19 Best System Tools and Utilities for macOS To Consider in 2024

19 Best System Tools and Utilities for macOS To Consider in 2024
Photo by Cristina Gottardi / Unsplash

Are you looking for the best system tools and utilities to enhance your macOS experience? Look no further! In this post, we have compiled a list of 19 top-notch tools and utilities that are worth considering in 2024.

These tools and utilities offer a wide range of features, from system monitoring and security enhancement to automation and file management. Whether you're a power user, a developer, or someone who simply wants to optimize their macOS experience, these tools have got you covered.

Stay tuned as we delve deeper into each tool, exploring their unique capabilities and how they can elevate your macOS usage. Get ready to supercharge your productivity and make the most out of your Mac!

You may be interested in this list as well

13 Free System Tasks and Process Managers for macOS
A process manager is a tool used to manage processes on an operating system. It allows users to start and stop processes, view information about running processes, and send signals to control their behavior. In macOS, a process manager is important for monitoring and controlling the various processes running on

.

1- Stats

This is a native cool macOS system monitor that works directly from your menu bar.

Stats: A free Libre macOS system monitor directly from your menubar
What is Stats? Stats is a free, open-source native menubar macOS application that display all of your system stats in real-time. It is the right open-source alternative to a dozen of proprietary programs. Stats app is still in active development, however it gains momentum as thousands of macOS users started
GitHub - exelban/stats: macOS system monitor in your menu bar
macOS system monitor in your menu bar. Contribute to exelban/stats development by creating an account on GitHub.

2- iGlance

iGlance is a powerful system monitor that effortlessly displays current statistics about your Mac right on the menu bar. It is meticulously designed to offer a high level of customization, ensuring that it perfectly caters to your specific requirements.

Features

  • Display CPU utilization as a graph
  • Read CPU temperature
  • Monitor memory usage
  • Monitor network usage
  • Monitor fan speed
  • Low and/or high battery notification at custom thresholds
  • App adjusts to light & dark mode
GitHub - iglance/iGlance: Free system monitor for OSX and macOS. See all system information at a glance in the menu bar.
Free system monitor for OSX and macOS. See all system information at a glance in the menu bar. - GitHub - iglance/iGlance: Free system monitor for OSX and macOS. See all system information at a gl…

3- Red Canary Mac Monitor

Red Canary Mac Monitor is an advanced system monitoring tool for macOS security research, malware triage, and system troubleshooting.

It collects and enriches system events, displaying them graphically with relevant features and telemetry. It is designed to detect macOS threats and is available for free download.

GitHub - redcanaryco/mac-monitor: Red Canary Mac Monitor is an advanced, stand-alone system monitoring tool tailor-made for macOS security research. Beginning with Endpoint Security (ES), it collects and enriches system events, displaying them graphically, with an expansive feature set designed to reduce noise.
Red Canary Mac Monitor is an advanced, stand-alone system monitoring tool tailor-made for macOS security research. Beginning with Endpoint Security (ES), it collects and enriches system events, dis…

4- AppCleaner - Uninstall your apps easily. 

AppCleaner is a small application which allows you to thoroughly uninstall unwanted apps.

Installing an application distributes many files throughout your System using space of your Hard Drive unnecessarily.
AppCleaner finds all these small files and safely deletes them.

Simply drop an application onto the AppCleaner window. It will find for the related files and you can delete them by clicking the delete button.

AppCleaner

5- Latest: Keep Your Apps Fresh

Latest is a utility app for macOS that checks for updates on installed apps from the Mac App Store and apps that use Sparkle. It provides a quick overview of app changes and allows for immediate updates. Occasional updates are expected, and user contributions are welcome.

GitHub - mangerlahn/Latest: A small utility app for macOS that makes sure you know about all the latest updates to the apps you use.
A small utility app for macOS that makes sure you know about all the latest updates to the apps you use. - mangerlahn/Latest

6- Dozer

This is a tiny minimal app that enables you to hide menu bar icons to give your Mac a cleaner look.

GitHub - Mortennn/Dozer: Hide menu bar icons on macOS
Hide menu bar icons on macOS. Contribute to Mortennn/Dozer development by creating an account on GitHub.

7- Gray

Gray is an automation workflow tool for manufacturing lines. It allows users to switch between light and dark appearances on a per-app basis. To change the appearance, users need to go to System Preferences > General and set their Mac to use dark appearance. The application will need to restart for the changes to take effect.

GitHub - zenangst/Gray: Tailor your macOS Mojave experience
:first_quarter_moon: Tailor your macOS Mojave experience - GitHub - zenangst/Gray: Tailor your macOS Mojave experience

8- Bluetility

Bluetility is a general-purpose Bluetooth Low-Energy utility for Mac OS X. It scans for advertising peripherals, provides a interface to browse a connected peripheral's services and characteristics, and allows characteristic values to be read, written, and subscribed.

GitHub - jnross/Bluetility: A Bluetooth Low Energy browser, an open-source alternative to LightBlue for OS X
A Bluetooth Low Energy browser, an open-source alternative to LightBlue for OS X - jnross/Bluetility

9- EnvPane

EnvPane is a macOS preference pane that allows users to set environment variables for all applications, providing support for ~/.MacOSX/environment.plist and immediate publishing of changes to the environment without logging out.

