Screenshot shows Distribution. Some features require MacMix Studio.
English · 简体中文 · 繁體中文 · 日本語 · 한국어 · Français · Deutsch · Español · Italiano · Português (Brasil) · Русский · العربية · हिन्दी · Bahasa Indonesia · ไทย · Tiếng Việt · Türkçe · Nederlands · Polski
Features · Open Source vs Distribution · Install · Privacy · Build from Source · Support
Why MacMix
macOS gives you one volume slider. MacMix gives you the rest: turn a noisy app down without touching your music, jump between AirPods, speakers and a monitor in one click, and pick the right microphone before a call — all from a compact native panel in the menu bar, without opening System Settings.
Features
🔊 Volume
- System volume for the current output device, right in the menu bar.
- External display speakers over DDC/CI when macOS offers no volume control, with compatibility fixes for monitors that report unusual ranges.
- True zero — dragging a slider to 0% silences the device instead of leaving a faint residual level.
🎧 Devices
- Switch outputs between speakers, headphones, AirPods, displays and more.
- AirPlay receivers by name — each HomePod or AirPlay speaker gets its own row, and you can switch to a single receiver from an active group.
- Recognizable icons for AirPods, Beats, HomePod, Apple TV, external displays and your Mac's own speakers, plus the icon a device provides itself.
- Switch microphones and adjust input volume from the same panel.
🎚️ Per-App Mixing
- Turn any app down while it is playing, or boost it up to 200% (optional, in Settings).
- Remembers your levels and restores them when the app plays again.
- Finds the real app behind web-based playback, including iPad apps that play media through WebKit.
🍃 Light by Design
- Lives quietly in the menu bar, with an optional window for settings.
- Native SwiftUI, audio processed locally in real time, no account required.
- Automatic updates through Sparkle.
Open Source and Distribution
This repository contains the free, open-source core of MacMix. The download on the Releases page is Distribution: one app that is free to use, with MacMix Studio as an optional one-time upgrade. There is no separate "Studio app" — a license unlocks extra features in the same app, and your settings stay where they are.
| Included features |
(this repository)
(free)
(Studio)
[!NOTE]
Studio features are developed privately and are not part of this repository. Everything that has been free — including per-app mixing and every feature available before version 2.0 — will stay free and open source. Fixes to the shared core reach this repository after they have been validated in Distribution, so the source here can trail the latest release a little.
Install
- Download
MacMix.dmgfrom the latest release. - Open the disk image and drag MacMix into Applications.
- Launch MacMix and click its icon in the menu bar.
Privacy
MacMix processes audio locally on your Mac. It never records, saves or uploads audio.
Per-app mixing is built on macOS audio process taps, which is why macOS asks for System Audio Recording permission before MacMix can change another app's volume. MacMix uses that permission only for real-time local mixing.
Build from Source
git clone https://github.com/ljmng7/MacMix.git
cd MacMix
open MacMix.xcodeprojSelect the MacMix scheme and press Run. Xcode resolves the Swift packages (Sparkle and Swift Atomics) automatically.
The regression tests are plain scripts that only need the Xcode command line tools:
for test in tests/run-*.sh; do bash "$test"; doneNotes and limitations
- Apps appear in the mixer only while macOS reports that they are producing audio.
- Per-app levels are stored locally and restored when the same app plays again.
- Display volume needs a monitor that supports DDC/CI speaker volume (VCP
0x62) over the current cable or dock. DisplayLink adapters, some HDMI paths, TVs and displays with DDC/CI turned off in their on-screen menu may not expose it. - AirPlay receiver names come from the AirPlay device's data sources. When macOS does not report a receiver's name, MacMix shows the plain AirPlay device instead of guessing.
Support MacMix
If MacMix is part of your day, consider upgrading to MacMix Studio. It is a one-time purchase that unlocks the features above and funds the free, open-source core.
Bug reports and ideas are welcome in Issues.
License
The source code is released under the MIT License. The app icon, screenshots and other brand assets are not covered by the MIT License and may not be reused without permission — see Brand Assets.