Evidence-first research

[OS] Git-Writer: A cross-platform Markdown note-taking app synced natively via Git repositories

**Problem:** I wanted a simple, private way to take notes on my laptop and sync them across my other devices (like my phone and Android e-ink tablet) without paying for a subscription or handing my data over to big corporations like Google or Microsoft. Git repositories seems to be a good solution, as storage some providers like GitHub is basically free (later there will be option to encrypt the notes data). **Comparison:** * **Obsidian:** * While powerful, seamless cross-device mobile syncing usually requires paying for their subscription or setting up clunky third-party folder-syncing workarounds on mobile. Git-Writer has Git synchronization built natively into the app across all platforms. Not intended as a Obsidian, as it can do MUCH more. **Pricing:** * Price: 100% Free and Open Source * Link**:** [**https://github.com/jotalac/git-writer**](https://github.com/jotalac/git-writer) The first stable release is out now and works across all major platforms: macOS, iOS, Linux, Windows, and Android! The project is an active work in progress, and your feedback and support really help drive future development. ⭐️ Required LinkedIn profile: [https://www.linkedin.com/in/josef-tala%C4%8D-827241260/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/josef-tala%C4%8D-827241260/) No privacy policy as the app is open-source and client-side only - there is no connection to any server side backend and all data is stored only in device (you can sync with remote git repos, but the provider with which you sync is

FeelMyMac: an app that lets you feel different textures through your Mac’s trackpad

Hey r/macapps, I'm *TheHighJack*, the developer of **FeelMyMac**. **I wanted to change how my Mac feels, not just how it looks.** FeelMyMac adds haptic textures to cursor movement and scrolling on a compatible trackpad. Instead of only feeling feedback when you click, you can feel a simulated surface as you move. There are six materials: Felt, Bouclé, Pebbled, Fine grit, Soft grid and Line grid. Movement, scrolling and tap feedback can be enabled separately, and the accompanying sound is optional. The goal isn't to add another workflow or promise to make you more productive. It's simply to make using your Mac feel more satisfying. I've attached a short video to show the idea. Obviously, you can't feel haptics through a video, so there's a free demo to try on your own trackpad. **Comparison** HapticPad focuses on haptic cues when hovering over links, buttons and inputs in a browser. FeelMyMac focuses on the movement itself: giving cursor movement and scrolling a material-like texture, rather than signalling that you've reached something clickable. **Pricing** The free demo includes Felt, Bouclé and one sound profile, with no time limit. No account, email or payment card required. The full license is $3.99 USD, paid once. It unlocks all six materials, additional sound controls and keyboard sounds. Future updates are included, with no subscription. *Free demo:* [https://feelmymac.thehighjack.it/demo/](https://feelmymac.thehighjack.it/demo/) *Full license:* [https://feelmymac.the

Show HN: Asimov's 4 Laws for AI Contexts

For community and agent comments, thoughts, refinements, critiques, pull requests, and use.

ClipHearth: save, convert, edit and subtitle video and audio in one native Mac app (I'm one of the two devs)

Hi r/macapps, I'm Ondřej, one of the two developers of ClipHearth. Full disclosure: it's our app, it's paid, and there's a free trial. **Problem** ClipHearth began as my co-developer David's fix for his own workflow: a command-line script to grab media from a page, a converter, a separate app for trimming, and every few weeks one more software for the one thing the others couldn't do. At some point he'd had enough and built one tool for the whole chain. When it started working, we figured others juggling the same pile of apps might want it too. **What it does** * Built-in browser with a stream detector: it tells you when a page has a video, a sound file, a live stream or an internet radio station. Pick the quality, save just a section, queue a playlist of up to 500, or record a live stream until you press stop. * Convertor: 11 video and 9 audio formats, batches, your own presets, hardware encoding (VideoToolbox), container changes without re-encoding. * Editor: trim, join, colour, speed 0.25x to 4x, replace or mix audio, fades, loudness normalization, GIF, PNG frame grabs. Every export is a new file. * Local AI subtitles and translation: Whisper on your Mac (GPU on Apple Silicon), 50 spoken languages, translation into 16 languages plus 19 experimental. As an .srt, a track, or burned in. You download the model yourself, and nothing leaves your Mac. * No analytics or telemetry, ads and trackers blocked in the browser, drag and drop, one queue for everything. * In active develop

I don't read code anymore

Show HN: TinyAIArena watch AI agents battle it out

Did you ever click on an “AI Arena” expecting glorious battle and instead get a boring benchmark? If so, this project is for you: proper life-or-death fights between four models on a picturesque 8×8 grid. May the most intelligent one win! Click on any of the matches to spectate them. Code: https://github.com/hp6/ai-arena