Release 0.8 is compatible with macOS 12 "Monterey" and up, running on Intel and Apple Silicon processors.

10- ControlPlane

ControlPlane is a tool that brings context and location sensitive awareness to OS X. It allows users to intelligently reconfigure their Mac or perform actions based on various evidence sources such as WiFi networks, location, connected devices, running apps, and more.

GitHub - dustinrue/ControlPlane: ControlPlane - context-sensitive computing for OS X
ControlPlane - context-sensitive computing for OS X - dustinrue/ControlPlane

11- AnyBar 

AnyBar is a small indicator for your menubar that does one simple thing: it displays a colored dot. What the dot means and when to change it is up to you.

GitHub - tonsky/AnyBar: OS X menubar status indicator
OS X menubar status indicator. Contribute to tonsky/AnyBar development by creating an account on GitHub.

12- macOS Keylogger

This is an open-source Keylogger app for macOS.

GitHub - caseyscarborough/keylogger: A no-frills keylogger for macOS.
A no-frills keylogger for macOS. Contribute to caseyscarborough/keylogger development by creating an account on GitHub.

13- BrewUp

The Brewup script is a Bash script that utilizes Homebrew to create a backup of installed Taps, Formulas, Casks, and App Store Apps on macOS. It allows for easy tracking of changes and retrieval of past installations using Github.

GitHub - fire1ce/BrewUp: BrewUp - macOS Auto Update Homebrew
BrewUp - macOS Auto Update Homebrew. Contribute to fire1ce/BrewUp development by creating an account on GitHub.
BrewUp: macOS Auto Update Homebrew (Free Open-source App)
The Brewup script is a Bash script that builds on Homebrew - The Missing Package Manager for macOS. Using Brewup, you can create a backup of a config file that contains all installed Taps, Formulas, Casks and App Store Apps on your macOS. You can also use Github to keep

14- OnyX

OnyX is a multifunction utility that allows users to verify system files, perform maintenance tasks, configure parameters, delete caches, and rebuild databases.

It provides a clean interface for tasks that would otherwise require complex commands. It is important to use the correct version of OnyX for the operating system to avoid compatibility issues.

OnyX: macOS maintenance apps (Free software)
OnyX is an up-to-date macOS system maintenance app. It contains many system functions like file cleaning, removing old temporary files, cleaning caches and rebuilding database indexes. License MIT license Platforms macOS (Intel, and Apple Silicon) null License MIT License Tags tools,utilities,macos,system tool,auditing,security,privacy Resources * Homepage

15- SwiftBar

SwiftBar is an open-source app that allows users to add custom menu bar programs on macOS in three easy steps: write a shell script, add it to SwiftBar, and there is no third step.

GitHub - swiftbar/SwiftBar: Powerful macOS menu bar customization tool
Powerful macOS menu bar customization tool. Contribute to swiftbar/SwiftBar development by creating an account on GitHub.

16- Lynis

Lynis is an exceptionally robust security tool designed for systems operating on Linux, macOS, or Unix-based operating systems. It conducts a comprehensive health scan of your systems to effectively reinforce system security and ensure compliance with testing requirements.

The project proudly embraces open source principles, being licensed under the GPL, and has been available for use since 2007.

Lynis - Security auditing and hardening tool for Linux/Unix
Lynis is an open source security auditing tool. Part of Lynis Enterprise Suite, its main goal is to audit and harden Unix and Linux based systems.

17- deadbolt

deadbolt is a tool that simplifies file encryption and decryption. With just a password, you can encrypt and decrypt files easily. It is available for Mac OS, Windows, and Linux, allowing encrypted files to be shared across platforms.

GitHub - alichtman/deadbolt: Dead-simple file encryption for any OS
Dead-simple file encryption for any OS. Contribute to alichtman/deadbolt development by creating an account on GitHub.

18- Appify

Appify allows you to create a macOS Application from an executable (like a Go binary)

GitHub - machinebox/appify: Create a macOS Application from an executable (like a Go binary)
Create a macOS Application from an executable (like a Go binary) - machinebox/appify

19- Keyboard Cowboy

Keyboard Cowboy is a free productivity app for macOS that enhances efficiency and control for users, providing a seamless workflow for manufacturing lines automation.

GitHub - zenangst/KeyboardCowboy: :keyboard: The missing keyboard shortcut utility for macOS
:keyboard: The missing keyboard shortcut utility for macOS - zenangst/KeyboardCowboy


17 Open-source Free System Auditing Tools for macOS, Windows, Linux, and the Cloud
System auditing is the process of collecting and analyzing information about a computer’s use, events, and security. This information can be used to detect and prevent security breaches, troubleshoot problems, and ensure compliance with regulations and policies. System auditing is important because it provides visibility into what is happening on
30+ Free Open-source macOS Apps for Your Daily Use
As a Linux user for so many years and a regular macOS user for the last 7 years, It is very hard to deal with the dilemma of limitation and free open-source programs for macOS. The system is stable, responsive and fast. Though it increased my productivity, unlike Linux, there







Open-source Apps

9,500+

Medical Apps

500+

Lists

450+

Dev. Resources

900+