Evidence-first research

Switched from Raycast to Vehla after security and pricing concerns — my honest experience after a few months

I'm one of those users who obsesses over security — if an app isn't local-first and I can't see what it's doing with my data, I'm out. Vehla fits that bill perfectly, so I wanted to share my experience. I actually spotted Raycast on day one of getting my Mac — it's everywhere, everyone recommends it. But when I dug a bit deeper, the non-local setup bothered me, and reading about their past data breach/security issues sealed the deal for me. On top of that, so much of what makes it useful sits behind a paywall, and the subscription pricing is honestly steep for what it is. Paying monthly, forever, for a launcher? Not my thing. Your threat model may vary — I know plenty of people happily use it, this is just where I personally draw the line. A few months later I randomly stumbled on Vehla here on Reddit, and honestly the pitch was everything I was looking for. Local AI, on-device processing, no cloud dependency for the core stuff — plus a lifetime license that's more than reasonable, which was another big plus in my book. Now, fair warning: this app can feel overwhelming at first. There are SO many options, features and possibilities packed in that it took me a while to find my way around, and there are still corners I haven't fully explored. I'm definitely not fluent with it yet. If you expect to master it in a day — you won't. Give it a week or two. The features I use most: Quick Glass and the local AI — this is the killer feature for me. It's ultra fast: when I'm writing a b

OpenVox 2.7.1 - Speaker Diarization, Multi-Speaker AI Dubbing, Vocal Separation, Output Validation & New TTS Models

Hey everyone, I’m the developer of OpenVox. It’s been a few versions since I last shared an update here, and quite a lot has changed. What originally started primarily as a local text-to-speech app has gradually expanded into something broader: a **local voice, transcription and dubbing toolkit for Apple Silicon Macs**. The latest release is **OpenVox 2.7.1**, and since my last post I’ve added things like: * Local **speaker diarization** * Multi-speaker AI dubbing * Vocal and background-music separation * AI transcription * Automatic TTS output validation * MOSS TTS 1.5 * Qwen3 TTS 1.7B * A guided model recommendation system * Long-form generation improvements * Transcription APIs * Better batch workflows All of this continues to run locally on the Mac. # Problem A lot of AI voice tools still solve only one part of the workflow. You might use one app for transcription, another for speaker detection, another for translation, another for voice cloning, another for dubbing, and then something else again to separate dialogue from background music. And many of those workflows require uploading the original audio or video to a cloud service. I’ve been gradually trying to make OpenVox handle more of that workflow locally. With the recent releases, OpenVox can now go from: **video → transcription → speaker detection → translation → voice assignment → dubbing → final video** without requiring the original media to leave your Mac. # Local Speaker Diarization One of the biggest addition

Dynamic Island with custom Plugins [DynamicLake]

**The Problem** There are many Dynamic Island apps for Mac, but most give you a fixed set of features and a predefined experience. They don’t let you shape the Dynamic Island around your own workflow and aesthetic So to solve this I made DynamicLake Plugins **What DynamicLake Brings?** DynamicLake introduces Plugins and Extensions, allowing you to create custom Live Activities and Sneak Peeks designed around your needs with even more possibilities coming soon **What Are Plugins?** Plugins are small additions to your Dynamic Island that can make a big difference in your workflow You can build plugins using Swift, Python, JavaScript, Go and other programming languages, while defining their interfaces entirely with JSON Extensions provide similar functionality but are built directly into existing Mac apps. If an app already supports DynamicLake, you don’t need to download and install a separate plugin **Introducing DynamicLake Market** DynamicLake Market brings all available plugins together in one place. Find the plugin you want, press Install, and it’s immediately added to DynamicLake Developers can submit their plugins for review. Once approved, they can be published on DynamicLake Market for everyone to discover and install **Can I Test My Plugin Without Buying DynamicLake?** Yes. Today, I’m also launching DynamicLake Playground It includes some of DynamicLake’s music experience and lets you test one plugin at a time. You can build, modify, and refine your plugin for as long

