backup of reddit post

Hackintosh / MacOS free tools
INFO/GUIDE
Hi everyone!

I just wanted to make a post to gather useful free tools/software to monitor/use your hack/mac. I will update the post with suggestions from other peoples if there are some.

I start the list with my personal selection, it's basically everything I install on a Mac at first login.

HACKINTOSH SPECIFIC

Hackintool : The Swiss army knife of vanilla Hackintoshing (must have)
KextUpdater : updater and backup tool for OC/Clover and kexts (thanks to u/Stooovie for submission)
DarwinDumper : comprehensive Hackintosh/Mac info possible (thanks to u/Stooovie for submission)
QuickESP (v1.04) : easy and simple ESP/EFI mounter application (thanks to u/niovhe for submission)
EFI-Agent: simple, low resource, efficient and no frills tool to mount EFI partitions (thanks to u/headkaze for submission)
ProperTree : cross-platform GUI plist editor
IORegistryClone : utility to browse IO registry with a GUI interface (thanks to u/ActuallyPix3l_ for submission)

OPENCORE SPECIFIC

ocvalidate : utility to validate whether a config.plist matches requirements and conventions imposed by OpenCore
OCConfigCompare : python script to compare two config.plist and list missing keys in either
OC Auxiliary Tools : is – as of now – the best, easiest and fastest way to update and maintain OpenCore, kexts & config.plist structure at the same time. A well done guide on how to use the tool is available here.

NETWORK

Lulu : user friendly and easy to use firewall
HoRNDIS : use your Android phone's native USB tethering mode to get internet access (for BigSur & up : put it in EFI/Kext & config.plist if you are on a hackintosh (best way), and use this technique on real Macs)
DNS Switcher : a simple menu-bar utility that allows you to quickly switch between pre-configured DNS settings

ANDROID / MACOS CONTINUITY

srccpy : Small CLI application that provides display and control of Android devices connected via USB or over TCP/IP (wireless). It does not require any root access. Copy/paste text in working in both ways. File sharing is working from mac to phone only (drag & drop).
Snapdrop : Instantly share images, videos, PDFs, and links with people on the same network. Peer2Peer and Open Source. No Setup, No Signup. (basically open source & multi platform Airdrop)
PairDrop : fork of Snapdrop with ability to pair devices outside your local network or in complex network environment (public Wi-Fi, company network, Apple Private Relay, VPN etc.)
NearDrop : unofficial Google Nearby Share app for macOS.

HARDWARE MONITORING / TUNING & OVERCLOCKING

Stats : monitoring your hack/mac hardware (temps, fans, HDD, SSD...), basically a copy of iStat Menu but free
Eul : alternative to Stats (thanks to u/bambinorj for submission)
HWMonitorSMC2 : fan monitoring tool. No control. (thanks to u/Stooovie for submission)
CPU Stress Test : to test that sweet overclock/undervolt/whatever you have (thanks to u/Stooovie for submission)
Voltageshift : kext for undervolting (or overvolting if needed) your CPU, GPU and various other subsystems (thanks to u/Stooovie for submission)

CLEANING / MAINTENANCE / BACKUP TOOLS

AppCleaner : thoroughly uninstall apps
Onyx : clean and configure your hack/mac
SuperDuper! (direct download link) : backup your disks, make the copy bootable if necessary. The free version is fully working, paid version unlock automatic backup and "smart" features.
Latest : open source app that checks if all your apps are up to date (thanks to u/archangelique for submission)

MACOS TWEAKS & IMPROVEMENTS

KeepingYouAwake : keep your hack/mac awake (prevent from going to sleep mode without modifying system parameters)
AppPolice : quickly throttle down the CPU usage of any running process
Karabiner-Elements : configure your keyboard as you want (useful to configure hotkeys on a windows keyboard)
IriunWebcam : use your phone as a wireless webcam
Shifty : get more control over Nigh Shift
NightFall : easy switching between Dark/Light mode (thanks to u/Red__1860 for submission)
Lunar : Mac-like brightness control from keyboard, syncing of brightness between multiple displays, automatic brightness by location and more. Version 3 is free. (thanks to u/Stooovie for submission)
MonitorControl : slimmer alternative to Lunar (thanks to u/Saudor for submission)
Hidden Bar : open source Bartender clone for hiding menubar stuff (thanks to u/Stooovie for submission)
Dozer : alternative to Hidden Bar (thanks to u/ActuallyPix3l_ for submission)
Marta : powerful dual pane file manager (thanks to u/Stooovie for submission)
ShiftIt : configure shortcut keys to do various window actions such as move to next screen, previous screen, maximise window or center window (thanks to u/tiltshiftfocus for submission)
Discretescroll : for those who don't like Apple's variable scrollwheel movement and prefer "tick=x lines". (thanks to u/Stooovie for submission)
magicScrollWheel : for smooth third party mouse scrolling (thanks to u/bambinorj for submission)
Mos : Smooth Scrolling utility with lots of granular control (thanks to u/Shad0w_7 for submission)
Rectangle : move and resize windows in macOS using keyboard shortcuts or snap areas (Windows 8/10 like) (thanks to u/bambinorj for submission)
Yabai : open source tiling window manager (more for advanced users) (thanks to u/Shad0w_7 for submission)
SensibleSideButtons : functional side navigation buttons on your third-party mice (thanks to u/sniper257 for submission)
AirServer : turn your hack/Mac into an AirPlay (+ Google Cast + Miracast) receiver for screen mirroring (thanks to u/archangelique for submission)
Helium : Picture in Picture alternative, a floating browser window that allows you to watch media while you work (thanks to u/archangelique for submission)
CheatSheet : just hold the ⌘-Key a bit longer to get a list of all active short cuts of the current application (thanks to u/archangelique for submission)
RDM : setting custom screen resolutions (thanks to u/thenickdude for submission)
Pictogram : a tool to change icons in Big Sur (thanks to u/ActuallyPix3l_ for submission)
Tot : tiny notes in menubar (thanks to u/AlexFullmoon for submission)
Pure Paste : paste as plain text by default (clear formating) & more
LanguageTool : multilingual grammar, style, and spell checker

