List of Mac software explained
The following is a list of Mac software – notable computer applications for current macOS operating systems.
For software designed for the Classic Mac OS, see List of old Macintosh software.
Audio software
Digital audio workstations
Audio editing
DJing
- djay – digital music mixing software
- Mixxx – DJ mix software
Notation software
Misc audio tools
- Audio Hijack – audio recorder
- baudline – signal analyzer
- BeaTunes - BPM analyzer and iTunes companion tool
- Cog – open source audio player, supports multiple formats
- – open source audio converter and CD ripper
- ixi software – free improvisation and sketching tools
- Jaikoz – music file mass tagger
- Max – Cycling 74's visual programming language for MIDI, audio, video; with MSP, Jitter
- Music MiniPlayer - miniplayer for Apple Music
- ReBirth – virtual synth program simulates Roland TR-808, TB-303
- Recycle – music loop editor
Discontinued audio apps
Chat (text, voice, image, and video)
Active
Discontinued
- aMSN – free Windows Live Messenger clone
- AOL Instant Messenger – discontinued as of December 15, 2017[1]
- ChitChat – open-source IM client supporting the Yahoo! Messenger protocol
- HexChat – IRC client, discontinued as of February 9, 2024[2]
- Ircle – IRC client (shareware)
- Microsoft Messenger for Mac – cross-platform IM client
- Yahoo! Messenger – IM client, also supporting VoIP, file transfers and webcam hosting
Children's software
Developer tools and IDEs
- Apache Web Server – free and open-source web server software
- AppCode – an Objective-C IDE by JetBrains for macOS and iOS development
- Aptana – an open source integrated development environment (IDE) for building Ajax web applications
- Clozure CL – an open source integrated development environment (IDE) for building Common Lisp applications
- – open source IDE for C++
- CodeWarrior – development environment, framework
- Coldstone game engine – game engine specializing in role-playing and adventure-style games
- Dylan – programming language
- Eclipse – open source Java-based IDE for developing rich-client applications, includes SWT library, replaces Swing by using underlying OS native windowing abilities
- Fink – Debian package manager for ported Unix software
- Free Pascal – Object Pascal compiler, XCode plugin available
- GNU Compiler Collection – collection of compilers for different programming languages, hardware architectures and operating systems
- Glasgow Haskell Compiler
- Helix – relational database IDE
- Homebrew - Package manager for installing many open source, mostly terminal based, utilities. Includes Apache, PHP, Python and many more.
- HotSpot – Sun's Java Virtual Machine
- IntelliJ IDEA – a JAVA IDE by JetBrains (free limited community edition)
- Komodo – commercial multi-language IDE from ActiveState
- Lazarus – cross-platform IDE to develop software with Free Pascal, specialized in graphical software
- LiveCode – high-level cross-platform IDE
- MacApp – application development framework for Pascal and C++
- Macintosh Programmer's Workshop (MPW)
- Macports – a package management system that simplifies the installation of free/open source software on the macOS.
- Macromedia Authorware – application (CBT, eLearning) development, no Mac development environment since version 4, though can still package applications with the 'Mac Packager' for OS 8 through 10 playback
- Mono – open source implementation of Microsoft .NET Framework with a C# compiler
- NetBeans – modular, open source, multi-language platform and IDE for Java written in pure Java
- Omnis Studio – cross-platform development environment for creating enterprise and web applications for macOS, Windows, Linux, Solaris
- Panorama – database engine
- Perl – programming language
- PHP – programming language
- Python – programming language
- Qt Creator – an IDE for C++ GUI applications, by Trolltech
- Real Studio – cross-platform compiled REALbasic BASIC programming language IDE
- ResEdit – resource editor
- Script Debugger – an AppleScript and Open Scripting Architecture IDE
- SuperCard – high-level IDE
- Tcl/tk – scripting shell & GUI utility that allows cross platform development. Included with macOS.
- TextMate – multipurpose text editor that supports Ruby, PHP, and Python
- Torque (game engine) – game creation software
- Visual Studio Code – code editor and IDE with debugging features
- WebKit – open source application framework for Safari (web browser)
- WebObjects – Java web application server and a server-based web application framework
- wxPython – API merging Python and wxWidgets
- Xcode – IDE made by Apple, which comes as a part of macOS and is available as a downloadon, was called Project Builders of Florida tech
Email
Email clients
Other email software
FTP clients
Games
- Steam – digital distribution software for video games and related media
Graphics, layout, and desktop publishing
CAD, 3D graphics
Distributed document authoring
Icon editors, viewers
- Icon Composer – part of Apple Developer Tools
- IconBuilder – plugin for Adobe Photoshop and Macromedia Fireworks for the editing and creation of icons
- Microsoft Office
File conversion and management
Active
- Adobe Bridge – digital asset management app
- BibDesk – free bibliographic database app that organizes linked files
- Font Book – font management tool
- GraphicConverter – graphics editor, open/converts a wide range of file formats
- Photos – photo management application
Discontinued
- iPhoto – discontinued photo management application
Layout and desktop publishing
Active
Discontinued
- iBooks Author – created interactive books for Apple Books
Raster and vector graphics
This section lists bitmap graphics editors and vector graphics editors.
