Here are my Default Apps 2025, which builds from my Default Apps 2024 and Default Apps 2023 posts.

• 🤖 AI Coding Assistant: Claude Code + GitHub Copilot CLI + Codex
• ⚙️ Automation: Hammerspoon
• 🎒 Backups: Backblaze
• 🔖 Bookmarks: Raindrop.io
• 🌐 Browser: Vivaldi
• 📆 Calendar: Apple Calendar
• 💬 Chat: Apple Messages (family & friends), Discord (friends), Slack (work and community work), Telegram (weird bots)
• 📁 Cloud File Storage: iCloud Drive + Syncthing
• 🧑‍💻 Code Editor: Sublime Text + Zed
• 🤖 Containers: OrbStack + Docker Compose
• ✍️ Grammar: Grammarly
• 🚀 Launcher: Alfred 5
• 📨 Mail Client: Mimestream (Gmail only and not very often)
• 📮 Mail Server: Fastmail (I pay for it but still don’t use it enough) + Gmail
• 👔 Menu Bar: Ice
• 🎵 Music: Apple Music + Spotify
• 🔐 Password Management: 1Password
• 🎤 Podcasts: Apple Podcast
• 📑 Read It Later: Raindrop.io
• 🔗 Remote Access: Tailscale
• 🗓️ Scheduling + Booking: Cal.com
• 🖼️ Screenshots: Xnapper
• 🔍 Search: Kagi
• 🐚 Terminal: iTerm2 + Ghostty
• 🌐 Terminal Proxy: VibeTunnel
• 🎙️ Transcription: MacWhisper
• 🗃️ Version Control: Tower
• 📹 Video Calls: Zoom + Cal.com + Meeter
• ✈️ VPN: Mullvad
• 📝 Writing: Obsidian

Commentary

The biggest changes for me this year were the addition of more AI tooling like coding assistants, VibeTunnel, and the MacWhisper voice translating app. A year ago, I was writing my own AI coding tools with Python. Today, I use voice-to-text to interact with multiple coding assistants that I can access from any browser connected to my Tailscale Tailnet. It’s a mouthful to explain, but coding looks very different now than it did a year or two ago for me.

I’m not using Google Apps as much as I was a few years ago, though I still need to switch between Google Orgs for work and community organizations.

Changes from 2024

New Additions:

• AI Coding Assistant (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot CLI, Codex)
• VibeTunnel for accessing my terminal through any browser on my Tailnet
• I started using Ghostty to run my AI sessions, but I find its lack of find (⌘f) support to be terribly frustrating.
• I have used MacWhisper for years, but now it’s a daily driver. I can hold down the globe (fn) key on my keyboard and talk to my computer and quickly reply to people or even write blog posts with my voice. It’s incredibly cool and powerful.

Apps Removed:

• I dropped Polypane (Browser category)
• I managed to not use Overcast (Podcasts category) for most of the year, but I’m still not happy with Apple’s Podcast app. I might be switching back.

Previously inspired by: “Apps I’ve been using regularly this year.” Heavily inspired by Matt Stein and cataloged by Robb Knight’s App Defaults