Ranking updated
Useful Mac apps: what to install on a MacBook
A new MacBook does a lot out of the box, and the gaps are small daily tasks. Custom Color Master picks any colour from the screen, FloatViewer keeps a reference image on top of every window, CypherKeep stores API keys locally, and Essayist takes care of citation formatting.
How we picked: Mac apps from the Censuus catalogue, each covering a different daily task. Features come from each developer’s Mac App Store description.
Small utilities that save clicks
Custom Color Master lives in the menu bar: click the eyedropper, pick a pixel and copy the value in the format you need, or paste a value and convert it. FloatViewer keeps an image floating above all windows, reads text from it with OCR and opens RAW files. Compare more tools in colour picker apps for Mac and image viewers for Mac.
Secrets and writing
CypherKeep keeps API keys and other secrets on the Mac itself with Apple’s encryption and Keychain, without cloud sync, so make your own backup. For passwords across devices, see password manager apps. Essayist formats academic papers for you, from margins to references and footnotes.
Tasks on every Apple device
OmniFocus 4 is a deep task manager with one interface on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Vision Pro. It suits people with many projects; if you want something lighter, see to-do list apps.
| App | What it does | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Custom Color MasterCensuusApp Store | menu bar eyedropper, colour history, copy in the format you need | designers and front-end developers |
| FloatViewerCensuusApp Store | borderless floating image viewer with OCR, RAW decoding and colour analysis | working from a reference image |
| CypherKeepCensuusApp Store | local secrets manager for API keys and other secrets, no cloud sync | developers and crypto users |
| EssayistCensuusApp Store | formats margins, citations, references and footnotes automatically | students and researchers |
| OmniFocus 4CensuusApp Store | task manager across Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Vision Pro | busy professionals with many projects |
Frequently asked questions
What apps should I install on a new MacBook?
Start with the tasks you do every day: a colour picker such as Custom Color Master, an image viewer such as FloatViewer, a secrets or password manager, a writing app and a task manager such as OmniFocus.
Is there a Mac app for storing API keys locally?
CypherKeep stores API keys and other secrets on the Mac with no cloud sync.
Which Mac app helps with academic formatting?
Essayist formats margins, citations, references and footnotes automatically.