This is the start of a series of posts on my current web dev setup. The various software I use, how it’s set up etc. Being a big nerd, I enjoy reading descriptions of peoples’ work environments, and I figured it was my turn to chip in. In this first post, I’m starting with a bunch of nifty utility apps that help me stay productive. Unfortunately only some of them are free, but I find in general you get what you pay for, especially when it comes to Mac OS X apps.

An app launcher: Alfred

Alfred is a beautiful, minimalist and fast app launcher for OS X which I’ve been using for the last year. In addition to launching apps, it can be used for search (like Spotlight), clipboard history, controlling iTunes and many many other things. Alfred is free, but the Power Pack extension costs GBP 15.

Dropbox

Dropbox probably doesn’t need an introduction. Since its launch, I’ve used it to sync files between my own computers and share files with colleagues and clients. I still use it extensively, but for some work activities it has been somewhat replaced by git version control and Basecamp. To get 500 MB extra, use my referral link: Get Dropbox

BetterTouchTool

If you have an Apple laptop, a Magic Touchpad or Magic Mouse (or all three), BetterTouchTool has some nice options to configure gestures and keyboard shortcuts. It also gives you window snapping à la Windows 7. And it’s free!

iTerm

I recently discovered iTerm. It’s basically an alternative to the built-in Terminal.app, and mostly I don’t find them that different from one another. The thing that won me over was the split-pane view, which is especially useful in full screen mode.

TextExpander

For all sorts of reusable text and code snippets, TextExpander is indispensable. There’s also a great TextExpander tutorial on TutsPlus.

PathFinder

The default OS X Finder is OK, but Path Finder is the same thing on steroids. Obviously meant for power users, it has (among other things) a built-in terminal, dual-pane file browsing, Git & Subversion support, batch renaming etc.

That’s all for now, to be continued!