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Looking to enhance your development workflow on Mac? You’re in the right place. I’ve tested some popular tools out there, and here’s my honest opinion on the 17 best Mac tools for developers.
Whether you’re building websites, developing apps, or creating tools for businesses, macOS offers an excellent environment. Its Unix-based OS, reliable hardware, and high-quality display are just a few reasons why developers remain loyal to Mac.
One of the biggest advantages is the wide variety of tools readily available to tackle any task you might encounter. Let’s dive into the top picks that can elevate your development experience. Ready?
There are literally hundreds of great macOS apps that specifically address problems faced by developers. Whether it’s writing code, managing files, or turning HTML into beautiful animations, there’s a perfect tool for it on the Mac.
So here’s a shortlist of my 17 favorite Mac apps that all developers should try to incorporate in their daily workflow.
| App, free for 7 days with Setapp Membership | Best for | Key features |
| Hype | Creating beautiful animations | Keyframe animations, HTML5 projects, interactive elements |
| Expressions | Mastering regex | Syntax highlighting, regex reference, minimalist interface |
| TeaCode | Speeding up code writing | Intelligent snippet library, customizable expanders |
| ForkLift | Seamlessly managing server files | FTP/SFTP connectivity, file synchronization |
| CodeRunner | Debugging and running code | Supports 23 languages, easy editing and debugging tools |
| SQLPro Studio | Organizing multiple databases | Supports various SQL types, native Mac performance |
| Base | Managing SQLite databases | Simple search and edit functionality |
| Marked | Previewing Markdown content | Live preview, spelling and grammar checking |
| Proxyman | Debugging web traffic | Intuitive interface, organized source lists |
| Dash | Accessing API documentation | Offline access, over 200 APIs available |
| SnippetsLab | Organizing code snippets | Syntax support for 420+ languages, easy copy-paste |
| DevUtils | Performing coding tasks offline | Handy developer toolkit, smart detection |
| Clobbr | Load testing API endpoints | Easy request creation, performance analysis tools |
| Asset Catalog Creator Pro | Generating Apple app icons & assets | Drag-and-drop PNG/JPEG/PDF conversion, 100+ device sizes, one-click Xcode asset catalogs |
| Buildwatch | Tracking Xcode build times | Menu-bar monitoring, total/average build stats, hourly-to-all-time graphs, scheme combining |
| AppWage | Tracking App Store earnings & metrics | Local permanent report storage, sales/subscription dashboards, review filtering & translation |
Pricing: On Setapp, you get all the described apps and 260+ others. All apps are free to try for 7 days.
Hype from Setapp (7 days free) is a keyframe animation tool that allows you to create HTML5 projects for use on websites, in digital greetings cards, infographics, or ebooks.
In its simplest form, you can just hit Record and move elements around the canvas. Hype will then watch what you do, create keyframes on the timeline, and turn the whole lot into HTML5. You can trigger animations and transitions with Actions, and if you want to have complete control, the JavaScript editor lets you code custom functions.
Here is what a Setapp user says about Hype, “This software reminds me of the old flash days. Very easy and intuitive for interactive animation for web or interactive presentations.”
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Hype is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to Hype and over 250 other apps
Need to write and test regular expressions?
Expressions from Setapp (7 days free) is the right tool for the job. With syntax highlighting to make the pattern easy to read and modify, and a regex reference sheet in case you need to remind yourself of the syntax it makes playing with regular expressions simple. “I had never used Regex before,” – a Setapp user says, – “And Expressions made it relatively easy to learn and develop the searches I needed.”
It has a minimalist interface and a choice of dark or light modes, meaning it keeps out of the way while you get on with the work.
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Expressions is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to Expressions and over 250 other apps
TeaCode from Setapp (7 days free) is a dynamic, intelligent snippet library of expendable code snippets for any programming language. The app features lots of preset expanders and lets you create your own, seamlessly slots into your workflow, and allows for quick entry and browsing on the go. Here is what a Setapp user says about TeaCode, “I have the same snippet name in several languages, and it gets the right one for the right file! Now I don’t have to remember quite so many names.”
Instead of typing everything manually, you can just use the expander, and it will unfold into a full code snippet.
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TeaCode is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to TeaCode and over 250 other apps
Moving files between servers, uploading them to web hosts, and editing them online are key tasks for many developers.
ForkLift from Setapp (7 days free) allows you to do all that and more. Whether the server you need to connect to is FTP, SFTP, Amazon S3 or WebDAV, Forklift makes it easy. And, of course, it connects to SMB and AFP servers too. You can synchronize files between your Mac and a remote server, preview remote files and compare two files in different locations.
“I have been using it for a long time. It works very well and is a perfect alternative to Total Commander. It even feels better than Total Commander.” – a Setapp user says.
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ForkLift is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to ForkLift and over 250 other apps
With support for 23 languages out of the box, including Swift, Python, C++, and AppleScript, CodeRunner from Setapp (7 days free) is an essential tool in any developers’ arsenal.
Edit and run code with a single click, set breakpoints, and step through code line by line to debug it. CodeRunner also includes IDE-level code completion, including fuzzy search, tab selectable placeholders, and documentation snippets.
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CodeRunner is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to CodeRunner and over 250 other apps
If you need to work with multiple different SQL database types, SQLPro Studio from Setapp (7 days free) is the ideal choice. It has support for MySQL, Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL, MariaDB, and Oracle.
As a native Mac app, it’s faster and more reliable than Java-based alternatives and allows you to simultaneously select multiple tables, update table content, and compare query results.
Many users have praised SQLPro Studio for its versatility. One user shared, “I highly recommend this, whether you’re doing local development on your Mac or need to quickly run some queries on production databases. I have used many DB apps and almost always had to use web-based versions until I came across this.”
