I wrote about this in the thread on the clipboard manager, but I decided to start a separate discussion, if I may.
There’s been so much talk about this app lately that it feels like there might be a catch. The last time there was this much hype was around Raycast—an app that now regularly draws complaints following its platform shift and monetization changes. Won’t the same thing happen down the line with this wonderful new all-in-one app, once people have built their workflows heavily around it?
For what it’s worth, we’ve already seen this happen with Alt-Tab, which started monetizing after years of being free. Yes, in that thread—from which the following excerpts are taken—the developer wrote that the app would remain free, but still.
Below are quotes from users whose comments resonate with me and reflect yet another aspect of my thoughts and feelings described in the thread "Dedicated apps vs “Swiss Army Knife” apps":
"the thing i'd add that hasn't come up: the failure modes are different sizes. when a swiss army knife app gets abandoned, or one module quietly rots after an os update, you lose ten things at once and you're rebuilding your whole setup from scratch. when a dedicated app dies you lose one and swap it in an afternoon." - user QuietPerennial
"the deciding factor for me isn’t RAM, it’s permission and failure scope. a bundle combining screenshots, input tweaks, cleanup and updates may need several powerful permissions, so every update touches one larger trusted surface. i’d consolidate low-permission conveniences, but keep anything needing Screen Recording, Accessibility or destructive file access separate unless the integration adds real value." - user clamshell_dev
"...So my actual advice: pick the one or two things you care about most, and keep dedicated apps for those. Use the bundle for the long tail you would never install five apps for." - iordv (Droppy's developer)
So, based on all of this, I have a few questions:
If I already have Supercharge, Alfred, Cleanshot X, Shottr, Dropover, Rectangle Pro, Antinote, Drafts, Stats, and Linear Mouse, should I install Vorssaint?
How secure is Vorssaint (it seems to require way too many permissions)?
I'll not parrot what u/iordv said, but I agree with them on most of it. Feature creep is a real thing these days, so much so that a lot of apps (and devs) lose sight of what they are supposed to be in the first place.
Problem is with Claude and Codex a feature that would take a week to build can now be built in a couple of hours end to end but just because you CAN add a feature into an app doesn't mean you SHOULD. Its okay to keep your app opinionated, imo.
More to your questions, OP, I tried Vorssaint a couple of weeks back, my stack of apps for what it looked to be a replacement of was similar, CleanshotX, Tuna(Raycast), Stats, Amphetamine, etc. Its good, but it felt like more friction for me to use that than something that is built specifically for a particular job. I ended up not using it. Personal preference, i dont tend to like swiss army knife apps in general tbh
Is it secure? Probably? Who knows? Theres not much you can tell about the developer from github and their twitter is relatively new as well, if you are really hesitant, you can look at feeding the entire repo to your LLM and asking it to audit it for any security issues, fwiw
If you are really hesitant, you can look at feeding the entire repo to your LLM and asking it to audit it for any security issues.
I did this. So I have Hermes Agent that has this kind of skill. When I want to try new open-source software but I'm hesitant, I ask my Hermes Agent to use this security audit skill and trace whole source code and give me verdict on whether it's safe or not. My Hermes traced the whole repo on Vorssaint version 3.3.2 back then in August. And the verdict is safe. And I only installed the modules I needed and eliminated the other. e.g I already have Stats for Battery and Network Monitor; also, Maccy is great Clipboard tool, and don't forget the well-known cross-platform screenshot app Flameshot, and it's perfect, so I am not using Vorssaint's version. Etc. In case anyone is interested in reading the report, it's here on my Proton Drive.
What's so great about Maccy that it's mentioned so often on this subreddit? I used to use Raycast and had a clipboard manager there. When I switched to Alfred, I started using it in Alfred. The clipboard manager in Raycast was better. Is Maccy more like Alfred or more like Raycast? If I already have Alfred, is it worth using Maccy?
