast 2 went cross-platform. If you left it on Mac, what did you switch to?
Raycast 2 got me thinking about this again. I understand the business argument for sharing more code between Mac and Windows. One team, faster development, fewer things to maintain. But with Claude/Copilot/etc. making implementation work much faster now, I wonder if maintaining native apps for each platform is actually becoming more viable rather than less. Anyway, I'm mostly curious about people who actually used Raycast and then left it: **What are you using now?** Alfred? LaunchBar? Tinycast? Spotlight + smaller utilities? Something else? And more importantly: **what's genuinely better than Raycast, and what's the one Raycast feature you still miss?** I'm especially interested in people who've used their replacement for a while rather than just tried it for a day.
Sep 14, 2026
How it works?
Turn a link into a decision in 3 steps
https://screen.studio/
read public page
identify apps + claims
keep source attached
1. Paste a link
Start with a product page, review, comparison, or public discussion.
2. Choose what matters
Keep the apps and buyer factors that actually affect your decision.
3. Create reusable Research
Save the result, add priorities, share it, or use someone else's work as your starting point.
Hacker News
Hacker News
r/macapps
Hacker News
Hacker News
Features
Research that reduces uncertainty, not just tabs
Source-backed research
Every published answer stays attached to the source that supports it, so you can verify before you buy.
Comparison that fits the decision
Compare the apps you choose across category-specific factors, not a generic checklist that fits nothing.
Research you can reuse
Save a comparison as Research, add your own priorities, share it, or use someone else's work as a starting point.
RESEARCH LIBRARY
Mac launcher shortlist
6 apps · 11 key factors
Screen recorder research
15 apps · 48 factors
Buy-once utilities
8 apps · Pricing evidence
Public facts, private thinking
Public facts remain evidence-backed while your notes, priorities, and decisions stay yours until you publish them.
Private notes
Stay separate from public facts.
Evidence model · live
Research that stays traceable
Missing evidence remains an open question. Conflicts stay visible.
Start a ResearchAI research agents
TheMacApps for AI research agents
Connect agents to structured Mac app research so they can plan, investigate, expose evidence gaps, and keep every answer traceable.
$ research screen.studio vs screensage.pro
✓ Connected acme.example
$ Compare Screen Studio, ScreenSage Pro, and Tella for polished Mac product demos.
Evidence covers zoom, cursor polish, system audio, pricing, and release history. Missing facts stay explicit instead of becoming guesses.
▍
Works with the sources you already use
PRODUCT SOURCES
COMMUNITY SOURCES
TheMacApps exists because a directory tells you what exists, but a purchase decision needs evidence: what matters for this category, what each app actually supports, what changed, and which source proves it.
Public facts stay separate from your personal Research, so better sources can improve shared knowledge without overwriting anyone's notes or decisions.
Research the decision, not the marketing page.
- Keep evidence visible.
- Keep missing facts as open questions.
- Reuse good Research instead of restarting from zero.
That is the product.
[OS] Lap — 6 months later: 2.3k stars, 10k+ users, 200+ issues fixed (v0.3.2 major update)
r/macapps
Research access that matches how you work
Start free. Save, reuse, and publish Research when it becomes part of your workflow.
1 app · Personal · $0
FAQ
What kinds of links can I research?
Public product pages, reviews, comparisons, discussions, documentation, and other public HTTP/HTTPS pages can be analyzed as a research starting point.
How are facts verified?
TheMacApps separates what a page claims from verified facts. Research cells keep source links and evidence state so missing evidence is never silently turned into a negative answer.
Can I compare more than two apps?
Yes. A Research can contain a broad comparison set, while the table keeps the first app pinned and lets you scroll across the rest.
Can I add my own research fields?
Yes. You can add the questions that matter to your purchase instead of waiting for a global schema to anticipate every niche app category.
Do I need an account to analyze a URL?
You can analyze a public URL before creating a saved Research. An account is required when you want the research to become your persistent asset.