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SQLPro Studio is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to SQLPro Studio and over 250 other apps
For developers with more modest SQL needs, Base from Setapp (7 days free) is the go-to solution. It’s an SQLite database manager that makes it easy to create, search, and edit data. With its spreadsheet-like interface, it’s straightforward to get to grips with yet allows you to edit everything from basic default values to complex foreign key constraints.
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Base is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to Base and over 250 other apps
The right tool for developers who spend their time coding in markup languages, a good preview tool is essential; and that’s exactly what Marked from Setapp is. Whether you write in Markdown, HTML, OPML or any other markup language, Marked allows you to see how the finished version will look before you publish.
You can carry on writing in your preferred text editor while using Marked to preview the finished document. It also comes with tools like spelling and grammar checking, tips for simplifying sentences, word count, and reading time.
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Marked is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to Marked and over 250 other apps
Working on UML projects is not easy. Not only do you need to describe all parts of your model, you also need to do it in a way that other people can understand completely.
StarUML is just the right tool for you, making software modeling easy and flexible. The app uses a UML 1 standard meta-model and diagrams, and is packed with all the necessary tools to make your modeling a breeze, such as SysML support, quick shortcuts, Markdown documentation, and third-party extensions.
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Price: From $129
Everyone hates debugging, even though it’s one of the most critical steps in developing any website or app.
Proxyman from Setapp (7 days free) makes the debugging process much easier, thanks to its intuitive interface, organized list of sources, consistent performance, and automatic SSL proxying.
You can also easily view HTTP and HTTPS requests in JSON, and navigate within the website code easily, using built-in search functionality. Even better, Proxyman works just as well across multiple tabs.
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Proxyman is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to Proxyman and over 250 other apps
It’s practically impossible to create any self-contained software these days, and why do the work others have done before you?
Dash from Setapp (7 days free) is an easily accessible documentation resource with 200+ APIs for anything from macOS to Angular to Android readily available. You can quickly search through all the materials at once, write your own, and even create new code snippets. With Dash’s shortcuts and cheat sheets, no developing task is too difficult. “Saves me time when I want to access commonly accessed documentation. Without having to search through the internet,” says a Setapp user about Dash.
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Dash is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to Dash and over 250 other apps
Coding is not as much about writing as rewriting. Sure, every project brings new ideas, but there’s a lot of repetitive structure that could be quickly reused from a template.
The DRY (don’t repeat yourself) philosophy is central to being a good engineer. Do you really need to reinvent the same component over and over again?
SnippetsLab is the best free time-saving app for every programmer. This code snippet library supports the syntax for over 420 languages and lets you easily copy-paste any of your favorite components to new projects right from the menu bar. You can even export and share your snippets on GitHub, and back up a copy of them all somewhere offline.
In the words of a Setapp user, “Once you start using SnippetsLab, you don’t want to work without. Some structures, functions, etc... are complex and take a lot of time, now I can just copy previous work and adapt it right away, without searching for hours in different projects.”
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Coding requires you to use a lot more tools than a simple text editor or even IDE. What do you do if you need to format JSON? Or convert a UNIX timestamp?
DevUtils from Setapp (7 days free) is your personal developer toolkit that saves you time by automating all the most popular coding tasks. The app will read your clipboard contents and often do the thing you’re thinking about on its own, thanks to its smart detection. There are also convenient hotkeys available and you can enable DevUtils at any time from the menu bar. The best part? It works even when you’re offline!
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DevUtils is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to DevUtils and over 250 other apps
If testing and analyzing the performance of API endpoints is one of your typical tasks, Clobbr from Setapp (7 days free) can boost it. With it, you can test REST, GraphQL, or cloud functions. Clobbr helps you evaluate key stats such as standard deviation, percentiles, and more. The statistics can be stored and analyzed for changes in performance over time.
You'll be happy to know that creating a request here is a breeze. Just select an option from the drop-down list or fill in the fields with the method, number of iterations, type of requests, and so on. And the advanced built-in JSON editor allows you to include payload data in the request.
Other useful Clobbr "skills" include automatic GraphQL detection, CI/CD integration, script, text and data auto-completion, script testing, and more.
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Clobbr is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to Clobbr and over 250 other apps
Instead of editing and resizing images manually, just drop them into Asset Catalog Creator Pro from Setapp (7 days free) and generate the assets you need. The app turns your PNG, JPEG, and PDF files into properly sized icons, splash screens, and universal assets for Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, and other Apple platforms.
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Asset Catalog Creator Pro is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to Asset Catalog Creator Pro and over 250 other apps.
Buildwatch lives in your menu bar and tracks your activity in Xcode. It’s not just a time tracker but an analytics tool for understanding your development workflow. It visualizes your build activity over time, helping you understand your pace, estimate development time more accurately, and see patterns across days, weeks, and months. You can also track the number of builds you’ve run.
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Buildwatch is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to Buildwatch and over 250 other apps
AppWage helps you track your app’s financial performance and key metrics by turning App Store reports into useful insights. Unlike App Store Connect, which only keeps reports for a year, AppWage stores them locally for as long as you need. With it, analyzing performance over longer periods is much easier. To get started, simply connect your App Store Connect account using your API credentials.
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AppWage is available on Setapp for a flat monthly fee, which includes access to AppWage and over 250 other apps
As you can see, when it comes to choosing the best developer tools for macOS, the only real way to decide is to try them all for yourself. So it’s good news that many of the tools listed above are available for a free seven-day trial through Setapp, a collection of over 260 life-saving apps for macOS. Try every single one today at no cost and find your new favorites!
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