A curated list of handy-dandy tools for Mac Admins.
Inspired by the awesome list.
A free package creation tool. The gold standard of making your own custom installer packages.
Cost: Free
Link: http://s.sudre.free.fr/Software/Packages/about.html
Jamf's in-house package creator tool. Builds pkgs and dmgs made for deployment with the Jamf Pro Suite, but pkgs built with Composer can be used with any management framework.
Cost: USD $99.95, otherwise included with the Jamf Pro Suite if a Jamf customer.
Link: https://www.jamf.com/products/jamf-composer/
An Automator application that quickly builds payload-free pkgs for deployment.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/rtrouton/Payload-Free-Package-Creator
munki-pkg is a simple tool for building packages. While it was developed for use with munki, it can be used to make pkgs that are deployable with any management framework.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/munki/munki-pkg
Automated third party package download and creation for deployment.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/autopkg/autopkg
GUI for AutoPkg, with click-to-add functionality of additional components.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/lindegroup/autopkgr
An application for inspecting the contents of macOS packages.
Cost: Free
Link: http://www.mothersruin.com/software/SuspiciousPackage/
Create deployable system images from macOS installers.*
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/MagerValp/AutoDMG
Automate the creation of NetBoot images (NBIs) for use with Jamf Imaging.*
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/macmule/AutoCasperNBI
A customizable onboarding app designed to work with Jamf Pro and DEP.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/Shufflepuck/SplashBuddy
A setup/splash screen for DEP and user-initiated Jamf Pro enrollments. Detailed documentation highlights how to work with the application in Xcode to customize it for your organization's needs.
Cost: Free to use, paid installation/customization services available.
Link: https://git.tramscloud.co.uk/projects/XCOD/repos/adept/browse
A lightweight notification app designed to let users know what's happening during DEP enrollment.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://gitlab.com/Mactroll/DEPNotify
The functionality you want from a Mac bound to Active Directory without having to actually bind to AD. (Make sure you check out this NoMAD updater as well.)
Cost: Free, Pro version pricing information can be found here
Link: https://nomad.menu/nomad-open-source/
A handy menubar application to get users in touch with IT and quickly get information and resources on their Mac.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/ygini/Hello-IT
A helper app for Hello IT to make building mobileconfig files easier.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/PaperFixie/moss
Customizable menubar that checks for hardware status, management framework status, and other handy information.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/jhbush/Arek/tree/master/Development/MacDNA%20Menulet
An free, open source, hackable text editor.
Cost: Free
Link: https://atom.io/
A high performance, cross-platform text editor.
Cost: USD $80 to buy, free to evaluate.
Link: https://www.sublimetext.com/
Apple's integrated development environment (IDE) containing a suite of software development tools developed by Apple for developing software used by Apple hardware.
Cost: Free with an Apple ID.
Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/xcode/id497799835?mt=12
Clean and simple HTML & text editor, made by Bare Bones Software.
Cost: USD $49.99 (direct download or via Mac App Store)
Link: https://www.barebones.com/products/bbedit/
An open source markdown editor for macOS.
Cost: Free
Link: https://macdown.uranusjr.com/
Microsoft's source code editor in a lightweight, open source, cross-platform application.
Cost: Free
Link: https://code.visualstudio.com/
Team chat and productivity client. Anyone can create a free team with ten integrations. (Join the MacAdmins Slack!)
Cost: Free teams with limited capabilities, additonal pricing can be found here
Link: https://slack.com/downloads/osx
Use Trello's boards, lists, and cards to organize and prioritize your projects. Free, browser-based and mobile app interface.
Cost: Free, with paid features available.
Link: https://trello.com/
Virtual sticky notes, lists, photos, and audio.
Cost: Included with Gmail accounts.
Link: https://www.google.com/keep/
LastPass stores your passwords and makes it easy to auto-fill and quickly sign into webapps without retyping your credentials. It also helps generate new passwords and warns you when use the same password for different services.
Cost: Free, with paid features available.
Link: https://www.lastpass.com/
A small application which allows you to thoroughly uninstall unwanted apps.
Cost: Free
Link: https://freemacsoft.net/appcleaner/
A caffeine replacement that prevents your Mac from sleeping on demand.
Cost: Free in the Mac App Store
Link: https://itunes.apple.com/app/amphetamine/id937984704?mt=12
A handy script that converts a never-booted DMG into a VMware Fusion VM.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/chilcote/vfuse
Works with your Jamf server to identify objects not currently being used, out of date, or are generally "crufty".
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/sheagcraig/Spruce
Quickly recategorize policies and packages in Jamf Pro, and even more unused categories.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/sheagcraig/Recategorizer
Custom user notifications with Swift.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/sheagcraig/yo
A tool to migrate data granularly between Jamf Pro servers.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/jamfprofessionalservices/JamfMigrator
Easily capture GIFs from your Mac, great for documentation.
Cost: Free from the Mac App Store.
Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/giphy-capture-the-gif-maker/id668208984?mt=12
Rotates through beautiful new desktop wallpapers
Cost: USD $1.99 in the Mac App Store.
Link: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wallcat/id1000397973?mt=12
Easily configure macOS security settings from the terminal.
Cost: N/A
Link: https://github.com/alichtman/stronghold
To the extent possible under law, Emily Kausalik has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this work.