Can Research be private?
Research supports private, unlisted, and public visibility. Personal notes are not exposed to other viewers of a public Research.
Can I use someone else's Research?
Yes. Use this research creates your own Research while preserving lineage to the source, so you can change priorities without rewriting public facts.
Is TheMacApps only a directory?
No. The catalog is the identity layer for apps; the core product is evidence-backed Research that turns scattered web pages into reusable purchase knowledge.
Where does TheMacApps get its evidence?
Research can cite official product sites, App Store pages, documentation, support pages, release notes, GitHub, reviews, Reddit, YouTube, X, and other public web sources.
What happens when sources disagree?
Conflicting evidence stays visible as conflicting. TheMacApps does not silently pick one source and present it as settled fact.
Does missing evidence mean a feature is unsupported?
No. Missing evidence remains an open question until a source supports a yes or no answer.
Can Research change when an app changes?
Yes. Public facts can be refreshed as products, pricing, requirements, and features change, while your private notes and priorities remain separate.
Can I share a Research without making it fully public?
Yes. Unlisted Research can be shared by link without appearing as a normal public listing.
Can I keep personal notes inside a Research?
Yes. Personal notes and decision context belong to your Research layer and are kept separate from reusable public facts.
Can I start from a Reddit or X discussion?
Yes. Public discussions can be analyzed as starting evidence, then the important product claims can be verified against stronger sources.
Can AI agents use TheMacApps research?
Yes. The research model is designed so agents can plan, investigate, identify evidence gaps, and work with structured app facts instead of opaque summaries.
Does TheMacApps research non-Mac software?
The product is centered on Mac apps and Mac buying decisions. Cross-platform products can appear when their Mac version is relevant to the comparison.
Can makers correct outdated information?
The evidence model is designed for corrections to be backed by newer or stronger sources rather than overwriting facts without traceability.
How is it better than another app directory?
Read the real conversations that become Research inputs.
Hacker News
Productive
Show HN: Threshyr – An offline automatic time tracker with on-device AI
I've built and continuously improved Threshyr based on the problem I faced myself. I was working on more than 3 projects at one time. At the end of any day/week/month if I had to calculate how many hours I have worked on each one, I would always not be able to calculate an accurate time. Because I had to just reconstruct it from memory instead of any real record. Every tracker I tried solved this either by: - sending my activity to their cloud or - by making me press start and stop, which I most of the time forget or - requires a monthly subscription. So I built Threshyr to address all of these pain points. It is a background time tracker for Windows and macOS. It runs entirely locally, recording the duration and window title for active application and active browser(excluding Firefox) domain locally on your machine. It comes up with predefined categories for installed application and browser domain. Each category can be marked as Productive(green color), Neutral(gray color) and Unproductive(red color). Users can modify predefined and can also create their own custom categories. Threshyr utilizes categories, tagging rules and light weight offline AI model called Threshyr AI to classify activity for projects. Users can review the activity classified by Threshyr-AI, can modify the project or even create rules based on the classification. As users review more and more activities, Threshyr-AI gets more accurate with each review. Threshyr lets users see how focused they
Related apps
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
Kinship Vault 3.0: shared vaults, password folders, and a dead man's switch, none of it running through a server of mine (Free tier, paid plans, lifetime option)
