PSPDFKit founder turned creator of OpenClaw, the open-source personal AI agent
OpenClaw, PSPDFKit (Nutrient), CodexBar +2
stack --tool objective-c · #19 of 80
Indie makers who build with Objective-C (2026)
7 indie makers on IndieMakerList list Objective-C in their stack — 4% of makers who share one — including Peter Steinberger, Marco Arment and Daniel Jalkut. The C-based language Apple used for macOS and iOS development before Swift. Below: their products, self-reported revenue and the tools they pair with Objective-C.
7
makers
31
products
—
combined revenue*
4
exits
Official site: developer.apple.com/documentation/objectivec
Top indie makers using Objective-C
7 makers, ranked by profile depth, audience and reported revenue.
Indie iOS developer of Overcast, previously Instapaper and Tumblr
Overcast, Unforgetful, Instapaper +1
Former Apple engineer running Red Sweater Software, maker of MarsEdit
MarsEdit, FastScripts, Black Ink +2
Founder of Flying Meat, two-decade indie Mac maker of Acorn and Retrobatch
Acorn, Retrobatch, VoodooPad +1
Indie Safari extension developer behind StopTheMadness at Underpass App Company
StopTheMadness Pro, StopTheScript, StopTheFonts +2
Mac developer behind retro Apple Music remotes and PDX Transit
QuickTune, Music Remote, Music MiniPlayer +2
Veteran Mac developer who created NetNewsWire and MarsEdit
NetNewsWire, MarsEdit, Vesper
Products built by Objective-C makers
A selection of the 31 products shipped by these makers.
OpenClaw
openclaw.ai
Open-source, self-hosted personal AI agent that works through chat apps and acts on your computer.
by Peter Steinberger
CodexBar
codex.bar
macOS menu bar app showing usage limits for OpenAI Codex and Claude Code.
by Peter Steinberger
Overcast
overcast.fm
Popular indie podcast player for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch with Smart Speed and Voice Boost.
by Marco Arment
Unforgetful
apps.apple.com
Shame-free to-do app that keeps reminding you until tasks are done, built for forgetful people and ADHD.
by Marco Arment
MarsEdit
redsweater.com
Mac app for writing, previewing and publishing posts to WordPress, Micro.blog and other blogs.
by Daniel Jalkut
FastScripts
redsweater.com
Menu bar and keyboard shortcut launcher for AppleScripts and other scripts.
by Daniel Jalkut
A
Acorn
flyingmeat.com
Image editor for the Mac, designed to be powerful yet approachable and affordable.
by Gus Mueller
R
Retrobatch
flyingmeat.com
Node-based batch image processing app for macOS.
by Gus Mueller
StopTheMadness Pro
underpassapp.com
Browser extension for Safari, Chrome and Firefox that stops sites from disabling normal browser features and strips tracking.
by Jeff Johnson
StopTheScript
underpassapp.com
Safari extension that stops all JavaScript, including inline scripts, on selected websites.
by Jeff Johnson
Q
QuickTune
marioaguzman.github.io
Apple Music remote for macOS styled after QuickTime 7 on Mac OS X Tiger.
by Mario Guzmán
M
Music Remote
marioaguzman.github.io
Retro Apple Music remote recreating the Music Player app from the Mac OS X Public Beta.
by Mario Guzmán
Tools commonly used with Objective-C
How many Objective-C makers also list each tool.
What Objective-C makers build
Where Objective-C makers are based
Other language tools indie makers use
Objective-C indie makers FAQ
Which indie makers build with Objective-C?
Indie makers on IndieMakerList who list Objective-C in their stack include Peter Steinberger, Marco Arment, Daniel Jalkut, Gus Mueller and Jeff Johnson. 7 makers use it in total.
How popular is Objective-C with indie makers?
7 makers — 4% of the 170 profiles with a listed stack — use Objective-C, ranking it #19 of 80 tools used by two or more makers.
What tools do indie makers use with Objective-C?
The tools most often listed alongside Objective-C are Swift (7 makers), AppKit (4 makers), TypeScript (1 maker) and JavaScript (1 maker).
What do indie makers build with Objective-C?
Makers using Objective-C mostly work in Mac & Desktop App Makers (6), Mobile App Makers (4) and Open Source Makers (3), and have shipped 31 listed products between them.
What is Objective-C?
The C-based language Apple used for macOS and iOS development before Swift. Official site: https://developer.apple.com/documentation/objectivec
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Stack data comes from each maker's posts, interviews and open-source repos. See every tool in the indie maker stack.