The 10 tools I install on every new Mac I get

I am currently on a company trip with my brand new MacBook and here are the things I always install first to get started:

• Homebrew – makes installing of low level stuff a breeze (free)
• Node/NPM – many things rely on it (free)
• Dropbox – still be best way to store and share content amongst machines, both Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive drive me nuts with their file permission nonsense (paid)
• VLC – plays everything, has excellent keyboard shortcuts and can in a pinch even record screens for you (free)
• VS Code – coders gotta edit (free)
• GitHub Desktop – much, much easier than installing and setting up Git yourself (free)
• ImageOptim – file resizing and optimising images, even on the command line (free)
• FFMPEG – converts anything to anything on the command line (free)
• Handbrake – batch conversion of videos made easy (free)
• Screenflow – my go-to screen recording and video editing tool (paid)

Other essentials are a VPN (I use Mullvad and ProtonVPN), but that’s about it.

Photo by iMattSmart on Unsplash