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Best Developer tools apps for Mac

Editors, terminals and helpers for people who build software.

AllFreeFreemiumPaidSubscription
Ghostty icon

Ghostty

Fast, native terminal emulator

26FreeDeveloper tools
CotEditor icon

CotEditor

Plain-text editor built for macOS

14FreeDeveloper tools
Xcode icon

Xcode

Apple's IDE for every Apple platform

43FreeDeveloper tools
iTerm2 icon

iTerm2

Terminal replacement for macOS

38FreeDeveloper tools
Visual Studio Code icon

Visual Studio Code

Free code editor from Microsoft

14FreeDeveloper tools

Frequently asked questions

What are the best developer tools apps for Mac?
By community activity, Raycast, Postico 2 and Zed are the top picks among developer tools apps on Mac App Index right now. Hot ranks apps by recent upvotes; switch to Top for the all-time favourites.
Are there free developer tools apps for Mac?
Yes. 5 developer tools apps are completely free and 7 are free to download, with in-app purchases or paid upgrades.
Are there open-source developer tools apps for Mac?
Yes. 5 developer tools apps on Mac App Index are open source, so you can read, build and fork the code.
How many developer tools apps are there for Mac?
Mac App Index lists 17 developer tools apps: 5 completely free, 7 free to start, 4 paid upfront and 1 by subscription.