SoundLeveler
Support
SoundLeveler gives every app on your Mac its own volume, mute and output device, right from the menu bar.
Getting started
- Open SoundLeveler. Its icon (three sliders) appears in the menu bar and a welcome card opens.
- Click Continue and allow System Audio Recording when macOS asks. SoundLeveler needs this permission to change an app's sound. Audio is never recorded or stored.
- Play something. Every app that's playing sound appears in the list.
- Drag an app's slider to change its volume, or click its speaker icon to mute it.
Turn on Open at Login so your settings apply after every restart.
Features
- App volume and mute: a slider and a mute button for every app that's playing sound.
- Mute everything but this: click the headphones icon next to an app to silence all the others. Click it again to bring them back. This mode ends by itself when that app quits.
- Output device per app: in the mixer window (menu bar icon › Open Mixer…), use the menu under an app's fader to choose where it plays.
- System Sounds: a permanent entry for alerts, screenshot sounds and other macOS sounds.
- Recent: apps you've adjusted that aren't playing right now. Change their settings ahead of time, or right-click and choose Forget.
FAQ
An app isn't in the list.
Apps appear while they're playing sound and for a few seconds afterwards. Start playback in the app. Command-line tools without an app are grouped under System Sounds.
I changed the volume, but nothing happened. Or an app went silent.
SoundLeveler probably doesn't have permission. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording, turn on SoundLeveler, then clickTry Again in SoundLeveler. If a yellow "No sound is reaching SoundLeveler" banner appears, SoundLeveler has already stopped adjusting apps, so none of them are left silent.
Why is there a purple dot in the menu bar?
macOS shows it whenever an app is working with system audio. With SoundLeveler it appears only while an app you've adjusted is playing, and it disappears about 10 seconds after the sound stops. Apps you haven't changed never trigger it.
The first moment of a sound is louder than my setting.
SoundLeveler starts adjusting an app within a few hundredths of a second after it begins playing. A very short burst at the original level can occasionally be audible.
There's a slight delay on an app I adjusted.
Adjusted apps get a small amount of extra latency. You may notice it in live music software or video calls. Set that app back to 100%, unmuted, on System Default, and SoundLeveler stops processing it completely.
An app plays on the wrong device.
Some apps, such as Zoom or music software, choose their own output device. When you change such an app in SoundLeveler, its sound is sent to the device you pick in SoundLeveler.
I disconnected my headphones.
Apps routed to them switch to the system output, with a warning icon next to them. They move back automatically when the headphones reconnect.
Does SoundLeveler record or upload my audio?
No. Audio is processed in real time on your Mac and is never recorded, saved or sent anywhere. SoundLeveler makes no network connections. See thePrivacy Policy.
How do I reset everything?
Open the mixer window and click Reset All Settings…. Every app goes back to 100%, unmuted, on the system output.
How do I uninstall SoundLeveler?
Quit it from the menu bar icon, then move SoundLeveler from Applications to the Trash. Every app's sound returns to normal as soon as SoundLeveler quits.
Requirements
macOS 14.2 or later.
Still need help?
Please include your macOS version, the SoundLeveler version (File › Get Info on the app in Applications) and the apps involved.