Little Snitch
macOS application firewall that shows and controls apps' outgoing network connections.
HN commenters use it to see every network connection their Mac apps make1234, and to block or approve those connections one by one.567 The most common complaint is cost, including paid major upgrades and free alternatives like LuLu and OpenSnitch8910, and some are uneasy about how deeply it hooks into the OS.1112
Why people recommend it
Connection visibility · 3
Shows which apps connect where, which has surfaced unexpected traffic like a drive utility contacting Baidu and Safari favicon fetches.
“I’ve been using Little Snitch on my Mac for years now because I want to be aware of (and be able to turn off) the connections programs make.”
“shoutout Little Snitch for driving the discovery.”
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“I use Little Snitch and so far I have only seen Claude Code connect to api.anthropic.com”
Granular blocking · 3
Lets users block every request until approved and build permanent allow and ban lists.
“I use little snitch for a while. Great product.”
“Little Snitch', which informs me about all of the network connects my apps make”
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“I’ve been using Little Snitch on my Mac for years now because I want to be aware of (and be able to turn off) the connections programs make.”
Long-term favorite · 3
Users report relying on it for years, and one former Mac user says it is an app they miss.
“I’ve been using Little Snitch on my Mac for years now because I want to be aware of (and be able to turn off) the connections programs make.”
“Little snitch is one of 2 apps I miss from when the Mac was my daily driver.”
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“I use little snitch for a while. Great product.”
Temporary rules · 1
Access can be granted only until a process quits, the user logs out, or the machine restarts.
“Little Snitch', which informs me about all of the network connects my apps make”
Block lists · 2
Can be paired with external block lists.
“The software I'm using is Little Snitch on a Mac”
Caveats and dissent
Paid upgrades · 3
It is commercial software, and one user says major releases must be bought to keep up with macOS updates.
“I pay for LittleSnitch major releases.”
“Little Snitch is commercial.”
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“There's plenty of software out there that you still pay for, or pay a license for. e.g: LittleSnitch, Jetbrains IDe, Plex, Final Cut Pro, etc”
Free alternatives · 3
Commenters point to free options such as LuLu on macOS and OpenSnitch on Linux.
“Little Snitch is commercial.”
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“Little Snitch on macOS and Open Snitch on Linux have helped me a lot here”
Deep OS access · 2
Its deep system access makes it a suspect when troubleshooting network problems, and one user questions how much it must be trusted.
“I used Little Snitch on Mac a few years ago and liked it”
“I use little snitch for a while. Great product.”
Often compared with
Who recommends it in their own words
Threads where it came up
- LittleSnitch for Linux 4 mentions
- Ask HN: New clean macOS install. Must-have apps? Best browser? 2 mentions
- Ask HN: Is charging for software a thing of the past? 1 mention
- New Apple TV 4K 1 mention
- iPhone Duo 1 mention
- NoiseLang: Where N = 5 is a Dirac delta 1 mention
Data: little-snitch.json. Quotes are verbatim; the verdict and theme labels are written by a model from these comments, and every clause links to its sources.
All comments 17
“There's plenty of software out there that you still pay for, or pay a license for. e.g: LittleSnitch, Jetbrains IDe, Plex, Final Cut Pro, etc”
“I use LittleSnitch.”
“Little Snitch with tons of block lists”
“The software I'm using is Little Snitch on a Mac”
“I pay for LittleSnitch major releases.”
“Little Snitch', which informs me about all of the network connects my apps make”
“Little Snitch - https://obdev.at/products/littlesnitch/index.html”
“Little snitch,”
“I’ve been using Little Snitch on my Mac for years now because I want to be aware of (and be able to turn off) the connections programs make.”
“I use Little Snitch and so far I have only seen Claude Code connect to api.anthropic.com”
“I'm certainly not going to spend $60”
“I used Little Snitch on Mac a few years ago and liked it”
“Little snitch is one of 2 apps I miss from when the Mac was my daily driver.”
“I use little snitch for a while. Great product.”
“Little Snitch is commercial.”
“Little Snitch on macOS and Open Snitch on Linux have helped me a lot here”
“shoutout Little Snitch for driving the discovery.”