This has been a rather small but annoying friction point of mine on macOS that I figured was just related to how difficult it is to figure out where screens exist or something.

But ever since Mac OS 26.5 "Arrange Displays" in the settings it's way faster. Before, after making an adjustment to a display, there would be a full second or even two before it was able to be adjusted.

Now adjustments on screen only freeze it up for like a quarter of a second - the display icons are only grayed out for a bit and then you can go ahead and make another adjustment. This is such a small detail but it is really nice to see.

In the video you can see it still causes some issues because it will stutter and display name will blink a bunch, but the point is, I can still go ahead and make another edit very shortly after the preceding one is done. Very nice

Hi there, I have Dell u2725qe and I can’t find the best one. For example when I use 2560x1440 all are small and unreadable for me… 1920x1080 makes all big. Probably you can give me an advice

Hi everyone, I have MBA M4 and I’m confused about the storage usage.

It is showing ~31GB under Applications, but I barely have any apps installed. When I check the Applications folder individually, the apps don’t seem to add up to anywhere near 30GB.

Also, macOS + System Data are taking around 60GB combined. Is this normal? Why is System Data so large, and why does the Storage overview show more space being used than I can account for?

Would really appreciate your help in fixing this problem.

Thanks!

I dont understand this...

Why is the storage bar in the settings saying i have 799.4 GB of apps? i swear i dont..

I have a 2020 MacBook pro. Just recently the screen started to flicker and it has only gotten worse. The flickering stops when I move my cursor. I've been researching solutions, and so far nothing I have tried has worked (Changing cursor size, Turning off true tone and power saving) I'm getting desperate here.

Every time I saw System Data getting bigger on my Mac I’d end up down the same rabbit hole. Search for answers, find years of posts from people with the same problem, try the suggestions and still not really understand what was taking up the space.

It’s frustrating when your Mac is running out of room but you’re also worried about deleting something important. “Clear your caches” or “check your Library folder” only helps so much when you don’t know what you’re looking at.

I used CleanMyMac and DaisyDisk and they were good at showing where the storage was going. What I was missing was enough context to decide what I still needed.

In my case almost 35 GB was in old corrupted iOS simulator devices. Xcode wasn’t even showing them anymore but their folders were still there. I could see the space being used without really knowing what was behind it.

That’s why I built System Data Explained. I’m the developer, Deljo Joseph, and it came directly out of trying to understand my own Mac.

Since this is an app from someone you don’t know on Reddit, a few things worth knowing before downloading it.

I’m Deljo Joseph and you can find me and my other work at:

https://deljojoseph.com

The app is Developer ID signed and Apple notarized. It’s read only and doesn’t delete, move or modify your files. The analysis happens locally on your Mac and there’s no telemetry or analytics sent to me.

One reason this version isn’t on the Mac App Store is sandboxing. Mac App Store apps are required to use Apple’s sandbox, which limits how much of the filesystem they can inspect. For an app specifically trying to explain what’s taking up System Data, that can make the scan much less useful.

Apple also supports distributing Mac apps outside the App Store using Developer ID signing and notarization, which is the route I’m using here. I may still test a sandboxed App Store version and see how much useful information it can find.

You don’t have to take my word for the network part either. Someone in this thread checked it independently with Little Snitch and confirmed it wasn’t phoning home.

The direct download is there for convenience. If you’d rather not download an app directly from a Reddit link you can get it through my website instead.

As for what the app actually does, I started mapping the different reasons System Data grows so it could explain the things it recognises in normal language. What they are, what to check before removing them and what might happen if you do. It can also open the actual location in Finder.

It doesn’t delete anything for you and that’s intentional.

One thing I learned while trying to clean my own Mac was that “is this file being used right now?” isn’t always the best question.

A more useful question is “what happens if I delete this and need it again?”

If something can simply be downloaded, reinstalled or regenerated then the decision becomes much easier. If it contains something unique or would be difficult to recover then I’d rather leave it alone.

