Notes from the café
Guides, release notes, and the occasional brew log - everything we're pouring at getapps.cafe.
Page 4 of 9
How to Speed Up Mac Startup: Login Items and Launch Agents
Login items and launch agents are why a Mac feels slow in the first minute after sign-in. Where they hide, what to remove, what to keep, and how to measure before you cut.
The Freelancer's Toolkit: Contract, Client, Invoice, Paid
Nobody sells a freelancer suite worth having, and this is not one either. It is five separate Mac apps that cover the chain from the contract to the money landing - including two that were never built for business and do the job anyway.
Your Files Are Training Data
Every free web tool that asks you to drop a file in is asking for a copy, not a loan. What an upload actually is, why the terms are not the interesting part, and the ordinary jobs that never needed a server in the first place.
Live Data, Local Files: Inside the Frappe Shelf
Frappe is the shelf labeled Connectivity & Data Tools, which sounds like the corner of the menu that phones home. It is the opposite: live prices, flights, and satellites stream in all day, and your files never leave the machine.
In 2026, Everything Answers You in Markdown
Nobody voted for Markdown. It won anyway: it is what a chat assistant answers in, what a README is, and what the instruction files on your disk are written in. So you own a folder of .md files that several things write into, and you are still editing them in a browser textarea.
It's 2026. Your LaTeX Editor Should Not Need a TeX Install.
Every LaTeX setup guide still opens the same way: download a multi-gigabyte distribution, wait, configure a path, then start writing. LatteX puts the typesetting engine inside the app, so a .tex file renders the moment you type it and the install step disappears.
What "Local-First" Actually Means (And What It Doesn't)
Local-first has been stretched to mean native, offline, private, free, and open source, which are five different things. Here is the one test that actually separates local-first software from everything else, and the misreadings worth dropping - including what it costs you.
How to Clear Cache on Mac (and When It's Actually Worth It)
Caches are not junk: they're the reason your Mac feels fast. Here's when clearing one fixes a real problem, which caches are safe to touch, and what you'll actually get back.
How to Scan a Document on Mac Without a Scanner
The iPhone in your pocket is a better document scanner than the flatbed in the office cupboard. Here is the built-in way to scan straight into a folder on your Mac, why the file it hands you is only a picture of a page, and how to end up with a PDF you can actually search.
ResumeRoast 2.2: You Asked for Hex Codes and Custom Fonts
A ResumeRoast user asked for hex color input and a wider choice of fonts. Version 2.2 has both: 23 swatches and a hex field in every picker, and every font already installed on your machine, read natively on macOS and Windows.
Fresh Brews: CamCascara and ContactCafe Join the Menu
CamCascara turns the webcam you already own into a studio camera with live filters and clean backgrounds. ContactCafe gives the contacts export you have sitting around a real editor. 123 apps and counting.
Fresh Brews: MochaMusic, CremaCard, and TypeClack Join the Menu
MochaMusic builds a real library out of the music folders you already own, CremaCard brings spaced repetition to your Mac, and TypeClack gives your keyboard a mechanical voice. The cafe sits at 121 apps now.