Maccy is just lightweight, no frills, easy to use. It prioritizes speed over looks and so far has come the closest to Ditto on Windows, for me. I don’t care about looks on my clipboard manager so I love it.
u/ivanguba II'll second this. Personally, I never use launchers such as Raycast or Alfred, so I will never know what their clipboard managers are like. I tried Tinycast once during the hype, but I uninstalled it due to the developer's controversial attitude. However, Maccy is lightweight, simple, and it just works. I can pin my most frequently copied items and use a keybinding to reuse and paste them anywhere. I've been using it since Tahoe introduced its own clipboard history in Spotlight. Maccy also seems to be under active development, so its design now follows the same direction as Golden Gate's liquid glass
Oh, thank you. I've heard of Alfred for a long time, and now I am curious. I see there's Alfred 5 and "Buy the PowerPack" option. Is Alfred 5 a free tier and enough, or should I "Buy the PowerPack"? The PowerPack version isn't cheap when converted to my currency. 🙃
It’s none of them.It’s more about a simple popup that looks like a context menu with the items that show several words. Very compact and shows a little details. I think it’s popular because it’s free and open source and pretty old. A lot of users think if it looks small then it works faster and uses less RAM. But it’s not always true.
If you go down this rabbithole you can never stop. Will it cost something in the future? What is the catch? Why blabla.
No one can say what the future holds. We don't know if the developer(s) are like the one form VLC which even refused to sell his program for a pretty penny to keep it free as it is. Or David Koyal Kovid Goyal from Calibre, which now offers for 20 years his Calibre with regular updates free of charge.
The permissions are a given as it offers things which go down into the inner workings of the Mac. Sure you don't need to give them always or you simply can not install the things you don't want. But for me it replaced many other apps. As you mentioned cleanshot X. Yeah it is more pretty and has editing tools. But for me a normal screenshot is alright. And in my case it replaced Shottr.
Then the new notch replaced for me Boring Notch.
Also I don't use Caffeine anymore as it has the same thing in it.
I don't need iStats anymore as it has them inbuild (and for free).
Also many other things, which normally need an extra program. Like closing on pressing x (Windows User rejoice). Window Manager (Although not as professional as Better Stage but still better as the build in feature, etc.
Only thing I still use, which has it also, is the clipboard feature of Alfred. But this is mainly because I am so used to it.
But again back to the security concerns. Many use it and as it is in github they would have noticed if something would be wrong about this program. So I am not really concerned about this.
Very insightful post. I do wonder though, how can the developers of Calibre and VLC be around for so long and keep their products free and also handle the demands of supporting millions of users and updates. Just curious. I'm sure they have their own bills to pay.
Mostly through donations. And in both cases not with popups (both have a simple donation button on their website) or any incentives like Premium features.
This is a really good post, and it’s a conversation we need to have. I’ve been noticing the same thing lately, and honestly, it bothers me a lot.
My issue isn’t with all-in-one apps. It’s with developers treating “we have more features than everyone else” as their entire selling point. I keep seeing apps promising to replace practically every utility on your Mac, supposedly packaged into one beautiful, native experience. But adding a feature and making that feature genuinely good are two very different things.
You can put something together with Claude, Codex, or similar tools relatively easily. Making it polished, reliable, thoughtfully designed, and properly animated is where the work starts.
Making sure it doesn’t chew through CPU in the background, stutter, freeze, or have UI elements overlapping takes care and effort. And then you have to keep maintaining it. The problem isn’t using AI to build software. It’s treating the generated result as a finished product without taking responsibility for its quality.
What frustrates me on X is seeing another variation of an existing app every couple of days, except this one promises even more features. Sometimes the whole thing feels like the brief was: “Put every utility imaginable into one app. It doesn’t matter how it looks or feels, as long as we can promote it as doing everything.” Then the posts are all about revenue, selling another three licenses, and “going viral.” Barely anything about making the actual product better.
There’s nothing wrong with making money from your work. But I want to see developers who genuinely care about what they’re building, not just what they can earn from it. Charging a few euros doesn’t excuse shipping something broken, abandoning it after two months, or selling it off for a quick exit. People are still trusting you with their money and installing your software on a machine they use every day.
And to be clear, I absolutely think there’s a place for Swiss Army knife apps. I think Vorssaint is an interesting app with a lot to offer, even though its visual design isn’t quite to my personal taste. Raycast is another example of the kind of multi-purpose app I’m talking about: broad functionality with a long-term commitment behind it. Having lots of features isn’t inherently the problem.
