2026 Default Apps
I’ve always read Chris Coyier’s annual default apps post and wanted to join in - it’s a fun way to share and discover useful tools. Without further ado:
- Zed - I tried NeoVim for a while, but Zed clicked in a way that Neovim didn’t (largely due to time constraints while I adapt to having a kid). I’m not sure how well Zed is going to stick, but for now it’s my IDE of choice.
- Ghostty - There was a time this year when I tried to go all in on the terminal. Some things stuck, and others didn’t. Ghostty has been fun to use, and with the rise of agentic editing I’ve been spending more and more time in a terminal environment - opting for the terminal with the best font renderer is a no-brainer.
- Apple Music - I left Spotify several years ago. The music quality and app design language have kept me on Apple Music, although the general interaction lag and bugs are constant annoyances.
- Discord - Chat, video, and audio. I use FaceTime with family members, but when I’m gaming or creating hubs for projects I’m working on I will always choose Discord over Slack.
- Fantastical - Still the best calendar app I’ve ever used.
- Copilot - No, not Microsoft Copilot. This is an iOS budgeting app I’ve been using for years that I swear by.
- NetNewsWire - I use this on Mac and iOS as my RSS reader. I use Feedbin, although I also throw some local feeds on there. NetNewsWire was a fantastic debugging tool when I was writing the code for generating this site’s RSS feed.
- iA Writer - Still my favorite Markdown editor after all these years.
- TablePlus - One of the first tools I reach for when I have to work with Databases.
- Reminders - The default Apple Reminders app is pretty feature complete these days. I use it for home reminders, grocery lists, and personal project task trackers.
- OpenCode - I’m still learning about AI and agentic development (it felt like the world changed while I was out on paternity leave) but so far I prefer OpenCode over Claude Code or Codex.
- Flighty - This app isn’t as underground as it used to be, but I cannot recommend it enough, no matter how infrequently you fly.
- Retro - Retro has replaced Instagram for me. My one wish is that more of my friends were on it; I think it offers a great system for sharing photos with friends in an intuitive interface. If you miss how Instagram used to be when it was independent, check out Retro.
- Overcast - I’m not the biggest podcast guy, but when I do listen to them I use Overcast.
- Mela - I’ve written about Mela previously. If you need a recipe app, use Mela.
- Mango Baby - Different parents use different tracking apps, and Mango Baby is my choice. No ads, great iOS integration, great UI/UX. I haven’t once regretted using Mango Baby or buying premium.
- Wipr 2 - I use Safari as my daily browser. I don’t think that would be possible without using Wipr 2 as an ad blocker.
- Safari - There isn’t a browser I love. I don’t have a Google account which keeps me off Chrome outside of web development purposes.
- CleanShot X - This is one of the apps I resisted for a long time (“who needs an app for screenshots?”) that I regret holding out over. It’s fantastic, and I use it daily both at work and on my personal machine.
- Klack - When my job went remote, I was despondent. How would my coworkers know I use a mechanical keyboard? I immediately bought Klack. Now whenever I stream in Discord or screen share in another app, viewers will hear every keystroke I make. It also just adds a certain touch to using your computer that’s hard to put into words.
- OrbStack - I don’t use Docker much (primarily I find myself running databases on it), but when I do it’s through OrbStack.
- Raycast - I thought the Tahoe Spotlight enhancements might pull me away from Raycast this year. That thought lasted less than a minute of testing.
- 1password - I’m still on 1password, but I’m in the process of a slow migration to Apple’s Passwords app.
- GitHub Desktop - I can use the git command line interface, but there’s something about GitHub Desktop that is hard to leave behind. It speeds up a lot of workflows that are more painful via CLI, while not adding a ton of unnecessary features to the core app experience.
I’m working on another post going over the technologies and frameworks I use for personal projects - similar vibes to this post, but more developer minded. I’m thinking about going into the ways I’m expecting it to change over the next year, but in the interest of time I might kick that to a third post.