Mac Optimization Tools for iOS Developers

This year I shared 11 online resources that help with my iOS development workflow. Those live in the cloud — GitHub, Slack, documentation sites. This article covers the other kind: tools that run on your Mac.

These aren’t frameworks or languages. They solve friction. DevCleaner removes build artifacts that bloat your disk. Stats shows you RAM and CPU in the menubar so you notice slowdowns before they crash your work. Mini Stopwatch sits there when you need a timer. None of them are essential. All of them make your Mac faster or your work smoother.

Network Debugging

Proxyman

Network requests are invisible until they break. You make an API call in your iOS app and either the response comes back or it doesn’t. If it doesn’t, you’re left guessing: bad endpoint? Wrong headers? Server down? Throttled connection?

Proxyman intercepts network traffic. You route your app’s requests through it and see what’s actually being sent and received. The interface shows every request — method, headers, body, response status, response body. You filter by host or keyword. You replay requests with modified payloads to test edge cases without rebuilding and redeploying.

I use it when the app talks to a service I didn’t write. A backend team deployed a change, the app broke, and I don’t have access to their logs. Proxyman shows me the actual HTTP conversation. Nine times out of ten, it’s a header mismatch or a JSON field rename.

GitKraken

GitKraken is a Git GUI I use for branch visualization — seeing my current branch, main, origin, and local state at a glance. I drag a commit from one branch to another to cherry-pick it. I rebase by clicking. I resolve merge conflicts in a side-by-side editor without touching the terminal.

The other use: committing. I open the changed files, click the ones I want to stage, write a message, hit commit. No git add -A ambiguity, no accidental commits of generated or sensitive files. The UI makes me intentional.

Capture & Notes

Monosnap

Screenshots for documentation, feedback, or bug reports need annotation. Monosnap captures your screen or a window, then opens an editor where you draw, add arrows, blur sensitive data, or type callouts.

I use it when filing a bug report and need to highlight the exact button that’s broken. Or when writing docs for a feature and need to show the UI state at three different steps. Annotate, copy to clipboard, paste into the bug tracker or Slack. Done in seconds.

CotEditor

CotEditor is a text editor for Mac. You might ask why a developer needs another editor when Xcode exist.

CotEditor is lightweight. It opens instantly. No plugins, no language servers, no sidebar. I use it for quick edits: a JSON config, a shell script, a markdown file, a CSV. For 80% of my quick-edit work, it’s faster than reaching for Xcode.

Mac Maintenance

DevCleaner

Xcode caches build artifacts, simulator data, and derived data. Over time that folder grows to tens of gigabytes.

DevCleaner shows you what’s taking space and lets you delete it: cache from old Xcode versions you no longer use, simulators you don’t run, build artifacts from archived projects. The first time I used it, I freed up 50 GB.

Get Volodymyr Mudrytskyi’s stories in your inbox

Join Medium for free to get updates from this writer.

Remember me for faster sign in

Run it once a year or once a month depending on how often you switch projects. Set it and forget it, or open it whenever disk space runs low.

DiskSpaceAnalyzer

DiskSpaceAnalyzer visualizes what’s eating your disk. You point it at a directory and it shows a treemap: each file and folder sized relative to the space it takes. You click a folder to zoom in. You see immediately which files are the culprits.

I use it when DevCleaner isn’t enough. A downloads folder stuffed with old videos? DiskSpaceAnalyzer finds them in two seconds. A project folder with a node_modules that’s somehow 15 GB? You see it instantly.

Stats

Stats puts system metrics in your Mac’s menubar: CPU, RAM, disk activity, network activity, temperature. You glance at it and know your Mac’s load.

I use it constantly. If a build suddenly slows down, I check Stats. Is the CPU pegged? Probably a runaway process. Is RAM maxed? Time to restart. Is disk activity high? Something’s thrashing. One glance is enough.

Quick Productivity

Mini Stopwatch

Mini Stopwatch is a menubar timer. You click it, set a duration, and it counts down. It’s the Mac app version of the kitchen timer on your phone.

I use it when I’m in a meeting and need to timebox a conversation. Or when testing network latency and want to measure how long a request takes. Click, set 30 seconds, talk, the menubar beeps when time’s up.

It costs a few dollars. It solves a two-second problem. That’s the sweet spot for Mac utilities: cheap enough to buy on impulse, focused enough that you actually use it.

Why These Matter

None of these tools are required to develop iOS apps. Xcode, Git, and the simulator are enough. But they solve real friction. DevCleaner and Stats let me keep my Mac responsive. Proxyman and GitKraken let me work faster without the terminal. Monosnap and CotEditor speed up side tasks. Mini Stopwatch just sits there.

The value compounds when you’re under deadline and your Mac doesn’t slow you down.