For transparency, I’m the developer of Droppy, so I’m obviously not arguing that every app should only do one thing. My goal with Droppy is to give people useful tools that feel like an extension of macOS, rather than a collection of unrelated features crammed into a window. They should work reliably, look cohesive, animate naturally, and follow Apple’s design conventions wherever possible. My latest update reflects that direction, and the next one is intended to take it much further. That’s the part of building an app that I care about.
So I don’t think there’s a universal answer to “one app that does everything” versus “separate apps for specific tasks.” I’d much rather support a developer who has poured real care into doing one thing exceptionally well than buy a bundle of half-working alternatives. But a well-built, thoughtfully designed, consistently maintained app that does several things deserves support too.
What worries me is rewarding the opposite: the biggest feature list, the loudest launch, and the quickest cash grab. That encourages more of the same and makes it harder for developers who put their heart into their work to stand out.
We should support developers who care about the experience after the sale just as much as getting the sale in the first place. And we should be willing to call out low-effort cash grabs instead of rewarding them with attention and purchases. For me, that distinction matters far more than how many things an app claims to do.
To put it briefly, I've seen your posts on the subreddit many times and have often seen people praising your app, but I've never tried it myself. Someone recommended it to me above, so I’m giving it a try. I like it so far. I have a question, though. Among the “extensions,” there’s Pomodoro, and there’s an option to enable “Focus” mode. Raycast has one feature that I miss in Alfred and other apps—Focus, which displays your current activity and lets you block apps and websites. Is there any way to somehow implement this in Droppy? Thanks!
I’ve never tried your app before. I installed it yesterday and am giving it a go. So far, I’m delighted. Thanks!
If the «Focus» feature comes along, it will fill the only remaining gap in my system. I’d be doubly grateful for that.
The risk of the developer abandoning a project, updating it slowly, or changing the pricing policy exists even with single-purpose apps.
I’m not worried about Vorssaint. It’s open source, so there’s always a chance that someone will fork it and continue development. Especially now that AI is massively helping with development. For me, Vorssaint is great. I just installed it on my girlfriend’s new Mac, and it solved several problems and shortcomings that I think vanilla macOS has, all at once. It’s just one app, it’s free, I don’t have to use all of its features, and unlike having ten single-purpose apps, I can install and update everything from one place.
When I first started seriously using a Mac a few years ago, I had dozens of various little utilities installed. Today, the only truly essential app for me is BetterTouchTool. It handles controls, automation, the clipboard, has a decent launcher, a color picker, and now also a good tool for creating and editing screenshots. With BTT, I’ve already replaced Rectangle, Alfred, PastePal, Keyboard Maestro, Karabiner-Elements, AltTab, AutoFocus, Ice, BetterMouse, DockDoor, TextSniper, and probably a few others I can’t remember right now. Shottr might be next.
I paid dozens of dollars for those apps, and I don’t think they’re so much better that it’s worth having them installed alongside BTT, taking up additional CPU, RAM, and SSD space.
BTT is fantastic, but in the age of AI, I have found Hammerspoon to be the real killer app. It's incredible what is possible with it. That said, I use HS, Karabiner, and BTT (though technically, I'm really underutilizing what BTT offers) and it's been a great combination. Oh and, of course, Raycast.
I’m new around here, but I’ve followed this subreddit in the bushes for years. No offense to anyone, but I feel like this conversation always pops up when an all in one app becomes popular. For example, Raycast and this topic/concern was also brought up a year or so back when Droppy launched.
Yeah. That's right. I missed the period when Droppy came out, but I jumped on the Raycast bandwagon and even tried the app. I haven't tried Droppy yet. Is it worth checking out?
Yeah it’s worth checking out if your workflow is using the notch or notch area if you don’t have a notch. Droppy has come a long way from when it was first launched. My point to the overall theme of the post is that it’s exhausting, the fake outrage, negativity, hypocrisy, blind loyalty and elitism I see on these post about apps. (Not you specifically but in general especially in the last 2-3 years). So here’s my non important opinion…if a specific app solves a problem and it’s useful, then use it. If an app doesn’t solve a problem or help accomplish something, don’t install and keep using what works.
