The Shortlist · Guide
Small, but Indispensable
Small tools that solve real problems so well that working without them soon feels strangely inefficient.
These applications are not platforms, operating systems, or grand attempts to reorganise your life. They are small pieces of software that notice one recurring annoyance and resolve it with unusual care.
A beautifully minimal scratchpad for macOS designed for temporary notes, quick calculations, and in-the-moment thinking. Antinote strips away permanence and organisation so you can just jot, compute, and move on.
Aspect Ratio Pro, or the Rule of Thirds, is a well-crafted tool for calculating screen sizes of various aspect ratios across different pixel canvas sizes.
A fresh approach to drag-and-drop on macOS. Dropover makes moving and copying files faster, easier, and more intuitive.
A lightweight archive utility for macOS. Keka makes compressing and extracting files simple, fast, and reliable.
A minimalist, elegant app that keeps your focus by subtly blurring all inactive windows. Monocle gives you many customisation options, and allows you to enable or disable the blur for specific apps. The simplicity and the effect of it make it a stunning utility.
Ultra-minimalistic Pomodoro timer for macOS, designed to help you stay focused and productive with simple, distraction-free time management.
A blazing-fast launcher for macOS that replaces Spotlight with a far more powerful, extensible alternative. Search apps, files, and the web, run scripts, manage snippets, and extend everything with a rich library of community plugin
Whether you're a designer needing to measure spacing and dimensions, a developer checking pixel-perfect layouts, or just someone who wants to quickly measure distances on their screen, Pixelsnap 2 is an essential tool. Its intuitive interface and powerful features make it a must-have for anyone who works with digital design.
A lightweight dictation app for macOS that focuses on fast, accurate speech-to-text without unnecessary complexity. SpeakMac is designed to integrate smoothly into everyday writing workflows.
Their value is easiest to understand after a week without them.
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