hytheaway
(.github.io)
software i use.
this is more for me than for you.a list of software that makes my life a bit easier.
* denotes essential software, in my opinion.
† denotes paid software.
‡ denotes optionally paid software that i have paid for.
| universal | |
| localsend* | airdrop for all your devices. macOS, windows, android, iOS, linux, whatever. significantly faster than airdrop, too. |
| tailscale | personal vpn so i can easily remote into my machines. |
| dropbox† | all cloud storage providers suck, but i'm stuck with this one i guess. |
| cider† (testing) | you cannot possibly imagine how ass the apple music desktop app is on windows. this is an alternative that i quite like so far. |
| macOS | |
| raycast* |
my preferred replacement for spotlight search. way more powerful, and way more usable (once you disable all the ai garbage). much faster file search, more refined controls, honestly you don't know what you're missing out on. (hover for more info)
raycast is not the best option for everyone, and great alternatives do exist. if raycast is your choice, here's what i have disabled: - ai commands - cloud sync - raycast ai, focus, notes - browser - calendar - mcp - quicklinks - contacts - typing practice |
| ghostty | a better terminal. configurable, quick, cross-platform, etc. |
| karabiner elements* | potentially the best single addition to any macos install. powerful remapping for input devices. i always remap caps lock to left control, for example. |
| alttab* | my preferred replacement for cmd tab. instead of switching between apps, you can switch between all windows, so it's kinda like cmd tab mixed with cmd `. |
| maccy* | incredibly simple and lightweight clipboard manager with clipboard history and search. |
| mediainfo‡ | a way better "get info" for media files. so good, in fact, i have a shortcut just to open it. |
| betterdisplay‡ | a way better display manager for macos. mostly use it for fixing macos's bad text scaling and forcing 8-bit color on my 10-bit monitor, which macos hates. |
| sanesidebuttons* | macOS doesn't really like the "back" and "forward" side buttons on a mouse, so this fixes that. |
| tinkertool | gives you access to hidden macos preferences, all of which exist in the command line. mostly use this for speeding up the dock motion and reducing the size that my menu bar icons take up. |
| hiddenbar | lets me hide menu bar icons that i want, but don't access very frequently. a free, but less functional, version of bartender. |
| keyboard maestro† | way better automation. really really powerful when combined with karabiner elements or a stream deck. |
| grandperspective | great visualization of your hard drive. easily see what file(s) are taking up all your space, and it's way more detailed than the built in storage viewer in the settings. |
| keka | a better (and cuter) file archival utility (for example, zipping and unzipping files). |
| lanscan‡ | easy scanning of devices on your local area network (lan). |
| latest | an update manager for more than just app store downloads. |
| dockdoor (testing) | provides windows-style previews of your open windows when you hover over the app icon on the dock. also has a built in alt-tab switcher, but i'm more familiar with alttab. |
| launchy (testing) | alternative application launcher, which i use to quickly cycle between my currently open apps. |
| translator x (testing) | ocr (optical character recognition) translation app. take a screenshot of some text in another language, and this can translate it for you. |
| deepl (testing) | another translator app, a bit more polished than translator x. keeping around for comparison. |
| macOS honourable mentions | i don't have these installed, but i would recommend taking a look. |
| usboverdrive | a much better way to manage 3rd party peripherals for macOS (provided they don't use custom vendor codes, like razer does). |
| launchpad manager† | for the three other people who care what their launchpad looks like, this is a great tool to keep it organized. unfortunately, launchpad is being deprecated in macOS 26 (tahoe), so while i've loved this app for years, i can't recommend it unless you're running an os before tahoe. |
| windows | |
| microsoft powertoys* | basically every single power-user utility for windows is right here. install it, and never look back. |
| startallback*† | windows 11 is a snappy operating syste. too bad no one will ever notice, because it's so bogged down by confusing ui decisions. startallback lets you configure your start menu, your taskbar, the context (right-click) menu, file explorer, tray icons, everything. honestly i cannot use windows 11 without it. |
| alternative a2dp driver*† | the windows bluetooth audio driver is such utter dogshit, someone had to rewrite the entire thing. this single-handledly resolves the nearly 500ms (or more!) latency for bluetooth audio devices. i swear i saw heaven when i first tried it. microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for not having solved this issue earlier, and this is an absolute requirement for any windows device imo. it also lets you use different bluetooth audio codecs, which is great too. |
| system informer | task manager on steroids with some incredibly helpful features, like being able to save the cpu priority or efficiency mode of executables. |
| eartrumpet* | a better context menu for audio. adjust the loudness of each program or change audio devices without needing to open up another window. one of the first things i install. |
| twinkletray | monitor brightness control from the os. simple, straightforward, effective. |