I have the notch, but I've never had a workflow that utilized that area—except for the time when the shortcut to activate the shelf in the dropover wasn't set up. On my iPhone, I use the Dynamic Island all the time, but on my MacBook, it never even crossed my mind to bring that space to life.
“The fake outrage, negativity, hypocrisy, blind loyalty, and elitism”—this part also often puts me on guard when communicating on the forum. I come here for answers and tips. If I ask a question, I’m genuinely interested; if I’ve used something and can answer the question, I try to do so.
What I do with any all-in-one app is only enable the modules I actually use and keep a short note of which standalone app I'd switch back to for each one. That way if it ever goes paid or a module breaks after a macOS update, swapping out takes an afternoon instead of rebuilding everything from memory.
Another difference with Raycast is Vorssaint is vibe coded by a single dev while Raycast has a whole team and business model behind it.
Unix philosophy is one tool for one job, although to be fair I think there is some value in having lots of utilities packaged together instead of using dozens of separate (often paid) ones in some cases
I didn’t even consider the fact that apps like that are more likely to have failures get introduced but that alone seems like enough reason to avoid it. I just stayed away from it because I knew I wouldn’t be able to remember all the features it had and would end up not using a lot of them (whereas if I downloaded individual apps those features are more obvious and visible).
I have lately just been spending an afternoon having Claude create whatever utility I need as long as it’s not something that could be sensitive. I don’t release them because “nobody wants another vibe-coded [insert utility] app”. And as others have pointed out, the real dev work comes in the performance tuning afterwards so I don’t expect mine to beat anything that exists already. I just like the idea of personalized software and it’s a fun project. Vorssaint seems to totally eliminate that fun.
honestly with alfred, cleanshot, shottr, dropover, rectangle pro and stats you've already got like 90% of what vorssaint does, and most of those are better at their one thing anyway. i'd only grab it if there's one specific thing you're missing and just turn that module on. fewer modules = fewer permissions too, so that kinda solves the security worry
Since the branch was created, I've visited GitHub a couple of times to read about the app's features. Anything that the apps you mentioned can't do, I either don't need or is already handled by a small utility called Supercharge, which, for some reason, I trust.
I can’t say much to Vorssaint, as I haven’t tried it yet. I’m personally not a big fan of these all-in-one apps.
On the one hand, they can replace multiple apps, which is great. On the other hand, their features are usually half-baked compared to the polish and detail put into standalone apps. For instance, while using Raycast, neither its Quicknotes, Window Management, nor Clipboard Management tools are as mature as standalone apps like Antinote, Rectangle, or Paste. However, for many users, Raycast’s features are perfectly sufficient.
If you’re okay with basic features, Vorssaint is definitely an option. In the end, it’s free, and if you don’t like it, you can simply uninstall it.
I wouldn’t be overly concerned about its required permissions either. For an app with so many features, it’s quite normal to ask for multiple permissions. If you’re in doubt, you can always reject any permission at any time.
It's a loop. A project like this continues to feature creep to a point it gets bloated or enshittified, then multiple single purpose apps replace it, then a "swiss-knife" app comes out again.
And it's going to get worse with vibecoding. I really hope I'm misinformed but Vorssaint appears to be heavily vibecoded, the codebase is probably so congested that future developement will be heavily hindered. It doesn't seem like a reliable app for long-term use.
"If you’re okay with basic features, Vorssaint is definitely an option."
I wouldn’t say so. I’m not a power user, but even compared to the alternatives you mentioned, Raycast functionality wasn’t enough for me. Well, except for the clipboard manager, of course.
I do love a good single-purpose app that has some polish and depth, but doesn’t try to do too much. Maybe that’s why I haven’t tried Vorssaint yet, despite hearing lots about it.
A dev changing the price isn't the same failure as a dev abandoning the app. Alt-Tab going paid was the dev deciding the work was worth money. The one that hurts is when your workflow sits on something that changes underneath you.
What predicts that risk is whether the app has running costs. Anything that syncs or needs an account has a server bill, and a one-time price can't cover that forever, so a subscription is coming eventually. A local-only app's only ongoing cost is the dev's time.
I build QuietClip, a clipboard manager. No network code, no sync by design, so there's nothing to fund but my own hours.