Developer here. I posted here when the native Mac app shipped, and the thing people kept asking for in the comments was sharing: how do I give my partner the household logins without texting them. That is most of what 3.0 is. Shared vaults, separate vaults, browser extensions, and a dead man's switch, with one constraint running through all of it, which is that none of it touches a server of mine, because I do not have one. **Website**: [https://kinshipvault.app](https://kinshipvault.app) **All about the Mac version**: [https://kinshipvault.app/mac/](https://kinshipvault.app/mac/) **App Store:** [https://apps.apple.com/app/kinship-vault/id6764678332](https://apps.apple.com/app/kinship-vault/id6764678332) **Privacy Policy**: [https://kinshipvault.app/privacy](https://kinshipvault.app/privacy) **LinkedIn**: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/amabm18](https://www.linkedin.com/in/amabm18) **Support**: [support@kinshipvault.app](mailto:support@kinshipvault.app) **Problem** Every household has the same scramble. A passport, an insurance card, a vaccination record, a will, the household login, needed at the exact moment nobody can find it. The usual fixes each have a cost: documents in a folder that syncs to a cloud you do not control, passwords in a manager that keeps a copy on someone else's server, and the sensitive scans in a camera roll that quietly copies to every device you own. Kinship Vault holds all of it in one place instead, documents and logins together, encrypted on device w
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
Quiet
Bytetally: see which app is uploading, where to, and cut off just that one (20% off lifetime for r/macapps)
I posted here a month ago. Two updates shipped since, but more than that, I think I explained this app wrong last time, so let me try again. I pitched it as a bandwidth thing. Most of you have perfectly fine bandwidth. That was never the problem. The problem is that your Mac talks to the internet all day and nothing tells you who is talking or what they are sending out. Activity Monitor gives you a number. It will not tell you that a process you have never heard of has been uploading steadily for the last hour. macOS has no answer for that at all. So Bytetally tracks upload and download per app, separately, and tells you when an app's upload suddenly spikes. From there you can see which websites that app actually talked to, and the other direction too, which apps talked to a given website. If you do not recognise the process there is a built in encyclopedia, because "is it safe to cut off geod" is a real question and nothing else on macOS will answer it. Then you can do something about it. Cut the app off. Or give it a speed limit instead, up or down, if you want it alive but quiet. Block a single domain without killing the whole app, so [telemetry.example.com](http://telemetry.example.com) goes away and the rest of the app keeps working. There is a rule centre showing how many times each rule actually fired in the last 24 hours, which is how you tell a rule that works from one that is quietly fighting something. The hard part is proxies. If you run ClashX, Surge or Quantumul
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
I built MacGuard, a motion alarm for Apple silicon MacBooks (free Mac app, optional $9.99 companion)
Hi, I'm Grisha, the developer of MacGuard. The short video attached to this post shows the real app in action. I arm MacGuard, move the MacBook, the local siren starts, and an alert appears on my paired iPhone. # Problem I wanted my MacBook to react immediately if somebody touched or moved it while I was briefly away from my desk in a café, library, coworking space, or office. MacGuard runs from the menu bar and can detect: * Physical movement * Keyboard or pointer activity * Lid activity * Reopening or waking the Mac The alarm runs locally on the Mac and does not require an internet connection. If you pair the optional iPhone or iPad companion, MacGuard can also send remote alerts and provide up to three incident photos. Internet is required for those remote features. If Camera Evidence is enabled, incident video is saved locally on the Mac. The video is not uploaded to the cloud or sent to the phone. MacGuard is meant to be an extra deterrence layer alongside Find My, not a replacement for it. # Comparison The closest alternatives I found are Clyde and Stealward. Clyde is closer to a simple lid alarm. Stealward takes a broader approach with live video and AI features. I wanted something in between: movement, input, lid, and wake triggers with an immediate local siren, while incident video stays on the Mac and phone evidence is limited to up to three photos. MacGuard covers more types of interaction than a lid-focused alarm without adding live viewing or AI monitoring. # Pri
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
Pocket Casts
FluidCast: Podcast Player — Ask Siri about your podcasts (50% off Pro)
