One of the most important aspects of being a web developer is having the correct tools and applications at your disposal to get the job done. These applications can range from text editors with helpful features, to screen capturing software to display video and/or audio to a client or your users. Today, we will have a look at 30+ amazing Mac applications for web developers.
Panic's Coda
Anyone who knows me had to imagine this would be the first on the list. I use Coda everyday and couldn't imagine development without it. If you are looking for a super powerful and functional text editor, I highly recommend Coda.
Price: Free trial, $99 for regular license.
TextMate
Another popular text editor for Mac is TextMate created by MacroMates. Another nice feature is the price is a bit lower than that of Codas.
Price: Free Trial, $55 per license.
Eclipse
Eclipse is a very popular IDE that has become the tool many programmers prefer to use. There are many Eclipse Plugins as well that support different web and computer languages. No matter what language you program in, Eclipse can most likely accommodate you.
Price: Free!
QuickSilver
A favorite of many Mac owners, QuickSilver is a very extendable interface that allows you to quick launch programs, manage shortcuts, contacts, music, and many other applications.
Price: Free!
Komodo Edit
If you are looking for a powerful free and open source text editor that runs on any platform, then Komodo Edit might be the one for you. Primarily focused on dynamic web languages, Komodo Edit comes with many features and customizable plugins to help you get the job done.
Price: Free and Open Source!
Billings 3
Billings 3 is a wonderful time billing and invoicing tool, perfect for anyone who does any freelance work. Billings 3 integrates with the Mac interface brilliantly and its features save a lot of manual labor.
Price: $39.99 per license, $25.00 to upgrade.
BB Edit
BBEdit is a text editor for Mac that claims 'It Doesn't Suck', and you know what? It most certainly does not. Packed full of helpful features, including project management, BBEdit is the text editor of choice for many web developers.
Price: Free Trial, $125 per license, $49 for educational license.
MAMP
Most recent Macs come with everything that MAMP does, but by downloading and installing MAMP you can get your own local server up and running in under 5 minutes. In case you were wondering, MAMP stands for Mac, Apache, MySQL, and php/perl/python, whatever your server side language of choice. If you need help installing check out this quick screencast on getting MAMP setup on your Mac.
Price: Free, additionally a paid version 'MAMP Pro' is available for $55.00.
Panic Transmit
Saying that Transmit is a superb FTP program for Mac would be an extreme understatement. Just look at all the features of the program on their homepage, there are far too many to list here. If you are looking for a high quality FTP program for Mac, Transmit is a great choice.
Price: Free Trial, $29.95 per license.
Paparazzi
If you do a lot of writing or use screenshots often, you may consider downloading paparazzi. Paparazzi is a small but powerful (and free) screenshot program that makes taking snapshots of websites a breeze.
Price: Free!
Magnifique
While not necessarily a development tool, Magnifique heps you customize the look and feel of your Mac workspace by quickly changing in between themes of your choice. Great for those who need a little inspiration, or who need a change of 'scenery'.
Price: Free!
Flow
Flow is a visual workflow manager, built to give you full control and understanding over your current project. The concept of flow is slightly difficult to describe, so I recommend checking the screenshots or giving the trial a go. While it is a bit on the pricy side, it is extremely helpful if you work at a company where you often work with a large group of people and need to stay organized.
Price: Free Trial, $249 per license.
Man Hour
Man Hour is a simple and flexible time tracking program. It's strength lies in it's flexibility of letting you change what you charge per hour depending upon the project at hand. The price tag is also very easy on the eyes.
Price: Free Trial, $19.99 per license.
CyberDuck
Cyberduck is a popular and free ftp program requiring Mac OS X 10.4 or higher. It also supports FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, Mosso Cloud Files and Amazon S3.
Price: Free and Open Source!
FileZilla
FileZilla is a very well known open source FTP program that runs on most operating systems. Simple, easy to use, and works as it should.
Price: Free and Open Source!
TextExpander
Recently Jeffrey posted a screencast titled 'How I can code twice as fast as you.' While the title was sort of a joke, Jeffrey showed how valuable a good text expander program can be and how much time it can save. My personal favorite is TextExpander for Mac OS X. Text Expander will save you all kinds of time by allowing you to setup shortcut names for anything you type over and over again.