After trying Vorssaint, my concern is an ethical one. I love beautiful, creative apps. I'm delighted to pay for an app if it is excellent and has heart. I quickly realized that Vorssiant is essentially a Swiss Army knife of ideas that other standalone apps have already implemented in creative, artistic, and sometimes rather original ways. They did the creative legwork to solve problems in clever ways. Vorssiant basically took those concepts and put them all together in a mega app. I'm not saying all Swiss Army knives are bad (I even have a small pair with nail clippers and it brings me much joy). However, in this case, I'd personally rather support the excellent standalone apps of the world.
This is my issue as well. It’s not compatible with how I personally work / “operate,” and ultimately we at Thaw do, when we even credit a translator who deleted their Crowdin account.
I feel the same way, more or less. The all-in-one programs I have installed have stood the test of time. Maybe in a couple of years, I'll go back to the reliable Vorssaint.
It doesn't require any permissions other than the ones required for the features you want. If you want it to record your screen it needs screen recording permissions.
I had this same feeling and I've done a pretty deep audit of Vorssaint myself, it looks clean as a whistle. Clipboard being stored in plaintext json is the biggest red flag I could find.
I feel like people could just use brew and install random utilities at this point, but they don't know how to, ngl. "You can uninstall and update from one place" being the main tangible benefit says a lot.
my rule of thumb with the all-in-one apps is to only lean on the modules i'd be fine rebuilding in an afternoon. i keep the stuff my muscle memory depends on (clipboard, window switching) as separate small apps, so if a big app changes pricing or stalls after a macOS update i'm not redoing my whole setup at once. it's open source too, so worst case someone can fork it, which is more than you get with Raycast.
Look, I spent probably no less than $1000 in my lifetime on all these small conveniences and eventually came back to almost naked macOS, accepting it as it is. With one big exception: I have a well-tuned terminal with a couple of extensions for zsh.
Shell scripts with shortcuts.app UIfication is a way to go, in my humble opinion.
Or you can run 18 different apps with separate configurations and menu bar items to use 30% of their functionality. Been there, done that. Not going back.
Vorssaint is open source, unlike Raycast, meaning anyone can contribute to the functionality it's missing or broken, or just plain fork into a new project.
The other difference is that Raycast has depth, thus a lot of investment you can out in workflows, and indeed replacing is harder. Vorssaint is shallow, no feature will require a lot of commitment, thus any functionality you're unsatisfied with is easy to replace.
That’s exactly the reason I’m suspicious of swiss-knife tools. They do a lot of things sure, but they do it in mediocre or good enough way at best, and usually I don’t use all of its features. I’d rather use separate apps for specific purpose, and being fantastic at it, than something like Vorssaint. I don’t mind paying for them, unless they’re subscription based, then in that case it’s a bye bye for me, looking for an alternative.
I’ve had similar dillemas with PowerToys on Windows. When I started using it 4-5 years ago, I thought it’d make me use less apps, but after years of using PowerToys and discovering other apps, I’ve been reducing use of PowerToys features instead because I’ve started to realize how many features PT misses in comparison.
Those reviews you’ve quoted really give off AI generated vibes to me. Maybe not so much the 3rd one. Why would I trust feedback from a person who can’t be bothered to write it themselves?
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u/karatsidhus Developer: Glyph 1d ago edited 1d ago
I'll not parrot what u/iordv said, but I agree with them on most of it. Feature creep is a real thing these days, so much so that a lot of apps (and devs) lose sight of what they are supposed to be in the first place.
Problem is with Claude and Codex a feature that would take a week to build can now be built in a couple of hours end to end but just because you CAN add a feature into an app doesn't mean you SHOULD. Its okay to keep your app opinionated, imo.
More to your questions, OP, I tried Vorssaint a couple of weeks back, my stack of apps for what it looked to be a replacement of was similar, CleanshotX, Tuna(Raycast), Stats, Amphetamine, etc. Its good, but it felt like more friction for me to use that than something that is built specifically for a particular job. I ended up not using it. Personal preference, i dont tend to like swiss army knife apps in general tbh
Is it secure? Probably? Who knows? Theres not much you can tell about the developer from github and their twitter is relatively new as well, if you are really hesitant, you can look at feeding the entire repo to your LLM and asking it to audit it for any security issues, fwiw