Deste, a free flashcard app for learning across Mac, iPhone, and iPad

Hey r/MacApps, I'm the developer of Deste, a free flashcard app for Mac, iPhone, and iPad. **Problem** I wanted a simple way to make flashcards on my Mac, review them on my phone, and keep everything in sync. I also wanted the app to decide what I should review instead of making me manage the schedule myself. Deste uses FSRS spaced repetition to bring cards back when they are due. You can create your own decks, import Anki \`.apkg\`, CSV, or TSV files, and download ready-made decks from the marketplace. **Comparison** Anki is more powerful and has a lot more customization. Deste is intentionally simpler and focuses on working smoothly across Apple devices with automatic sync, a cleaner interface, progress tracking, and widgets. Quizlet has a much larger library and more study modes. Deste is more focused on regular flashcards and spaced repetition, and there is no subscription or paid tier. You can also add images to cards and draw on them on iPhone and iPad, which I find useful for anatomy, diagrams, and visual notes. **Pricing** Deste is completely free. There are no ads, subscriptions, or paid features. App Store: [https://apps.apple.com/app/id6791281020](https://apps.apple.com/app/id6791281020) Privacy Policy: [https://gist.github.com/ramazanberkozbek/af055b2714b3f03e7b8534d7a0c46a82](https://gist.github.com/ramazanberkozbek/af055b2714b3f03e7b8534d7a0c46a82) Terms of Service: [https://gist.github.com/ramazanberkozbek/5e36563a8e4126d0d40d2ee9b73dbfd9](https://gist.github.c

Xul Valley: a native infinite canvas for ideas and presentations | Free pre release

Hi r/macapps! I’m Lucas Dima, and first of all, I’m not tired! 😃. I’ve been developing software for many many years, with apps and games on the App Store. This year, given that my game updates are almost over after 2 years of being published, I decided to build \*\*Xul Valley\*\*, a native Mac app written 100% in Swift. \*\*Problem\*\* Current infinite board software is either under expensive subscriptions, or it does not fit my needs. I think Miro and Figjam are excellent tools, but are more focus on collaboration, and the free tier is too plain. Freeform is a nice alternative, but the attempts to get a premium Apple subscription can get a bit annoying. Also I think Apple did not put too much love on it. \*\*Comparison\*\* Miro -> Free tier only gives 3 boards. Online only. Starts at $10 per month FigJam -> Online. Very limited free tear. $20 per month. Offline: Scapple -> More text oriented. Not for presentations. $22.90 one time payment. I’ve used Prezi, Miro and FigJam over the years. Miro and FigJam are excellent for collaboration, but for my own projects I wanted a native Mac app that works offline and keeps boards as files in my own folders. Xul Valley focuses on having your own board that lives in your file system, with an open, non-proprietary format which also makes it easy to create boards using AI tools. You own your files. No vendor lock. \*\*Pricing and availability\*\* The beta is \*\*free on \[TestFlight\](https://testflight.apple.com/join/7wy9BmX2)\*\*, and

I made an 11.6 MB PDF app that reads, annotates, edits, OCRs, and does AI — free on the Mac App Store

I've used PDFs for years, and it always bugged me how heavy most PDF tools have become. Reading one doc, fixing a typo, or scanning a file should be quick — not "open a hundreds-of-MB app first". So I built **Arc PDF**, a native macOS app that's only **11.6 MB** powered by **Swift + PDFium**. What fits in that size: * **Reading & annotating** — highlight, underline, notes, drawing * **Real editing** — change text like in a Word doc (fix typos, add paragraphs, adjust fonts); add / replace / resize images * **Page management** — add, delete, rotate, reorder pages * **OCR** — makes scanned PDFs searchable again * **AI** — summarize, translate, extract tables, generate a TOC, or chat with your document. You plug in **your own** model (OpenAI / Claude / DeepSeek API key) — no subscription to my backend. All of that in 11.6 MB. The trick is no heavy framework: it talks to the PDF format directly, so each feature stays lean instead of bloated. To be upfront about the edges: forms, shape annotations, and e-signatures aren't there yet. Right now it's **completely free** — I'd rather more people get to try it than put it behind a paywall. It's also a side project I built *\*mostly with AI coding\** — which is fitting, since the app itself edits PDFs *\*and\** was built with AI. Mac App Store: [Arc PDF on the Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/arc-pdf-pdf-editor-ai/id6670330650?mt=12) Open to feedback, bugs, and feature ideas. What's the one thing you hate most about dealing w

