Volume Mixer is a macOS menu bar audio automation tool. Beyond system and per-app volume control, it can adjust compatible apps for meetings, focus, gaming, video, and other situations, then restore them safely when the moment ends.

Start with Meeting Mode

• Tag apps as Meeting, IM, Game, Utility, Music, or Video; one app can belong to multiple categories
• Build Trigger, Reduce Volume, and Mute groups from categories or individual apps
• Enter a mode when a trigger app starts playing audio or is opened
• Set separate levels for the trigger and reduced-volume groups
• Restore 0–15 seconds after the condition ends to avoid abrupt switching
• Keep any volume you changed manually while the mode was active

More than meetings

Create modes for focus, gaming, movies, streaming, or any routine. Give each one a name and system icon or emoji, then choose its groups, trigger, levels, and restore timing. If an app matches more than one group, Volume Mixer applies a clear priority so the result stays predictable.

One complete control panel

• Adjust system volume and control compatible apps individually from the menu bar
• Pin favorites and see audio activity, categories, and compatibility status
• Save a complete mix as a Smart Scene, or use Focus Mix to quiet selected background apps temporarily
• Review local diagnostics and safely recover one app if its audio path develops a problem

Privacy first

• Never records, stores, analyzes, or uploads audio content
• No Microphone, Accessibility, Input Monitoring, or Full Disk Access permission
• No third-party audio driver or kernel extension
• The built-in classifier works fully offline and uses only app names and bundle IDs
• On macOS 26 and supported Macs, optional Apple Intelligence can provide initial on-device categorization
• Automatic suggestions never overwrite your later manual changes
• Mode rules, audio activity, restoration, and diagnostics stay on your Mac

Requires macOS 14.2 or later. Per-app control depends on the audio interfaces exposed by macOS and each app and requires System Audio Access. macOS may show a system audio or screen-capture indicator as part of its permission model.