Free and Popular macOS Applications from Homebrew

homebrew-productivity-toolkit.md

Free and Popular macOS Applications from Homebrew

This document lists useful free and open-source applications from your Homebrew installation script, organized by type.

GUI Applications (Casks)

App Name	Description	Homebrew Command
Applite	A user-friendly GUI for managing and updating applications	brew install --cask applite
Blender	Professional 3D creation suite for modeling, animation, and rendering	brew install --cask blender
Bruno	Open-source API client for exploring and testing APIs	brew install --cask bruno
Calibre	E-book management software	brew install --cask calibre
CapsLockNoDelay	Utility to eliminate the delay when using the Caps Lock key	brew install --cask capslocknodelay
ChatWise	AI chat assistant for macOS	brew install --cask chatwise
Cherry Studio	Creative design and collaboration tool	brew install --cask cherry-studio
ChromeDriver	WebDriver for Chrome to automate web browser interaction	brew install --cask chromedriver
Figma	Collaborative interface design tool	brew install --cask figma
GrandPerspective	Disk usage visualization tool	brew install --cask grandperspective
Ice	Mac app for browsing web apps	brew install --cask jordanbaird-ice
KeepingYouAwake	Tool to prevent your Mac from going to sleep	brew install --cask keepingyouawake
LocalSend	File sharing app that works without internet connection	brew install --cask localsend
Meld	Visual diff and merge tool	brew install --cask meld
Miniconda	Minimal installer for conda package manager	brew install --cask miniconda
Obsidian	Knowledge base and note-taking application	brew install --cask obsidian
ProNotes	Note-taking application	brew install --cask pronotes
RapidAPI	API development environment	brew install --cask rapidapi
Reqable	API testing and debugging tool	brew install --cask reqable
SwitchHosts	Hosts file manager for developers	brew install --cask switchhosts
Texifier	LaTeX editor	brew install --cask texifier
Texmaker	Free cross-platform LaTeX editor	brew install --cask texmaker
TeXstudio	Integrated writing environment for LaTeX documents	brew install --cask texstudio
Thunder	Download manager	brew install --cask thunder
Tuist	Tool to manage Xcode projects	brew install --cask tuist
UTM	Virtual machine manager for macOS	brew install --cask utm
V2Bar	Network utility tool for macOS	brew install --cask v2bar
VastWords	Vocabulary learning tool	brew install --cask vastwords
Vivaldi	Web browser focusing on customization and productivity	brew install --cask vivaldi
Windsurf	Minimal browser for macOS	brew install --cask windsurf
Zotero	Research assistant for collecting and organizing sources	brew install --cask zotero

Command-Line Tools & Libraries (Formulae)

Tool Name	Description	Homebrew Command
asitop	Performance monitor for Apple Silicon Macs	brew install asitop
autojump	Shell extension to jump to frequently used directories	brew install autojump
bash	GNU Bash shell, more modern than macOS default	brew install bash
bc	Arbitrary precision calculator language	brew install bc
btop	Resource monitor with modern UI	brew install btop
curl	Command-line tool for transferring data	brew install curl
ffmpeg	Complete solution to record, convert and stream audio/video	brew install ffmpeg
gh	GitHub's official command-line tool	brew install gh
git	Distributed version control system	brew install git
gitleaks	Tool for detecting sensitive information in git repositories	brew install gitleaks
glances	Alternative system monitor for terminal	brew install glances
hexo	Static site generator	brew install hexo
htop	Interactive process viewer	brew install htop
httrack	Website copier/offline browser	brew install httrack
hugo	Static site generator (faster than Hexo)	brew install hugo
jq	Command-line JSON processor	brew install jq
ollama	Local LLM runner	brew install ollama
pandoc	Universal document converter	brew install pandoc
smartmontools	Utilities to monitor storage health	brew install smartmontools
tabby	Self-hosted AI coding assistant	brew install tabby
tree	Display directories as trees	brew install tree
uniclip	Universal clipboard between devices	brew install uniclip
uv	Extremely fast Python package installer	brew install uv
wget	Internet file retriever	brew install wget
zsh-autosuggestions	Fish-like autosuggestions for zsh	brew install zsh-autosuggestions