Oct 15th, 2024

So people have been asking me to write this because I have an entire workflow system thing set up that I can’t really live without. My setup isn’t necessarily complicated or advanced but I will attempt to keep this updated. So here you go Harsh 😊

Updated as of Oct 2024

A lot has changed so I will move stuff I no longer use to the end of this post.

Laptop:

Operating System: MacOS Sonoma on a M3 Pro.

Apps

• 💰Alfred: I have literally paid for a license for this because I cannot live without the workflows they have. If you would like a free alternative try: 🆓 https://www.raycast.com/. I just like Alfred’s UX better and have been using it forever.
  • Calm Notifications
  • Simple Diff
  • Alfred Gallery
  • Thumbnail Navigation
  • Show Workflows (by me! to be hosted on github)
  • Coffee Coffee
  • 2FA-Read Code
  • New File
  • ChatHub
  • Shrieking Chimes
  • Search ALL the docs!
  • Banner Be Gone
  • GitFred
  • Process
  • Workflow Actions
  • Mac Enhancer
  • Alfred Remote
  • System Settings
  • Download Media
  • Homebrew
• 💰BetterTouchTool I’m using this for trackpad and mouse gestures, and window management. I paid for this and it replaces a bunch of free/paid apps for me.
  • Apps Replaced:
    • 🆓 Rectangle or 💰Magnet are ones I have used and I think are basically identical window managers. BTT has most of this and I’d recc Rectangle for folks who just want window management. Comparison Sheet of Window Management Tools
• 💰 SideNotes nice replacement for apple notes that supports markdown and syncs with icloud. Also conveniently accessible to the side of your workspace and I love that you can create different folders for different projects.
• 🆓 OnlySwitch nice bunch of quick settings to have at your fingertips.
• 🆓 Hyperduck send links offline to your mac
• 🆓 Ice free alternative to 💰Bartender and hides all the annoying stuff like creative cloud and jetbrains while still keeping it accessible. Also supports a second menu bar
• 🆓 Dropshelf free alternative to 💰Dropover.
• 🆓 Stats free alternative to 💰iStatMenus
• 🆓 PearCleaner a hugeee improvement over AppCleaner which I also have used and love.
  • Note: I used to use the Setapp iCleanMyMac thing but didn’t feel like the subscription was worth it for me considering AppCleaner worked better. I know a lot of people rave about SetApp but honestly I’m not a super power user and most apps I like, I get for free. The few ones I like paying for are one time lifetime access types.
• 🆓 Via A nice keyboard remapping GUI for your VIA compatible keyboards. Super nice for configuring my split keyboard.
• 💰 Cork I’ve been trialing this app and have really liked the UX so far. Not sure if I’ll keep since I frequently end up starting from scratch with my laptop.
• 💰 BusyCal or 🆓 ItsyCal, 💰 Fantastical. I’m currently an ItsyCal stan given it’s free. BusyCal doesn’t integrate with my work calendar otherwise I’d def pay for it (still trialing). Fantastical used to be my daily driver but I’m not a huge fan of the subscription model. I love Fantastical and BusyCal for the Natural Language event creation but am still on the hunt for my holy grail.
• Mail: I just used the inbuilt Apple Mail app since my work account is finnicky.
• Spotify → 🆓 Spicetify
  • I use Spicetify to customize my Spotify installation. I’m currently running Catppuccin theme and Anonymized Radios, CatJam Synced, Immersive View, Remove Unplayable songs, Shuffle+, Sleep Timer, Toggle DJ, Dynamic Left Sidebar, Hide Made for You, Nyan Cat Progress Bar (Installed from the Store extension)
• Text Editors: Vim, 🆓Cursor
  • My Vim config is pretty default because I mostly use it for short one off things
  • I use my 💰 anthropic api key with Claude 3.5 to help me with work. Otherwise I have JSON linters, Live Preview, Live Share, Color Highlights, Spell Check and pyenv manager for working with conda. Theme is still quiet light. The rest of the extensions are mostly just whatever I need to develop.
• Terminal: 🆓 iterm 2,
  • Themes: (OhMyZSH)[https://ohmyz.sh/] and (Starship)[https://starship.rs]
    • I use these OhMyZSH plugins as of now since I recently switched over from fish shell.
    • Catpuccin Latte Everything! Except my slightly customized powershell prompt which I will share in my complete dotfiles soon!

Browser

A lot has changed since I first compiled this list. During school, I had to eventually switch to chrome due to the poor integration with Firefox for many sites. Now that I’ve graduated, I have switched to using arc out of curiosity. Do I still love open source? Yes. Is Firefox slowly becoming a pain to use on everything? Also yes. So I have given up on that for now. Might switch back to Firefox once the novelty wears off…

• Arc Browser - Referral Link: has some nice features like PiP, treestyle** (not exactly the same but vertical layout with tab groups) tabs, tab groups, split screen, usercss and more inbuilt. Not sponsored but generally my favorite at the moment.

Browser Extensions

• Ublock Origin if Chrome stops supporting this I’m throwing hands. Best AdBlocker period.
• Hide Google AI Overviews Self explanatory, they usually suck.
• SponsorBlock also self explanatory.
• Bitwarden my preferred password manager since high school.

Old Stuff

• Magnet: super nice for window management! Once you can memorize the keyboard shortcuts, window management is arguably better than windows. I’ve left the settings at default.
• Anytype: Selfhosted Notion. I’ve been alpha testing Anytype for a little bit and I’ve been enjoying it. I think I’ll probably stick with notion though since cloud is soo much more convenient than having to manually back up local stuff.
• Typora: My holy grail markdown editor. Has nice LaTeX support. I use the default theme with Github syntax highlighting and Dracula for the dark mode.
• VSCode

Browser: Firefox

• MaterialFox, using this for my usercss because I’m a normie and I’m too lazy to port my chrome workflow to Firefox
• Extensions:
  • CheckerPlus 4 Gmail: Super useful for when you’re sending email confirmations to your personal account and also waiting on mails from your work account. Do I recommend for people who are busy and actually have a life? NO. Usually this thing is just muted lmao
  • Bitwarden: Because I can’t be bothered to remember 133 passwords on different sites with different requirements sigh
  • [Disabled] Sideberry: Great Tree-Style-Tab extension for firefox but I’ve yet to get used to that so I just don’t use it.
  • TabStash: I use it to tuck away some tabs when I want to switch tasks, which is very often, and then revisit those tabs later. Super convenient for setting up class-based workspaces for school that I can pop in and out of without having to remember what tabs I need open for certain assignments.
  • UBlock: I use this to block trackers and make my browser run faster :)
  • Save to Notion: I use this to keep track of cool articles and job postings I apply to. I have a template linked somewhere on this website for the database that I store my job apps in.
  • Reading List: This is basically a replacement for chrome’s reading list but honestly I could just make a bookmark folder for this and delete the extension. The only thing that’s nice is that it keeps track of what you’ve read and what you have not albeit buggily.
  • LeechBlock: I use to block sites when I need to focus in. You could honestly use it to block anything for any reason gg
  • NuTab: This is what I use to mock me when i’m not at peak 100% chad productivity. I make a giant todo list and every time I open a tab, my list stares back at me,,, mocking me for not completing tasks. But yet I still procrastinate sigh
  • Octotree: nice little tool for navigating big github repos. You can basically see the file structure of any public non org repo in a side pane. You can navigate all the folders without leaving the page that you’re on so this is perfect for devs.
  • Newsfeed Eradicator: Gets rid of the most addictive part of social media for me. It basically prevents me from using Leechblock unless it’s a truly desperate situation.

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