[Lifetime] PrayerTimes: a native Mac menu-bar app so you don't miss a prayer (free, $14.99 Pro)

Dev here, sharing my own app. **Problem:** I'm at my Mac most of the day, and I'd look up to find Asr had already passed. My phone's reminders were easy to miss because I wasn't looking at my phone. **What it does:** PrayerTimes sits in the menu bar with a countdown to the next prayer. When it's time, the adhan plays or a full-screen call appears, and a little later it asks "Have you prayed?" so one click logs it. It also has the daily azkar with audio, sunnah fast and Jumu'ah reminders, and a travel mode. Times are calculated on your Mac (26 methods), so it works offline. **Comparison:** Muslim Pro is the one most people know, but it's a phone app first, with ads in the free version and a $34.99/year Premium subscription. PrayerTimes is built for the Mac and its menu bar: the core is free with no ads, and Pro is a one-time purchase. **Pricing:** Free. Pro is True Lifetime, $14.99 once, and one key covers 3 Macs. Mac App Store: [https://apps.apple.com/app/id6763390896](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6763390896) Direct download: [https://abd3lraouf.dev/projects/prayertimes](https://abd3lraouf.dev/projects/prayertimes) **For** r/macapps **:** code `MACAPPS15` takes 15% off Pro until Nov 1 on the direct download (App Store purchases go through Apple, so it can't apply there). macOS 14+. If the times don't match your mosque, tell me the city and method and I'll look into it.

Backdrop 2.7 is out: Collections and macOS Golden Gate Support for Live Wallpapers

Hey MacApps! I shared [Backdrop](https://cindori.com/backdrop?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=backdrop_2_7_launch&utm_content=macapps_post) here for the 2.5 release, and a lot has happened since. For anyone new to it, Backdrop is a native Mac app that brings live wallpapers to both your Desktop and your Lock Screen. **What's new in Backdrop 2.7** * **Collections:** Curated sets of live wallpapers, brought together by mood, style and theme, like Neon Drive, Cosmic Voyagers, Tiny Frogs, Reading Rooms and Snowed In. There are 24 at launch, each with its own page. It's the easiest way yet to find something that fits your vibe without scrolling through thousands of backdrops. * **macOS Golden Gate support:** Backdrop now fully supports macOS 27, with live wallpapers on both your Desktop and Lock Screen. * **Animated previews:** Hover a collection and it comes alive, so you can see the motion before you pick it. * **Redesigned Discover:** Immersive artwork, smoother transitions into video previews, and much better scrolling and memory use. * **Library search:** Search your Library and Favorites by wallpaper name and description. **Since 2.5, based on your feedback** * **Playback speed:** Set each wallpaper's desktop speed from 0.5× to 1.5×. A few of you said some backdrops move too fast, so this one's for you. * **Personalized Discover:** Pick the styles you like and Discover adapts to them. * **Blocked tags:** Hide backdrops with tags you don't want to see, eve

I don't read code anymore

Show HN: TinyAIArena watch AI agents battle it out

Did you ever click on an “AI Arena” expecting glorious battle and instead get a boring benchmark? If so, this project is for you: proper life-or-death fights between four models on a picturesque 8×8 grid. May the most intelligent one win! Click on any of the matches to spectate them. Code: https://github.com/hp6/ai-arena

[Lifetime] PrayerTimes: a native Mac menu-bar app so you don't miss a prayer (free, $14.99 Pro)

Dev here, sharing my own app. **Problem:** I'm at my Mac most of the day, and I'd look up to find Asr had already passed. My phone's reminders were easy to miss because I wasn't looking at my phone. **What it does:** PrayerTimes sits in the menu bar with a countdown to the next prayer. When it's time, the adhan plays or a full-screen call appears, and a little later it asks "Have you prayed?" so one click logs it. It also has the daily azkar with audio, sunnah fast and Jumu'ah reminders, and a travel mode. Times are calculated on your Mac (26 methods), so it works offline. **Comparison:** Muslim Pro is the one most people know, but it's a phone app first, with ads in the free version and a $34.99/year Premium subscription. PrayerTimes is built for the Mac and its menu bar: the core is free with no ads, and Pro is a one-time purchase. **Pricing:** Free. Pro is True Lifetime, $14.99 once, and one key covers 3 Macs. Mac App Store: [https://apps.apple.com/app/id6763390896](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6763390896) Direct download: [https://abd3lraouf.dev/projects/prayertimes](https://abd3lraouf.dev/projects/prayertimes) **For** r/macapps **:** code `MACAPPS15` takes 15% off Pro until Nov 1 on the direct download (App Store purchases go through Apple, so it can't apply there). macOS 14+. If the times don't match your mosque, tell me the city and method and I'll look into it.