[OS] Tinycast: lightweight, native luncher an emerging Raycast alternative

I've been looking for a Raycast alternative since it appears to be moving in a direction that I'm not particularly crazy about. So I came across Tinycast, a free and open-source macOS launcher, btw I'm not associated with the developer and I have just started using the app in the last few days. It covers the usual launcher basics: app and file search, clipboard history, snippets, quick links, custom commands, calculator, window management, notes, calendar shortcuts, system actions. It is native built with SwiftUI/AppKit, has no telemetry, Electron dependency, claims to stay under 100 MB of RAM usage. It can run existing Raycast extensions, it can also import an existing Raycast setup. Optional AI features are included, off by default. You can use it for chat from the command palette, quick chat and actions on selected text like rewriting, grammar fixes, translation, and summaries. It supports local, bringing your own API key or using an installed AI account, I'm using it with Codex cli. I think it’s worth a look for anyone who wants a pared-down, streamlined, free, and open-source launcher. It’s still relatively new, but it appears to be actively developed and already shows real potential. github : [https://github.com/abue-ammar/tinycast](https://github.com/abue-ammar/tinycast) website : [https://abue-ammar.github.io/tinycast/](https://abue-ammar.github.io/tinycast/)

Margin: a Mac Markdown notes app where notes stay plain files and the AI only ever hands you a diff

Hey, Yiannis here, I'm the developer of Margin **Problem** I wanted two things at the same time and could not find them together. 1. My notes had to stay ordinary files I could open in any editor. No lock-in, no export/import if I want to switch tools. Also, text is king with AI agents, so I can do a lot more with plain files today. 2. The AI in a notes app had to do nothing at all until I asked it to. Most of what I tried either kept my notes in a database or ran something over them in the background. So Margin is a Markdown notes app for the Mac where a space is just a folder of `.md` files on your disk. No database, no account. If you delete the app tomorrow the notes are still sitting in Finder, readable in any app. Also, AI runs only when you invoke it, and modifications land in your notes as hunk diffs you can either accept or decline. Nothing writes over your notes without you knowing. **Comparison: Obsidian** Obsidian is the obvious alternative and it is genuinely good, so let me be fair about it first. It has years of maturity on me, a plugin ecosystem I cannot come close to, mobile apps, and paid Sync. If any of those matter to you, use Obsidian. I am not going to pretend I have caught up. Obsidian is the app I used longest before building this, and on the files story there's no real difference: plain markdown on disk, yours to take anywhere. I built Margin around my own workflow, and here's where I feel it differs: * **Spaces are instant**. Work and personal would

Xul Valley: a native infinite canvas for ideas and presentations | Free pre release

Hi r/macapps! I’m Lucas Dima, and first of all, I’m not tired! 😃. I’ve been developing software for many many years, with apps and games on the App Store. This year, given that my game updates are almost over after 2 years of being published, I decided to build \*\*Xul Valley\*\*, a native Mac app written 100% in Swift. \*\*Problem\*\* Current infinite board software is either under expensive subscriptions, or it does not fit my needs. I think Miro and Figjam are excellent tools, but are more focus on collaboration, and the free tier is too plain. Freeform is a nice alternative, but the attempts to get a premium Apple subscription can get a bit annoying. Also I think Apple did not put too much love on it. \*\*Comparison\*\* Miro -> Free tier only gives 3 boards. Online only. Starts at $10 per month FigJam -> Online. Very limited free tear. $20 per month. Offline: Scapple -> More text oriented. Not for presentations. $22.90 one time payment. I’ve used Prezi, Miro and FigJam over the years. Miro and FigJam are excellent for collaboration, but for my own projects I wanted a native Mac app that works offline and keeps boards as files in my own folders. Xul Valley focuses on having your own board that lives in your file system, with an open, non-proprietary format which also makes it easy to create boards using AI tools. You own your files. No vendor lock. \*\*Pricing and availability\*\* The beta is \*\*free on \[TestFlight\](https://testflight.apple.com/join/7wy9BmX2)\*\*, and