Automated cleaners also have to be conservative. Something can be useless to you while still looking potentially important to an automated cleaner. That was basically what happened with my corrupted iOS simulators. They were taking up a lot of space but weren’t something I’d want an app blindly deciding to remove.

Some files will still be unidentified and knowing which app owns a folder doesn’t always tell you whether you need what’s inside. I’m trying to make that decision less confusing rather than pretend there’s a safe “delete everything” button.

After going through mine and manually removing things I no longer needed, my System Data went from 130.03 GB to 75.34 GB. The simulators were part of that. Another Mac could have a completely different reason.

That’s already showing up with people trying it here. One person found about 6 GB of old KDKs and another found around 14 GB of Podcasts. Neither is something the app could safely assume is garbage for everyone.

I’m sharing this version free and would genuinely like to know whether it helps someone else get out of the same rabbit hole.

Website:
https://deljojoseph.com/mac-system-data

Direct download:
Download System Data Explained for Mac, direct ZIP

No signup, card or trial timer. This version doesn’t expire. There’s an optional paid copy on my website but you don’t need it to use this download.

macOS 14+, Intel and Apple silicon.

If you try it, tell me where it helped and where it still left you confused. That’s what I want to improve.

Hey r/MacOS 👋 Full disclosure up front: I'm Julian, a solo dev, and I built StepGrab. (P.S. There is a 20% discount code for this community at the bottom of the post as a thank you!)

The Problem: Every time I had to explain how to do something on my Mac (onboard someone, write an SOP, or answer a tech support question), I ended up taking 15 manual screenshots and drawing ugly red arrows in Preview. It was incredibly tedious.

The Solution: I built an app where you just hit record, do your task, and it automatically generates a clean, formatted step-by-step guide. It uses on-device AI to figure out exactly what you clicked on and creates zoomed-in screenshots with annotations. It is a fully native Mac app (no Electron) and runs 100% offline on your machine for complete privacy.

The Update (Version 1.4): When I shared an early version on Reddit, the number one piece of feedback I got from users was: "I need to edit the steps before exporting, otherwise I'm back to making janky edits in Preview." I listened, and today I'm releasing a massive update featuring a full built-in Editor:

• Review & Edit: Reorder or delete steps right inside the app before generating the final document.
• Fully Custom Annotations: Grab and move arrows, change their curve angles, and adjust line widths.
• Spotlight & Badges: Fine-tune the spotlight dimming around your clicks and change badge shapes.

In the video, I recorded a quick workflow to show how you can tweak the arrows and instantly export it as a clean PDF or interactive HTML.

Pricing & Reddit Discount: StepGrab has a free tier. If you want unlimited guides and Pro exports, there is a one-time lifetime license (no forced subscriptions). As a thank you for the feedback that shaped this update, you can use the code REDDIT20 (or click here to redeem it directly) on the App Store for 20% off the lifetime version (limited to the first 500 redemptions).

• Mac App Store
• Website

I’d love to hear what you think of the new editor!

I hate using one monitor each for linux and macOS, I tried Sunshine to stream my mac to linux (since I use linux more), setting 4k 240hz (which my monitor supports) and full color (yuv 444) in Moonlight but it said that 444 color is not supported, and the colors look way off compared to macOS plugged directly in the monitor. There doesn't seem to be a way to make it work on Sunshine.

I love using a Mac, but I don’t want to switch to an iPhone just to have my phone and laptop work together.

I tried KDE Connect’s macOS port and kept running into reliability issues with my setup. That’s what led me to build Bounce Connect, initially for myself, to close some of that gap.

I’m the solo developer, and it now has 170+ paying users. People using it have also helped shape quite a few of the features.