Backdrop 2.7 is out: Collections and macOS Golden Gate Support for Live Wallpapers

Hey MacApps! I shared [Backdrop](https://cindori.com/backdrop?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=community&utm_campaign=backdrop_2_7_launch&utm_content=macapps_post) here for the 2.5 release, and a lot has happened since. For anyone new to it, Backdrop is a native Mac app that brings live wallpapers to both your Desktop and your Lock Screen. **What's new in Backdrop 2.7** * **Collections:** Curated sets of live wallpapers, brought together by mood, style and theme, like Neon Drive, Cosmic Voyagers, Tiny Frogs, Reading Rooms and Snowed In. There are 24 at launch, each with its own page. It's the easiest way yet to find something that fits your vibe without scrolling through thousands of backdrops. * **macOS Golden Gate support:** Backdrop now fully supports macOS 27, with live wallpapers on both your Desktop and Lock Screen. * **Animated previews:** Hover a collection and it comes alive, so you can see the motion before you pick it. * **Redesigned Discover:** Immersive artwork, smoother transitions into video previews, and much better scrolling and memory use. * **Library search:** Search your Library and Favorites by wallpaper name and description. **Since 2.5, based on your feedback** * **Playback speed:** Set each wallpaper's desktop speed from 0.5× to 1.5×. A few of you said some backdrops move too fast, so this one's for you. * **Personalized Discover:** Pick the styles you like and Discover adapts to them. * **Blocked tags:** Hide backdrops with tags you don't want to see, eve

Ask HN: How are you getting inference for personal projects?

It seems like the major providers are starting to cut back the usage included with their monthly subscriptions. How are people handling inference for side projects these days? Are you still using Codex/Claude subscriptions, paying for hosted open weight models, running local models, etc

Show HN: Building a Markdown editor for Mac, iOS and web

I've spent the last 10 months building Beauty: a local, powerful greco-roman Markdown editor where the page looks finished while you type. It runs on the Mac, iPhone and in the browser, and the browser version opens without an account: https://app.markdown.beauty I was frustrated with writing apps, and like most I used Apple Notes. After 2+ years immersed in Cursor, Codex and CC, I wished some interactions existed in a text editor. The Markdown renders in place as you write it, including tables (which you can drag and resize without lining up pipes), KaTeX math and Mermaid diagrams. A lot of thought went into typography and the writing experience. Your notes on the Mac are plain .md files in a folder with images next to them, so they open in anything else too. Each note keeps 200 versions. If you share a note with a link it syncs peer to peer over WebRTC while someone has it open, and the server that connects you only ever sees a random room id. Most of the ~1,000 commits went into the editor itself. It's a contenteditable, and I don't let the browser restructure the document at all, which was a lot more work than I expected. Building this to be performant and cross-platform required some novel approaches, which I'll later open source. The editor is free with no account or ads, and there's an optional subscription for sync through your own iCloud. https://www.markdown.beauty

Resurf update: Areas, MCP handoff, and native app improvements

Resurf, one month after the native rewrite, new Areas, better performance, MCP handoff, and lots of small improvements **The problem:** As a design engineer, I save things all day. Design references, inspiration, articles, videos, random ideas. They ended up scattered across different apps, bookmarks, and screenshots. I wanted one native app where everything could live together. A personal library of things I like, built around my own taste. One month ago, I have posted about resurf native rewrite in this community. since then we’ve been improving the app, adding features, and working through the small details based on user feedback. * **Areas.** A new organization layer alongside spaces and stacks. More ways to give your projects, interests, and references a place in your library. * **Better performance.** We’ve spent a lot of time improving how the app feels in everyday use. The native rewrite was the first step, and we’re continuing to work on it. * **MCP / agent handoff.** Use the things you’ve saved as context for your AI tools. You can hand off references, notes, and research from your library through MCP and CLI. * **More library views.** Justified grids, masonry grids, and list view. Different ways to browse depending on what you’re collecting. * **Drop to capture.** Drag something to the Dynamic Island at the top of your screen to save it without opening the main app. * **Lots of small improvements.** Bug fixes, UI polish, and less friction across the app. Still plen

Looking for a good AI prompt optimizer

Hi, what I type into the prompt of e.g. `opencode` (in the terminal) is probably not what the used AI model would qualify as a "great structured input"\^\^ I'm looking for a good prompt optimizer that turns my gibberish input into a structured one that it's easier to understand for the AI model \- It would be perfect if it can download a model to do the optimization locally on the Mac \- I'm willing to pay for the app but only if it's not too expensive (30+ €) and **not** a subscription service but ofc I have nothing against open source :) \- It would be nice if it knows optimization techniques for different AI models (optional) Any suggestions that you use yourself and couldn't live without anymore? Thanks in advance! P.S.: I have read the rules and hope this isn't removed again...