I made an 11.6 MB PDF app that reads, annotates, edits, OCRs, and does AI — free on the Mac App Store

I've used PDFs for years, and it always bugged me how heavy most PDF tools have become. Reading one doc, fixing a typo, or scanning a file should be quick — not "open a hundreds-of-MB app first". So I built **Arc PDF**, a native macOS app that's only **11.6 MB** powered by **Swift + PDFium**. What fits in that size: * **Reading & annotating** — highlight, underline, notes, drawing * **Real editing** — change text like in a Word doc (fix typos, add paragraphs, adjust fonts); add / replace / resize images * **Page management** — add, delete, rotate, reorder pages * **OCR** — makes scanned PDFs searchable again * **AI** — summarize, translate, extract tables, generate a TOC, or chat with your document. You plug in **your own** model (OpenAI / Claude / DeepSeek API key) — no subscription to my backend. All of that in 11.6 MB. The trick is no heavy framework: it talks to the PDF format directly, so each feature stays lean instead of bloated. To be upfront about the edges: forms, shape annotations, and e-signatures aren't there yet. Right now it's **completely free** — I'd rather more people get to try it than put it behind a paywall. It's also a side project I built *\*mostly with AI coding\** — which is fitting, since the app itself edits PDFs *\*and\** was built with AI. Mac App Store: [Arc PDF on the Mac App Store](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/arc-pdf-pdf-editor-ai/id6670330650?mt=12) Open to feedback, bugs, and feature ideas. What's the one thing you hate most about dealing w

[OS] Tinycast: lightweight, native luncher an emerging Raycast alternative

I've been looking for a Raycast alternative since it appears to be moving in a direction that I'm not particularly crazy about. So I came across Tinycast, a free and open-source macOS launcher, btw I'm not associated with the developer and I have just started using the app in the last few days. It covers the usual launcher basics: app and file search, clipboard history, snippets, quick links, custom commands, calculator, window management, notes, calendar shortcuts, system actions. It is native built with SwiftUI/AppKit, has no telemetry, Electron dependency, claims to stay under 100 MB of RAM usage. It can run existing Raycast extensions, it can also import an existing Raycast setup. Optional AI features are included, off by default. You can use it for chat from the command palette, quick chat and actions on selected text like rewriting, grammar fixes, translation, and summaries. It supports local, bringing your own API key or using an installed AI account, I'm using it with Codex cli. I think it’s worth a look for anyone who wants a pared-down, streamlined, free, and open-source launcher. It’s still relatively new, but it appears to be actively developed and already shows real potential. github : [https://github.com/abue-ammar/tinycast](https://github.com/abue-ammar/tinycast) website : [https://abue-ammar.github.io/tinycast/](https://abue-ammar.github.io/tinycast/)

Margin: a Mac Markdown notes app where notes stay plain files and the AI only ever hands you a diff

Hey, Yiannis here, I'm the developer of Margin **Problem** I wanted two things at the same time and could not find them together. 1. My notes had to stay ordinary files I could open in any editor. No lock-in, no export/import if I want to switch tools. Also, text is king with AI agents, so I can do a lot more with plain files today. 2. The AI in a notes app had to do nothing at all until I asked it to. Most of what I tried either kept my notes in a database or ran something over them in the background. So Margin is a Markdown notes app for the Mac where a space is just a folder of `.md` files on your disk. No database, no account. If you delete the app tomorrow the notes are still sitting in Finder, readable in any app. Also, AI runs only when you invoke it, and modifications land in your notes as hunk diffs you can either accept or decline. Nothing writes over your notes without you knowing. **Comparison: Obsidian** Obsidian is the obvious alternative and it is genuinely good, so let me be fair about it first. It has years of maturity on me, a plugin ecosystem I cannot come close to, mobile apps, and paid Sync. If any of those matter to you, use Obsidian. I am not going to pretend I have caught up. Obsidian is the app I used longest before building this, and on the files story there's no real difference: plain markdown on disk, yours to take anywhere. I built Margin around my own workflow, and here's where I feel it differs: * **Spaces are instant**. Work and personal would