Price: Free Trial, $29.95 per license.
DropBox
Dropbox is a very easy to use program that allows you to share, sync, and backup files on your hard drive. Even better is that you get a 2GB account for free, which should be plenty to backup those files you can't afford to lose.
Price: 2 GB free, $19.99/month for more space.
Growl
Growl is another one of those applications that is a little hard to explain, but extremely helpful to have. Basically, Growl lets you know when certain things happen, in a very unobtrusive way. For instance, Growl integrates perfectly with Coda and lets you know when a file or folder has been successfully uploaded or downloaded, or if there was an error that occurred. Check out the about page for more screenshots and information.
Price: Free.
LaunchBar
LaunchBar is a lot like QuickSilver, with a very powerful search tool. LaunchBar also allows you to setup and use simple text commands to run programs, edit files, and manipulate data. It is free to use until April 1, 2009.
Price: Free until Apr 1, $32 per license after that.
Money3
Money3 is the latest version of the Money accounting program built specifically for Mac OS X. Version 3 offers a completely new user interface and the ability to manage all different types of accounts. In addition, Money can also help you plan and track your budget. Furthermore, it was cool to get to use the 'sup' tag.
Price: Free Trial, $39.00 per license.
On The Job
On The Job is a fully packed software program built to track time and expenses, and provide you with super simple client invoicing. The multiple billing currency option is particularly helpful.
Price: Free Trial, $39.95 per license.
Versions
Version control is very important for anyone involved in development, and Versions makes it super simple to maintain. Even if you have never worked with subversion, Versions is a breeze.
Price: Free Trial, $53 per license.
Snipply
Snipply is an Adobe AIR application used to organize chunks and snippets of code into separate categories. If you have used Code, it is similar to Coda Clips. I prefer to keep my larger code libraries in Snippley as it is very easy to use and doesn't clutter my clips. Best of all it is absolutely free!
Price: Free and Open Source!
Espresso
There has been a lot of talk about Espresso and how it will rival many of the current popular text editors. It is currently in public beta and requires Leopard. Check out all of the features offered on the homepage.
Price: Free to try, pre order for $80.00. Discount for CSSEdit users.
CSSEdit
From the same people that built Espresso, CSSEdit is a text editor focused mainly on, well, CSS. Packed with all kinds of helpful features and references, CSSEdit is great for those who frequently design websites or templates.
Price: Free Trial, $40.00 per license
Capture Me
Looking for a simple and free screen capturing program? Then you might enjoy Capture Me, which contains features resizing on the fly, custom file types for images, and an easy to use interface.
Price: Free and Open Source!
BackDrop
Backdrop is a great program for those of us who constantly have multiple windows and panles open and need to clear up some space. If you need to focus on some code, or just do some writing, just activate BackDrop and watch your clutter disappear, allowing you to get back to work.
Price: Free!
ServerSkine
If you are constantly searching and trying to keep track of different clients domain and server information, ServerSkine can be a lifesaver. ServerSkine allows you to organize all of your different server and domain accounts of your clients in one easy to use program.
Price: Free!
Snapz Pro X
Snapz Pro X is a very powerful and versatile video and screen capturing software program for Mac. If you have checked out the Wordpress for Designers series, this is the software I use to create the screencasts.
Price: Free Trial, $69 per license.
Skype
While not limited to Mac OS only, Skype is a must have application for those who freelance or do any kind of work from home. Use it to make free calls to your boss or company, catch up with a client, or sit it on a video chat for a meeting.
Price: Free, discount for calls to certain areas of the world.
SpanningSync
SpanningSync allows you to synchronize iCal and Address Book with Google Calendar and Gmail Contacts. For those power gmail users, SpanningSync can be a huge help when it comes to organizing your events.
Price: Free, discount for calls to certain areas of the world.
Your Favorites?
For the sake of time and this article, there is no way we could include every excellent Mac application, so what are some of your favorites? What applications do you find to be most helpful when it comes to development?
Thanks Twitter!
A special thanks to those that replied to me on twitter when I asked what were some of your favorite Mac apps. I did my best to take all of your replies into thought before I finalized the list. Thanks Twitter!
