What is fader?

Fader is a free macOS app that sits in the menu bar and gives you quick control over your computer's audio. From a small popover, you can see all your connected output devices, including headphones, speakers, and AirPlay targets, and switch between them with a single click. Bluetooth headphones that are paired but not yet connected show up in the list too, so you can connect them and route audio there without hunting through a separate menu. The app lets you set a separate volume for each application that plays sound. If you want your music player quieter than your video calls, you adjust each one independently, and those levels are remembered across restarts. This works through a built-in macOS audio feature added in version 14.4, which means there is no driver or kernel extension to install. If you want audio going through two devices at once, say two pairs of headphones or a speaker and a monitor, you can drag a second device into a group and both play together. Each device in the group gets its own slider. Fader handles the plumbing automatically and cleans it up when you return to a single output. There is also a microphone tab where you can switch the default input device and adjust its gain. It shows which apps are currently using the microphone, which is useful for spotting a forgotten recorder. Fader collects no data about you. No analytics, no telemetry. The source code is public, so that claim is verifiable. Installation is through Homebrew or a direct download, and both keep the app updated automatically. It requires macOS 15 or later on Apple silicon.