The short answer. DevToysMac and DevUtils.app are the offline toolboxes in the spirit of Windows DevToys — formatters, converters, generators and inspectors in one window. DevKnife is the native option for the same job. JSONStudio is the one to pick if JSON is most of your work. DevHub is the offline app for reading developer resources. Responsively is the outlier: it is for responsive web development specifically. The criterion that separates them is whether the tool runs entirely offline, because a toolbox that needs the network is a website with extra steps.
This guide covers 6 developer toolboxes for macOS. Every fact below is drawn from the same verified records that back each app’s own page. The recommendations are our editorial judgment, not payment.
Quick comparison
| App | What it is | Pricing | Licence | Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DevHub | developer utility | not published | not published | 2.2.0 |
| DevKnife | developer utility | not published | not published | 1.18.1 |
| DevToysMac | developer utility | Open source | MIT | 0.0.11 |
| DevUtils.app | developer utility | Open source | not published | 1.17.0 |
| JsonStudio | developer tool | Open source | Apache-2.0 | 1.5.1 |
| Responsively | developer tool | Open source | AGPL-3.0 | 1.18.0 |
What actually decides this
- Offline or not. A toolbox you can use on a plane and on a customer site is worth more than one with three more tools. Offline is the feature that matters in this category.
- Breadth versus depth. A tool with forty shallow utilities is a convenience. A tool with three deep ones is a product. Decide which you are buying before comparing lists.
- Whether it is scriptable. If a transformation has to run in a pipeline, it needs a CLI. Most toolboxes in this group are GUI-only, which silently limits them.
- What it does with data you paste in. You will paste production payloads into these tools. A toolbox that logs, phones home or keeps a history is the wrong toolbox.
Our picks
- DevToysMac — Its record describes an offline toolbox for daily developer tasks, which is the core proposition. Choose it when you want the DevToys idea on macOS and offline.
- DevUtils.app — Its record describes a toolbox for formatting, converting and debugging everyday data, which names the three jobs precisely. Choose it when your recurring tasks are formatting, converting and debugging data.
- DevKnife — Its record describes dozens of daily dev tasks from network scans to JSON formatting, which is the broad native option. Choose it when you want one native app covering network scans through JSON formatting.
- JsonStudio — Its record describes a local-first JSON workspace for formatting, editing, diffing, converting and validating, which is depth over breadth. Choose it when JSON is most of what you work with.
- Responsively — Its record describes a tool for quicker responsive web development, which is a single job done well rather than a toolbox. Choose it when the task is checking a site at several viewport sizes.
The apps
DevHub
DevHub is a developer utility for macOS. Feature-rich offline app for developers. Its pricing is not published.
What it does. DevHub is an offline developer toolbox for macOS, designed for everyday development tasks with an emphasis on local exec.
DevHub is listed with current version 2.2.0.
Full profile and verified facts for DevHub →
DevKnife
DevKnife is a developer utility for macOS. A native Mac app for dozens of daily dev tasks, from network scans to JSON formatting. Its pricing is not published.
What it does. DevKnife is a fast, private macOS app with 10+ tools. Format JSON, compare text, decode JWTs, scan ports, and more — all in one lightweight toolkit.
DevKnife is listed with current version 1.18.1.
Full profile and verified facts for DevKnife →
DevToysMac
DevToysMac is a developer utility for macOS. Offline toolbox that helps developers in daily tasks. It is released under MIT.
What it does. DevToys For mac.
DevToysMac is listed with current version 0.0.11.
Full profile and verified facts for DevToysMac →
DevUtils.app
DevUtils.app is a developer utility for macOS. Developer toolbox for formatting, converting, and debugging everyday data. It is open source.
What it does. Powerful developer tools to help you with your everyday tasks. Native macOS app, work offline, and respect your data.
DevUtils.app is listed with current version 1.17.0.
Full profile and verified facts for DevUtils.app →
JsonStudio
JsonStudio is a developer tool for macOS. Local-first JSON workspace for formatting, editing, diffing, converting, validating, and extracting JSON from logs. It is released under Apache-2.0.
What it does. A fast, modern desktop JSON app built for daily development. The all-in-one workspace for every JSON task, designed to redefine your workflow efficiency.
JsonStudio is listed with current version 1.5.1.
Full profile and verified facts for JsonStudio →
Responsively
Responsively is a developer tool for macOS. A must-have devtool for web developers for quicker responsive web development. It is released under AGPL-3.0.
What it does. A dev-tool that aids faster and precise responsive web development.
Responsively is listed with current version 1.18.0.
Full profile and verified facts for Responsively →
How to choose
- No licence fee, source available. DevToysMac, DevUtils.app, JsonStudio and Responsively — the source can be read and, under the terms of each licence, reused.
- Pricing not published in our data. DevHub and DevKnife — check the developer’s own site before assuming anything about cost.
Open source: DevToysMac, DevUtils.app, JsonStudio and Responsively (4 of 6).
Common mistakes
- Pasting production data into a toolbox you have not checked for telemetry. This is the most common leak in the category.
- Collecting three overlapping toolboxes because each has one utility the other lacks. The switching cost exceeds the missing tool.
- Assuming a GUI toolbox can be automated. If the transformation belongs in a pipeline, it needs a CLI, and these do not have one.
- Judging a toolbox by its utility count. A long list of shallow tools is a menu, not a product.
How this guide was put together
Each app’s facts come from its own record: the developer’s own pages and repository, the App Store listing where one exists, and the documentation, each with a source grade and an access date. Where a fact rests on the developer’s own statement rather than on something we verified independently, the sentence says so. Where our data has no value for something, the guide says “not published” instead of guessing.
A price appears here only where the record carries one from a stated source; the guide never estimates one, and it records the pricing model alongside so the two can be read together. Prices change and vary by region, so each app links to its own page for the current detail.
The facts and the recommendations are kept apart on purpose. Everything in the app entries, the comparison table and the answers above is composed from the records. The short answer, the criteria and the picks are our editorial judgment: they reflect what we would choose and why, and they are not paid for. Where we make a recommendation we name the condition it applies under, because we do not call anything “the best” without explaining the criteria.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I choose between these developer toolboxes?
There is no single answer — it depends on what you need. This guide covers 6 developer toolboxes: DevHub, DevKnife, DevToysMac, DevUtils.app, JsonStudio and Responsively. They differ mainly in pricing model, licence and the trade-offs each one carries. Pick by the trade-off you care about rather than by rank.
Are these developer toolboxes free?
Pricing across this group: not published (DevHub and DevKnife) and open source (DevToysMac, DevUtils.app, JsonStudio and Responsively). Where we list pricing as not published, the developer does not state a model we could verify — check their own site before assuming anything about cost. We quote a price only where the record carries one from a stated source, and we never estimate one. Prices change and vary by region and by store, so always check the developer’s own page for the current figure.
Which of these developer toolboxes are open source?
DevToysMac (MIT), DevUtils.app (not published), JsonStudio (Apache-2.0) and Responsively (AGPL-3.0) are open source.
Do these developer toolboxes support Apple Silicon?
Our data does not carry an explicit Apple Silicon statement for any app in this group, so we do not claim one. The absence of a statement is not the same as the absence of support.
How do I choose between them?
Start with how you pay: the guide groups these apps by pricing model, because the budget is the constraint most people actually have. Then check the trade-offs listed for each app: the limitations are the part that decides most people’s choice, because they describe what the app will not do for you.