DEVELOPMENT / TERMINAL

iTerm : terminal replacement with additional useful features (thanks to u/MonsieurJay for submission)
oh-my-zsh : community-driven framework for managing your Zsh configuration (thanks to u/infiltrateindustries for submission)
Hexfiend : fast and clever open source hex editor (thanks to u/AlexFullmoon for submission)
MaciASL : native AML compiler and IDE (thanks to u/AlexFullmoon for submission)
Boop : a bunch of text transformation utilities

OTHER USEFUL SOFTWARE

Keka : lightweight and powerful file archiver
The Unarchiver : Keka alternative (thanks to u/Shad0w_7 for submission)
PeaZip : another Keka alternative, also a file manager (thanks to u/adaskar for submission)
Sublime Text / CotEditor / Textmate / VS Code : lightweight and powerful text editor (thanks to u/AlexFullmoon for submission)
Teamviewer : control your hack/mac from another device (phone/computer/tablet). See this post for getting audio working (not needed in last versions of Teamviewer which includes audio feedback now)
AnyDesk : alternative to Teamviewer (thanks to u/Pandaepidemic for submission)
WineBottler : use Windows apps on MacOS
Homebrew : installing CLI stuff (thanks to u/Stooovie for submission)
Tempbox : generate instant/multiple disposable/junk email address, archive for later use, never get junk email in your main mailbox again
Mounty : mount NTFS drives read/write (gui using ntfs-3G & macfuse, use homebrew to install)

MEDIA / VIDEO SOFTWARE

HandBrake : open source video transcoder
Shutter Encoder : easy to use video transcoder
DaVinci Resolve : professional video editing software
HitFilm Express : video editing software (thanks to u/TenseRestaurant for submission)
IINA : media player instead of VLC (thanks to u/beavernuggetz for submission)
mpv player : alternative to IINA
ffmpeg : audio and video transcoder CLI tool. Only requires terminal and simple command to make the transcode (ffmpeg -i yourfile.mp3 yourfile.wav for example) (thanks to u/retron_prod for submission)
BlackHole : modern macOS virtual audio driver that allows applications to pass audio to other applications with zero additional latency (alternative to SoundFlower). Allows you to record audio from any application.

SECURITY / ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE

VirusTotalUploader : check for malware inside a file
Malwarebytes : scan your system drive for malware
Encrypto : encrypt files before sending them to friends or coworkers. Drop a file into Encrypto, set a password, and then send it with added security (thanks to u/archangelique for submission)
Cryptomator : Cryptomator encrypts your data quickly and easily. It creates an encrypted Volume in a local folder. Bonus: encryption is made on file level (but names are randomized), therefore synchronization with Dropbox/OneDrive etc. works nicely. (thanks to u/regtavern for submission)

Hope this will save some time to some of you guys.

Feel free to reply with you own list :)

Have a great day!

MSTRKKRFT

Edit 09/02/2024 09:02 CEST : added Mounty

Edit 24/04/2023 12:41 CEST : added Snapdrop, PairDrop, NearDrop & LanguageTool

Edit 11/10/2022 14:20 CEST : added Tempbox & Pure Paste

Edit 24/06/2022 11:42 CEST : added "ANDROID / MACOS CONTINUITY" category (srccpy & Snapdrop)

Edit 18/01/2022 9:35 CEST : added DNS Switcher

Edit 15/12/2021 10:55 CEST : added BlackHole (in "MEDIA / VIDEO"section), edit informations about getting audio in Teamviewer (Soundflower/BlackHole not needed anymore) and added informations on how to use HoRNDIS on Big Sur & up.

Edit 11/10/2021 10:20 CEST : added OC Auxiliary Tools (in "opencore specific" section)

Edit 24/07/2021 12:45 CEST : added suggestions from u/regtavern & u/retron_prod)

Edit 15/06/2021 12:42 CEST : added solution for getting audio working in TeamViewer

Edit 02/06/2021 20:53 CEST : added category "DEVELOPMENT / TERMINAL" and suggestions from u/infiltrateindustries, u/TenseRestaurant, u/AlexFullmoon, u/tiltshiftfocus, u/Saudor, u/headkaze

Edit 02/06/2021 10:00 CEST : added suggestions from u/beavernuggetz, u/MonsieurJay, u/Shad0w_7, u/archangelique, u/sniper257, u/thenickdude, u/Pandaepidemic & u/ActuallyPix3l_

Edit 01/06/2021 22:01 CEST : added ProperTree

Edit 01/06/2021 21:24 CEST : added opencore specific entries

Edit 01/06/2021 18h55 CEST : added categories & suggestions from u/Stooovie, u/Red__1860, u/bambinorj & u/niovhe