LittleSwitch, my personnal router for Claude/Codex (Desktop/CLI/Cowork) on macOS

Show HN: Self-hosted company OS, Claude Code and Codex agents in departments

Hi HN, I am Dimitris. This is a company OS that I built and use to run my business and anyone can install it and self host it for free. Think of it as Claude Code, Cowork and the cloud sessions in one self hosted application. It is a Multi-tenant application by design where many people can collaborate on the company agents with 4 different modes of collaboration, and it runs with your Anthropic or OpenAi subscription or even with local models. Every agent can run on Claude Code or Codex CLI running as a persistent process on your server in a kernel sandbox (bubblewrap) with network isolation always on (pasta), with its own workspace, memory, schedules and tools. The same agents can also be configured to run identical on any remote computer through one outbound WebSocket (no inbound ports, no VPN needed). The agent already have lots of built in features, as an example they can answer and place phone calls through Twilio or your own Asterisk, they can edit videos and excel, word, ppt files and preview them directly inside the chat with collabora and many more. Trying it is one install script and a docker compose, no signup. The license is Fair Source, all the code is public and self hosting is free up to 5 users. 1.6.0 went out today. AI Disclaimer: large parts of OtoDock are written using OtoDock itself, running Claude Code. I would love people to read the code, take a look in the sandbox model, and tell me what would stop you from running this on your own hardware. GitHub: ht

Show HN: Rdltr – Inbox zero for your reading list

Hi HN, for the past few months I’ve been working on a read later app called RDLTR ( https://rdltr.app ). The whole thing started because I had so many tabs open with stuff I wanted to read, across browsers, Mac, Linux, and iPhone. They cluttered everything and got in the way of other things I had to do. Pocket had just shut down when this idea came up, I looked around, tried Instapaper, Raindrop, Matter, and a few others I forget. They were fine, but they all give you a list that only grows, which is another thing to maintain, and not the model I had in mind. Safari has this Reading List feature where you read something and it drops off the unread list. But it’s Apple only and half worked. What I wanted was inbox zero for reading. Open something, read it, come back, and it’s gone from the queue but still in the archive. You keep going until there is nothing left. Links come in from anywhere. Paste a URL on the page, drag one in, or use the bookmarklet, the Chrome and Firefox extensions, or the Apple Shortcut for the iOS share sheet, plus Vim keys, TL;DR summaries on each link, search across everything you have read or saved, RSS for every list, and it works just as well on the phone. The extensions have a couple of tricks that I use all the time. Shift+DD pulls the article text, cleans it up, and sends it to ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini in a new tab, so you can ask it anything about what you just read. Shift+AA opens it in the Internet Archive, handy for paywalled sit

Show HN: Tech Event Bingo – Track Events in Tech on a Bingo Card

With shopify buying TailwindCSS, I thought, "hey, I definetly had this on my tech bingo card." So then I thought it'd be fun to build an app to generate these. Put in your X handle (optional), get a card with a permanent URL, download it as a PNG. No signup, no cookies beyond the admin one nobody but me uses. How it's built, since that's the part HN actually cares about: one Cloudflare Worker with Hono, D1 for storage, Tailwind v4, and workers-og (Satori + resvg) for the PNGs. The PNG rendering was the only hard part. Satori only speaks a subset of flexbox, so the HTML card and the image card are two separate renderers reading from one theme file so they can't drift. Cold renders take a few seconds, longer than social crawlers wait, so PNGs are pre-rendered at card creation, stored as blobs in D1, and cached at the edge. The 120ish squares are hand-written. There's an admin page where Claude drafts new ones and I approve or reject them one at a time. Roughly a third of its drafts survive. Happy to hear which squares you'd add. "Cloudflare outage breaks the web" is already on there, in case you're wondering whether this site is exempt.