Active
Discontinued
- Adobe Fireworks – supports GIF animation
- Adobe FreeHand – vector graphics editor
- Aperture – Apple's pro photo management, editing, publishing application
- GIMPShop – free open source cross-platform bitmap graphics editor
- MacPaint – painting software by Apple (discontinued)
Integrated software technologies
Language and reference tools
Mathematics software
Media center
Multimedia authoring
Networking and telecommunications
News aggregators
See main article: News aggregator.
- Feedly – news aggregator, and news aggregator reading application
- NetNewsWire – news aggregator reading application
- NewsFire – news aggregator reading application
- RSSOwl – news aggregator reading application
- Safari (web browser) - news aggregation via built-in RSS support
- Apple Mail – news aggregation via (discontinued) built-in RSS support
Office and productivity
Operating systems
- Darwin – the BSD-licensed core of macOS
- macOS – originally named "Mac OS X" until 2012 and then "OS X" until 2016
- macOS Server – the server computing variant of macOS
Outliners and mind-mapping
Peer-to-peer file sharing
Science
Text editors
Utilities
- Activity Monitor – default system monitor for hardware and software
- After Dark – computer screensaver software
- AppZapper – uninstaller (shareware)
- Automator – built-in, utility to automate repetitive tasks
- Butler – free, launcher and utility to automate repetitive tasks
- CandyBar – system customization software (commercial)
- CDFinder – disk cataloging software (commercial)
- CleanMyMac – maintenance and optimisation utility
- DaisyDisk – disk visualization tool
- Dashboard – built-in macOS widgets
- Grab – built-in macOS screenshot utility
- Growl – global notifications system, free
- iSync – syncing software, bundled with Mac OS X up to 10.6
- LaunchBar – provides instant access to local data, search engines and more by entering abbreviations of search item names, commercial
- MacKeeper – cleanup utility
- Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing – proprietary, typing tutor
- OnyX – a freeware system maintenance and optimization tool for macOS
- Path Finder – replacement for Apple's Finder
- Quicksilver – a framework for accessing and manipulating many forms of data
- SheepShaver – PowerPC emulator, allows, among other things, running Mac OS 9 on Intel Macs
- Sherlock – file searching (version 2), web services (version 3)
- Stickies – put Post-It Note-like notes on the desktop
- System Settings – default Mac system option application
- UUTool – uuencoded/uudecode and other transcoding
- Xsan – storage network utility
- Yahoo! Widget Engine – JavaScript-based widget system
Anti-malware software
macOS includes the built-in XProtect antimalware as part of GateKeeper.The software listed in this section is antivirus software and malware removal software.
Archiving, backup, restore, recovery
This section lists software for file archiving, backup and restore, data compression and data recovery.
Discontinued archiving apps
- Backup – discontinued Apple backup utility, part of MobileMe
- Stuffit – data compression
Disc burning apps
Discontinued disc burning apps
Video
Virtualization, emulation, and dual-booting
- Bochs
- Boot Camp – a multi-boot utility built into macOS from 10.5 on Intel Macs only
- CrossOver – commercial implementation of Wine
- DOSBox – DOS emulator
- Hercules emulator
- pcAnywhere – VNC-style remote control
- Parallels Workstation – commercial full virtualization software for desktop and server
- Q – emulates an IBM-compatible PC on a Mac, allows running PC operating systems
- VMware Fusion – virtualization software
- Wine – Windows API reimplementation
- Virtual PC – full virtualization software allows running other operating systems, such as Windows and Linux, on PowerPC Macs (discontinued in 2007)
- VirtualBox
- vMac – emulates a Macintosh Plus and can run Apple Macintosh System versions 1.1 to 7.5.5.
Web browsers
- Amaya – free
- Brave – free and open-source, Chromium-based
- Camino – open source
- Flock – free, Mozilla Firefox based
- Google Chrome – free, proprietary, Chromium-based
- iCab – free
- Konqueror – open source
- Lynx – free
- Mozilla – open source, combines browser, email client, WYSIWYG editor
- Mozilla Firefox – open source
- Microsoft Edge – free, proprietary, Chromium-based
- Netscape Navigator – free, proprietary
- OmniWeb – free, proprietary
- Opera – free, proprietary, Chromium-based
- Safari (web browser) – built-in from Mac OS X 10.3, available as a separate download for Mac OS X 10.2
- SeaMonkey – open source Internet application suite
- Shiira – open source
- Sleipnir – free, by Fenrir Inc
- Tor (anonymity network) – free, open source
- Torch (web browser) – free, by Torch Media Inc.
- Vivaldi – free, proprietary, Chromium-based
- Internet Explorer for Mac – free, by Microsoft
- WebKit – Safari application framework, also in the form of an application
Web design and content management
Weblog clients
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: AIM has been discontinued as of December 15, 2017. help.aol.com/. 2018-01-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20171006155404/https://help.aol.com/articles/aim-discontinued. October 6, 2017. dead.
- Web site: 2.16.2, The Final Release – HexChat . 2024-06-11 . hexchat.github.io . 2024-03-10 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240310215749/https://hexchat.github.io/news/2.16.2.html . live .
- Web site: MacDraft Professional | Powerful 2D CAD, drafting, technical illustration and more for Mac | Microspot Ltd .
- Web site: Retouch4me — Advantages of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Retouching . 2024-10-28 . retouch4me.oxem.dev . en-us.
