Here are the core ideas and lessons from an interview by Roman Tesliuk with Henrik, the solo developer behind the popular Mac apps Alcove and Klack.
TL;DR:
- A Maker’s Philosophy: Henrik is a self-taught developer who believes in learning by “breaking and fixing things,” not by watching tutorials. This deep, first-principles approach to problem-solving is at the core of all his products.
- The “Splitting” Strategy: When faced with a competitor and creeping scope on his project (Pling), he didn’t rush. He split the project, shipping the polished, ready-to-go features as a separate app (Alcove) and saving the bigger ideas for later.
- An Obsession with Experience: Alcove is designed to be a passive, seamless utility that feels like Apple itself built it. He went to extreme lengths—getting locked out of his own Mac four times—to perfect a single feature like the lock screen integration.
- A Craftsman’s Tech Philosophy: He prioritizes minimal dependencies, privacy-first design, and going straight to code instead of creating mockups. He even builds his own tools, like a licensing server, to maintain full control.
Henrik, a solo developer, is the creator behind Alcove and Klack, two macOS apps beloved for their elegance and unique design philosophy. His story is not just about building software; it’s about a steadfast product philosophy, extreme persistence, and a brilliant product management strategy.
1. The Maker’s Mindset: Learning by Breaking Things
Henrik started coding at 13 and taught himself in a unique way: no tutorials, no courses.
“I just went straight to the code, tried things, broke stuff, fixed it, and iterated. Tutorials don’t really teach you to solve problems - they give you answers, but you never figure it out yourself.”
This mindset shapes everything he does. He believes that if you can’t solve problems from scratch, you’ll forever be stuck rebuilding things that already exist.
2. The Alcove Story: A Masterclass in Scope Management
Alcove, a utility that displays music, weather, and visuals in a minimal HUD on macOS, was actually born from a larger project called Pling.
While building Pling, a competitor (Notch Nook) launched with a similar idea. At that moment, Henrik realized his own project was suffering from scope creep, trying to do too many things at once.
Instead of rushing into a head-to-head battle with a bloated product, he made a strategic decision: He “split” the project. He took all the features that were already polished, functional, and made sense on their own, packaged them into a separate product, and launched it as Alcove. The rest of the grander vision was kept for Pling’s future. This was a brilliant move in managing scope and prioritizing the delivery of value.
3. The Craftsman’s Code: Philosophy and Tech Stack
a. A “Seamless” Philosophy and an Obsession with Detail
Alcove is designed to “live” on your Mac passively and seamlessly. It has no large window or clunky UI; it just gently fades in when needed and disappears when it’s not.
This obsession with creating an “Apple-like” experience is best exemplified by the lock screen feature—a highly complex task with no documentation that could lock you out of your Mac.
“I got locked out four times while trying to get it working. But it was important to me… The first time it worked, I was so happy, because it meant I didn’t have to compromise.”
b. A Tech Philosophy of “Less is More”
- Minimal Dependencies: Henrik prefers to write everything himself rather than using third-party libraries. In the long run, he finds this makes his code easier to maintain.
- Privacy First: Alcove doesn’t ask for invasive keyboard permissions. Instead, it “listens” for system changes like volume and brightness. It’s more complex to build but respects the user.
- Straight to Code: He rarely creates mockups. For a solo developer, coding directly is faster and provides a more accurate representation of the final product than design tools like Figma or Sketch.
c. The Tech Stack
- App: Swift, Xcode.
- Self-Built Licensing Server: Laravel (PHP).
- Design: Sketch (for its native feel and because he doesn’t need collaboration features).
- Web: Vue and Vite.
- Favorite Tools: Nova (code editor), Postico (PostgreSQL client), Arc (browser).
Conclusion: Everything is an Intentional Iteration
Henrik believes that everything is an iteration of an existing idea. But if you understand why something works and repurpose it with intention, it becomes something entirely new and unique. This philosophy of thoughtful craftsmanship is the biggest lesson from his journey.