Mac developer, writer, toolmaker
I build Mac apps for writers and thinkers, and write about how programmers learn and think: Swift and AppKit, the Zettelkasten method, Emacs, and lately AI-assisted work.
- Mac app development 119
- TextKit 29
- Emacs 98
- Zettelkasten 71
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So you want to …
- Learn Get better at programming on purpose, even while AI writes more of the code.
- Think Think in writing, with notes that compound, so hard problems get easier the longer you work on them.
- build_ Make software that ships: design that survives change, tests that let you move, and Mac apps you can sell yourself.
Latest
All 932 posts
How Do You Design a Code Retreat in 2026?
This year is weird and tough and confusing for many people for many reasons. How can you hold a day of code retreat in such an athmosphere?
Watch My EmacsConf Talk: Zettelkasten for Regular Emacs Hackers
The recording of my EmacsConf 2025 talk on building a thinking environment in Emacs, plus the Q&A and the script to follow along.
Reaching mastery has no clearly defined finish line, and in software crafting in particular, it is a ‘wicked’ environment because the rules and tools change under you all the time while everyone disagrees about what the goal is.
Hazel 6 is discounted 35% for the 20th birthday of this amazing little Mac helper!
Lettera: A Refined Markdown Document Editor
Shiny Frog's new Markdown editor for macOS goes into beta today. It's like Bear, but for any file or folder on your computer. I've been lucky enough to help build it.
Senior macOS/iOS engineer in Bielefeld, Germany. CV, portfolio, and how to work with me.