Essential free programs for macOS

Just got a new computer or reinstalled the system? Start with these programs. They are all free, every link goes to the program's official source and versions are checked daily against official repositories. Each need has a few options; pick the one you like.

Web browser

Video and music player

Office and PDF

Photo and image editing

Screen recording and video

Messaging and email

Passwords and security

Install them all with one command

The command below installs every program on this page from the official repository. Use the bulk install tool to pick only the ones you want.

brew install --cask firefox vlc libreoffice gimp obs telegram-desktop bitwarden