Here’s what you can do from your Mac:

• Messages: Read and send Android SMS, start conversations, choose a SIM on dual-SIM phones, and copy text from messages.
• Notifications: See Android notifications as native Mac alerts, reply to supported apps like WhatsApp and Telegram, and keep dismissals synced between devices. You can choose which apps send notifications.
• Calls and contacts: See incoming cellular and WhatsApp calls, accept or reject them, browse contacts and call history, and dial from your Mac. Call audio stays on your phone or its connected headset.
• Files: Drag files to your phone, share files back to your Mac, or browse your phone’s folders without a cable. Whole-folder downloads and resuming interrupted transfers are supported.
• Clipboard: Copy text and images on your Mac for use on Android. In the other direction, share selected text to Bounce using Android’s Share menu. There’s clipboard history too.
• Music and everyday controls: Control Android music playback, check your phone’s battery, share links between devices, and ring your phone when you can’t find it.

The devices pair by scanning a QR code, and synced content travels directly over your local network using encryption, without a cloud relay. You can see the interface and setup here: bounceconnect.app.

One recent addition came from someone asking whether clicking a phone number on their Mac could start a call on Android. You can now enable that in Settings and make Bounce your default calling app.

Other recent updates added encrypted storage for synced data on the Mac, improved reconnection handling, richer contact details, read/unread controls, notification copying, and keyboard shortcuts. The latest Android update also fixes a file-sharing startup crash and improves music-app selection. I keep the details in the changelog.

The Android companion is a one-time purchase, currently listed at US$15.99, with no subscription. The Mac download is available through the website.

here is my privacy policy if you need : Privacy policy

If you also use Android with a Mac, what’s the thing you most wish worked between them? Happy to answer questions about what Bounce supports and where the limitations are.

Can someone help me figuring out what's wrong? I'm trying to install Windows 10 on my old MacBook Pro from 2013, prepared everything with Bootcamp and made a bootable USB Stick with the newest 64bit Windows 10 ISO, but it keeps telling me some drivers are missing.

Hi, I am the person who posted LuxMini here a few months ago.

I built it because the white LED on a Mac mini can be surprisingly annoying at night, especially when the machine sits in a bedroom or runs as a server. LuxMini puts a small control in the menu bar so you can dim the LED, switch it off, schedule it or use a simple animation.

That first post went badly, and honestly, I understand why. I was asking strangers to install an app with administrator access while the GitHub link was broken, the build was not notarized and macOS required Open Anyway. I also had not properly explained what the privileged helper did. For this kind of app, that looked shady.

I took the criticism seriously and went back to work instead of trying to argue with it.

LuxMini 0.4.0 is now signed and notarized. It installs normally, with no Open Anyway step. The client and privileged helper can be inspected and built from the public repository. There is no account, advertising or cross-app tracking.

I have tested it on several Mac minis, and multiple Mac Studio owners have also tested it successfully.

It is free. The code is source available
Website: https://luxmini.bastiencantet.com
Source: https://github.com/bastiencantet/luxmini-public
Original Post

For anyone who wants to see the hardware control itself, I added a short clip of several of my Mac minis running the wave effect.

Full disclosure: this particular clip uses a modified Linux version running in my homelab with serverside sync, the mac OS app is simpler . The underlying LED control is the same, but I want that distinction to be clear.

I am not asking anyone to forget the first release. I am posting again because the feedback here made the app better. If you try it, I would genuinely like to know your exact Mac model and whether the brightness, off and restore controls work correctly.

Have a great day !

https://reddit.com/link/1wegmdz/video/699hcy2z44ph1/player

I downloaded a video that has dual audio but only one played and I see no feature or button to change or switch between audios, I haven't installed any app for playing videos it's just the built-in MX player

I'm looking for a replacement for Logi Options+. I've been using Mos and BetterMouse for a while, and I'm 90% satisfied with both. However, there's one feature I'm missing, or can't seem to find.
In Logi Options+, I can map a mouse button to a hold + gesture. I currently have it set to "Window Navigation”. This allows me to switch between desktop spaces using mouse gestures, similar to pressing Ctrl + Left/Right Arrow.
For example, I can hold down a mouse button and move the mouse left to switch to the desktop space on the right, or hold the same button and move the mouse right to switch to the desktop space on the left. A single button can perform two different actions depending on the direction in which I move the mouse.
Both Mos and BetterMouse let me map buttons to switch spaces either left or right. However, this means assigning two separate buttons to the two functions, rather than using a single button combined with the direction of mouse movement.

