Work · alternatives · 2026
24 alternatives to The Cook
Lock the view. Keep the Mac cooking.
Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes. Prices are shown for the 1 we have checked on their own sites, 1 of them free or with a free tier.
- 1
Awakado▲79Keep your Mac awake while your AI agents work
20d ago · awakado.noodledragon.studio · its alternatives →
- 2
Got tired of reaching for the terminal to caffeinate my mac and tweaking system settings Now got a new friend in my menubar Enjoy!
Aug 2026 · agentsneversleep.app · its alternatives →
- 3
Keep your AI agents running while you step away
Aug 2026 · cuukit.com · its alternatives →
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Pull a virtual shade over your screen, rest your eyes
2015 · google.com · its alternatives →
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Hi HN, Francesco from Cua here. I hacked this project together last weekend, inspired by the Codex Computer-Use release and lessons learned from deploying GUI-operating agents for our customers. The main problem: when a UI automation process controls a desktop app today, it usually takes over the human’s session. Your cursor moves, keyboard focus gets stolen, windows jump to the front, and you have to stop working until the agent is done. That is why we have historically avoided encouraging users to run these processes directly on their host machine, instead relying on VMs or GUI containers…
Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →
- 8MF
2012 · flyingmachinestudios.com · its alternatives →
- 9
Caret▲211We've been heads-down building this for a few weeks and want real feedback before we open it up. Caret runs in the background and completes your thoughts across every app: email, terminal, notes, wherever. Hit Tab and it finishes the sentence. We're onboarding the first users ourselves, one by one. So if you're interested, one of the three of us will get on a call with you to set you up and understand how you work. Looking for 20 people.
Apr 2026 · trycaret.com · its alternatives →
- 10
ScreenVeil▲86Hide what shouldn’t be seen on your computer
May 2026 · apps.apple.com · its alternatives →
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Ask AI about anything on your screen with a single hotkey
Mar 2026 · screengeany.ai · its alternatives →
- 13
LockIn MCP▲116I was tired of how bad distraction blockers are so I built my own. LockIn lets AI assistants (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, etc.) block websites by editing the system hosts file directly via MCP tools (via a secure cloudflare bridge). Why? Because chrome extensions don't work. Blocking it natively makes it unbypassable, and having your agent gatekeep your focus is the ultimate cheat code. Since everyone is using AI agents nowadays, but most people start scrolling or Reddit while waiting for Claude Code to finish, giving them control over your focus solves that. The MCP server exposes four tools:…
Jun 2026 · lockinmcp.com · its alternatives →
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Keepresso▲129Keep your Mac awake, on your terms. Free and open source
Jul 2026 · keepresso.com · its alternatives →
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ScreenSorts▲124Search every screenshot, text, and detail privately
Feb 2026 · screensorts.app · its alternatives →
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Mac Duo▲107Turn your display into frosted glass as you close the lid
Sep 2026 · macduo.co.uk · its alternatives →
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CrewTower▲100Talk to Claude Code right from your MacBook notch
Aug 2026 · crewtower.app · its alternatives →
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Your replies ready with your work's full context
Sep 2026 · usechalked.com · its alternatives →
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Mermaid▲59Tell your Mac what to do. From literally anywhere
8d ago · addmermaid.com · its alternatives →
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HeimWall▲34Signal, not surveillance. See how your engineers use Cursor, Claude Code, and Copilot: catch leaked secrets, PII, and confidential data, without blocking them or reading their prompts.
Jul 2026 · heimwall.ai · its alternatives →
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CueNotch▲20Look like you memorized everything. You didn't.
Mar 2026 · cuenotch.com · its alternatives →
- 24
Cause "You're absolutely right" is probably absolutely wrong
Apr 2026 · npmjs.com · its alternatives →
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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →