Last Update: 29/04/2024

Artisanal Inspirational Software Projects

I believe Mark Bernstein did a good job capturing the spirit of the Artisanal Software movement in his series of posts on NeoVictorian Computing.

The following, beautiful and long-running software projects by independent developers (individuals or small teams) have been particularly inspiring for me as a developer (and, naturally, I am an active user of most):

• Obsidian: The defining knowledge-base tool of our time, supporting data sovereignty
• MoneyWorks: Seriously Good Accounting Software (in development for 30+ years!)
• ANKI: Powerful, intelligent flash cards (Open Source)
• MacFamilyTree: Genealogy for Mac (Apple App of the Year 2022)
• Things3: Beautiful & simple personal task manager (in daily use!)
• AlDente: Battery Management / Charge Limiter for MacBooks (supremely executed by David & Matthias in Vienna)
• The Brain: Unique 3D mind-mapping tool, 25+ years in the making
• Telegram API: Comprehensive dev ecosystem & supportive community
• Tinderbox: Visualize, analyze, and share ideas (with a very active, long-lived user community)