**Problem** Most podcast apps lock you into one ecosystem, Apple users get the polished experience if you stay inside it, but if you have other devices you can’t access your library. FluidCast keeps your library in sync across iOS, macOS, Android, Windows, and Linux, and gives Pro users on-device AI tools to detect ads, and now to ask Siri AI about episodes. **Comparison** Overcast is a great player, but it’s iOS/Mac only - no Android, Windows, or Linux app. Pocket Casts covers more platforms, but its Plus subscription has quadrupled in price since 2019, and it has no built-in AI ad detection or one-time-purchase option. FluidCast’s free tier includes offline downloads, transcripts, Voice Lift, and local file playback. Pro adds AI ad skipping, cloud sync, and a Lifetime purchase if you’d rather not have yet another subscription. **Pricing (current promotions at the bottom of this post)** * Free — $0, forever (standalone player, offline downloads, transcripts, Voice Lift, local file playback, CarPlay/Android Auto) * Pro — $2.99/month or $17.99/year, 1-month free trial - Cloud Sync, Apple Watch, Ad Detection, and more * Lifetime — $99.99 one-time, Pro features forever, no subscription - same as Pro Full pricing & features: [https://fluidcastapp.com](https://fluidcastapp.com) Get it on Mac and iOS: [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fluidcast-podcast-player/id6754508580) **What’s new** Ask Siri about your podcasts (iOS/Mac). Siri answers from episode transcripts, metadata
Sep 14, 2026
Hacker News
Hacker News
Show HN: Single-file private Markdown viewer
We built this to view Markdown files securely in our corporate environment as a lightweight alternative to firing up VS Code. It’s just a single HTML file that executes entirely client-side. Alongside standard rendering, it supports floating navigation, clean print stylesheets, and exporting the result to a standalone HTML file (and it works great on mobile). Live viewer: https://ibm.github.io/tsar-mcp/tools/MarkdownViewer/Markdown... Source: https://github.com/IBM/tsar-mcp
Sep 14, 2026
Hacker News
Llama
Show HN: I built Otis, a minimal AI agent that runs local models out of the box
Hi everyone, Been working on Otis, an open-source ai agent that gives you one minimal experience across local and hosted open-weight models, privacy-focused by design. On setup it recommends a local model based on the hardware Otis is running on, downloads it and runs it through llama.cpp for you. Ollama, LM Studio and Nvidia PAIR are supported too. Excited for everyone to try it and all feedback is welcome!
Related apps
Sep 14, 2026
Hacker News
Claude
Show HN: Authorize MCP tool calls without giving agents the credentials
Hey HN, Adam here. We built a small MCP example around a single problem: How do you let an agent use a tool that needs credentials without giving the credentials to the agent? The demo has two tools. One is open. One is protected. When the agent calls the protected tool, Keydris checks the policy first: ALLOW → run the tool REJECT → stop The credential stays on the server. The agent never sees it. We do the check through a small middleware on the MCP server called the KIT Reader. Repo: https://github.com/keydrisLabs/mcp-auth-keydris-template We're early. If you're building with MCP, Claude Code or Codex, I'd love to know how you're handling this today and where you think this approach breaks. We support other elements like integrations etc but would love your feedback
Sep 14, 2026
Hacker News
Claude
Show HN: AgentDrive – persistent, versioned file storage for AI agents
We’re opening the private beta for AgentDrive, a persistent file/workspace layer for AI agents. AgentDrive gives agents: - Versioned artifacts and folders - Hosted MCP access for coding agents - Direct upload sessions for larger files - Share links and controlled public publishing - Workspace-scoped authorization and auditability - Many supported file formats such as MD, HTML, JSON, images, videos, and even spreadsheets The MCP surface is intentionally narrow and reviewed rather than exposing the entire storage API. It’s a private beta, so some features are deliberately out of scope for now. See more details: https://tokencanopy.com/products/agentdrive Try the beta: https://app.tokencanopy.com/drive/ For MCP clients: claude mcp add --transport http --scope user agentdrive https://drive.mcp.tokencanopy.com/mcp claude mcp login agentdrive codex mcp add agentdrive --url https://drive.mcp.tokencanopy.com/mcp codex mcp login agentdrive A public API/SDK integration experience is on the roadmap so that you can use AgentDrive in your product, but it is not available as a beta user interface today. We’d especially appreciate feedback on: 1. Was connecting and using AgentDrive through MCP clear? 2. Which tools or storage primitives are missing? 3. What would be the first workflow you ask your agents do with AgentDrive? Open source repo is also on the roadmap so that you can host it on your own infrastructur