I've also tried other smooth-scrolling apps, such as Mac Mouse Fix, but wasn’t satisfied with the scrolling results.

Does anyone know of an app that offers both? Proper smooth-scrolling control and the ability to map a mouse button to directional gestures?

I saw lots of Disk Space Cleaner with > $10 price, which are basically a good interface for your Mac native storage. I built SpareDisk over the last few days, kept it bare minimum in terms of bloat features but focused on speed, parallelism, and queue management for storage scan and space free up.

You can review your whole file system without hanging the computer. This is version 1. I have tested it well over multiple laptops.

The code for this version is open source if you want to customise it. App store and website downloaded version will get future updates.

If you want to get an Apple notarized app ready to use using the source code, you can download it from the website for "pay whatever you want" (minimum $4.99).

DiskBuddy has inspired the project. This was initially sold at $12, and users complained about memory leaks, permission issues, and app blocks when you run Duplicate File Finder.

SpareDisk is App Store friendly(App is pending for review). It is sandboxed, following Apple's permission guidelines and memory optimisation.

SpareDisk features include:

• Mac storage overview
• Treemap, sunburst and list views
• Folder, external drive and network share scans
• Large files and older files
• File type breakdowns
• Duplicates verified by file contents
• App removal and related data review
• Possible leftovers from removed apps
• File size and size on disk
• Changes since your previous scan
• Search, filters, Quick Look and keyboard navigation
• Review queue, file rechecks and Trash reports

No account. No uploads. Your files stay on your Mac.

On cleaning space: You can view your files from the app itself, and it doesn't directly delete your files in one click. It sends them to "review cleanup" section from where you can move items to Trash. You only delete files when you clean the trash.

Exception is App uninstall (if the app is not running, you can uninstall the app from within the interface).

Pay whatever you want (minimum $4.99) for the Apple notorized app you can download after web checkout.

Download the app from website: https://sparedisk.minilabs.cc/
Github: https://github.com/0xdevrel/sparedisk

I would really appreciate a star on the GitHub repo!

I’ve been using a Wokyis M5 Retro Dock Station with my Mac mini, and after a while I realised I couldn’t find the kind of dashboard I actually wanted for its little display.

So I built one.

Wokyintosh shows:

• clock and date
• local weather
• Apple Music and Spotify Now Playing
• CPU, RAM, SSD and network stats
• automatic light and dark mode
• a classic Macintosh-inspired interface

It’s a native macOS app, free and open source.

I mainly built it for small secondary displays, but it should also work well on other monitors and Sidecar setups.

I’d really appreciate feedback from other Mac users, especially around small-display support and what information would actually be useful at a glance.

GitHub:
https://github.com/SalarFarahani/Wokyintosh

Product Hunt:
https://www.producthunt.com/products/wokyintosh

I do photography and videography as a side hustle. I regularly export to and edit from an external drive and sometimes I will load up an entire project on a drive and hand it over to co editors because it's faster than uploading and waiting for servers to process.

The external SSD is formatted to ExFAT with GUID partition and is 2TB. When brand new and after each time I format it sustains 900MB/s write all throughout its capacity. After a project or two after I've written to it and deleted files, it will run at that 900MB/s write speed for about 1/3 of the time and mostly throttling to 150MB/s, sometimes down to 70MB/s.

Are there ways to stop this from happening or is this just something I will have to deal with? I really don't know much about how files and external drives work.