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
Swift
Muro 5.0 is out: Native Live Wallpapers for macOS, now as your screen saver too
I made **Muro: Native Live Wallpapers for macOS. It is free and open source**. Problem: A normal Mac wallpaper is a still picture. Muro plays looping live wallpapers on your desktop, lock screen and screen saver, on every display. It is native Swift, your Mac's video hardware does the decoding instead of the CPU, it has low CPU and RAM usage, and it pauses when something covers it. **Pricing: Free, $0. Open source under MIT. No subscription, no one-time fee, no Pro tier, no account, nothing locked.** Download: [https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro/releases/tag/v5.0](https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro/releases/tag/v5.0) Source: [https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro](https://github.com/MrRockySL/Muro) Homebrew: `brew install --cask MrRockySL/muro/muro` Requires: macOS 14 or newer, Apple Silicon or Intel. Lock screen and screen saver live wallpapers need macOS 26. ✨ What is new in 5.0: Major new features, with major bug fixes and major improvements. 🌙 Screen saver. Muro can be your screen saver now, playing a live wallpaper instead of a still picture. You can set how long your Mac waits before it starts, right in Settings. 🖱️ Play only on desktop. The live wallpaper holds still while a window is open and plays when your desktop is clear. Each display decides for itself. 🔁 Replay on Clear Desktop. Pause After starts counting again every time your desktop is clear. 🖼️ Quit Muro and your live wallpaper stays. The desktop keeps a still of it, and the lock screen and screen saver keep t
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
[OS] Lap — 6 months later: 2.3k stars, 10k+ users, 200+ issues fixed (v0.3.2 major update)
\[Problem\] About 6 months ago I posted here about Lap — I couldn't find a good way to browse and manage very large local photo libraries on macOS without cloud lock-in, so I built one myself. \[Features\] Lap is a local-first photo manager focused on speed and simplicity for large collections: * Local-first by design: your photos stay on your own disk, with no required cloud account or upload. * No library lock-in: work directly with your existing folders instead of importing everything into a closed database. * Private AI tools: search, similarity, smart tags, and face features run locally on your machine. * Built for large collections: optimized for smooth browsing and organization across libraries with 100k+ files. * Open source and free: no subscription, no forced ecosystem, and code you can inspect. \[Update\] Since that first post, I've been mostly heads-down on new features, user feedback and bug fixes: * 200+ issues resolved * 2.3k GitHub stars, 10k+ users * Latest version: v0.3.2 — core features are now feature-complete and stabilizing \[Feedback\] The basics are solid now, so this is a good point to hear from more people. What's missing, what's confusing, what would make Lap a daily driver for your library? Bug reports and feature requests are both welcome. \[Pricing\] Free and open source [https://github.com/julyx10/lap](https://github.com/julyx10/lap) \[Change log\] [https://github.com/julyx10/lap/releases](https://github.com/julyx10/lap/releases) \[AI Disclaimer
Sep 14, 2026
r/macapps
Raycast
Raycast 2 went cross-platform. If you left it on Mac, what did you switch to?
Raycast 2 got me thinking about this again. I understand the business argument for sharing more code between Mac and Windows. One team, faster development, fewer things to maintain. But with Claude/Copilot/etc. making implementation work much faster now, I wonder if maintaining native apps for each platform is actually becoming more viable rather than less. Anyway, I'm mostly curious about people who actually used Raycast and then left it: **What are you using now?** Alfred? LaunchBar? Tinycast? Spotlight + smaller utilities? Something else? And more importantly: **what's genuinely better than Raycast, and what's the one Raycast feature you still miss?** I'm especially interested in people who've used their replacement for a while rather than just tried it for a day.
Related apps
Sep 14, 2026
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