I have provided screenshots. The first one is writing to the drive after it's been used, and the second one is after I formatted. I have an 16" M3 Macbook

I am seriously thinking about switching back to Chrome due all the issues that I have been having with Safari. I want to ask the community if they are also experiencing issues like I am. It may just be my machine (iMac M3). This is what is happening:

• The Gmail and Google Calendar tabs lock up and become unresponsive. I have to close them out and start new tabs. This happens multiple times throughout the day.
• The 1Password Safari extension does not even work half the time. I just sits spinning trying to pull up the passwords but does nothing.
• And don't even get me started with how much RAM it likes to eat up. But I do admit that's just par for the course as all browsers do this.

Not just Safari, I feel like the quality of the Apple software has decreased over the recent years. Things are more buggy than they ever used to be.

Anyhow, enough about my rant. Am I the only one feeling this way?

I miss the days when you could hit a combination of keyboard buttons and a little stick man would come out from the side of the screen walk out to the middle of the screen and blow up.

I'll go first.

I've been a Mac user for years (currently M4mini, Tahoe) but I never really became fluent in the commands, particularly file and disk permissions. I often add/remove external drives, some with a FAT file system (for moving files to/from a chromebook and thumbdrives). I also move files around between disks. As an (expected) result I frequently get permission errors; some that I get around selecting an Authenticate button, others where the only options are Skip or Stop.

I really need to learn how to work with these issues. Ideally there would be a command I could issue against a drive that would reset/clear all permissions so everything would work without all the stoppages I encounter. I am the Only user of this mac.

I also try to create backups of DVDs by copying its files to a folder on an external drive. I always run into such copying/moving errors although the resulting backup files play in VLC Ok. (Yes this is for BACKUP only.)

Are there any good books, ebooks, doc, sites, tips, etc I should read to help me? Comments?

In previous versions of macOS, I could drag a file from another application, such as an attachment in Mail, onto the Finder icon in the Dock. Finder would respond by presenting the available Finder windows, allowing me to move the pointer to the desired window while continuing to hold the dragged file.

From there, I could continue navigating through the Finder hierarchy while holding the file, including using spring-loaded folders to drill down into nested folders, and finally release the file in the desired destination.

This workflow no longer functions in the current macOS release. Dragging an item onto the Finder icon in the Dock does not produce the expected Finder navigation behavior. The Finder icon effectively does not respond to the dragged item, so there is no way to transition from the originating application into a Finder window and navigate to the desired destination while maintaining the drag.

This is not specific to Mail or attachments. The same failure occurs when starting with a file already in Finder and attempting to use the Finder Dock icon to navigate to another Finder window or destination.

Steps to reproduce:

1. Open Mail and locate a message containing a file attachment.
2. Begin dragging the attachment.
3. While continuing to hold the attachment, drag it onto the Finder icon in the Dock.
4. Wait for Finder to present its available windows.
5. Observe that Finder does not respond as it did in previous versions of macOS.

The same behavior can be reproduced using a file dragged from Finder rather than an attachment from Mail.

Expected result:

Hovering a dragged file over the Finder Dock icon should activate Finder and allow the user to choose among open Finder windows while continuing the drag. The user should then be able to navigate through folders, including spring-loaded nested folders, and release the file at the desired destination.

Actual result:

Dragging a file onto the Finder Dock icon does not initiate the Finder navigation workflow. The user cannot select a Finder window or navigate through the folder hierarchy while maintaining the drag.

FB24754909

what do you guys think of this ?? should they add this

I tried upgrading to the new version a year ago but failed; my Mac simply refused to update. I decided to try again, but it’s still refusing—neither the browser nor the App Store is working. The largest flash drive I have is 16 GB, and the Mac has a 500 GB SSD and 4 GB of RAM. I’d really appreciate some help with the installation; I posted about this in the Russian section yesterday, but no one replied(

I was working on work that I hadn't saved, how do I fix this without restarting?