macOS Menu Bar App
Per-app volume, right from the menu bar.
The per-app volume control macOS never shipped. Free, open-source, minimal — nothing extra, nothing complicated.
Why Fabar
System volume, plus one per app.
Turn Spotify down without muting Zoom — macOS has no built-in way to do that. The system volume slider affects everything at once. It's a small daily friction, but it's every day. Fabar solves exactly that, and nothing else.
Features
Simple. That's the point.
- 01
Per-app volume sliders
Running apps appear automatically. One slider per app, nothing to configure.
- 02
Menu bar, always ready
Click the icon, adjust, done. Works from any app, no window to manage.
- 03
Native macOS integration
No virtual audio drivers. Uses macOS internals directly — looks and feels native.
- 04
Lightweight
Opens instantly. No settings screen, no onboarding, no friction after install.
What it doesn't do: Master volume · Audio output switching · Equaliser · Auto-pause or routing · Subscription billing
How it works
Ready in three steps.
- 01
Install
Open the dmg and drag to Applications. Add to Login Items if you want it to launch automatically.
- 02
Grant access
On first launch, grant audio access in System Settings. It only reads volume levels — nothing is recorded.
- 03
Adjust
Click the Fabar icon in the menu bar, find the app you want to control, and move its slider.
Trust
Free forever. Open source.
Never records audio
Fabar only adjusts volume. It never records, stores, or sends your sound anywhere.
Free & open source
MIT licensed. Use, modify, and distribute freely. No paywalls, ever.
Light & native
A tiny menu-bar app built on native macOS audio. No drivers, no bloat.
Made for macOS 14+
Runs quietly in your menu bar on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
Free & Open Source
Free forever. Open source.
FREE
Free forever · MIT Open Source
MIT licensed. Code is on GitHub.
Download for macOS View on GitHub- macOS 14.4 Sonoma or later
- Apple Silicon & Intel
- Free forever
- MIT open source license
- Free to modify and distribute (under MIT terms)
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
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BackgroundMusic is a powerful open-source tool with output routing, equaliser, and more. Fabar is the opposite: one thing, done well, paid. Per-app volume only, with minimal setup.
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SoundSource is excellent but feature-heavy and costs $39. Fabar is under a quarter of that, focused on just what most people actually need — per-app volume control.
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macOS 14.4 Sonoma or later. Supports both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
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Yes. Current builds drive Multi-Output and aggregate devices (e.g. setups combining BlackHole) as well as audio interfaces directly, so per-app volume works there too. If you run into distortion or silence with an unusual configuration, please open a GitHub issue with your device setup.
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We decided to focus on community-driven development instead of paid distribution. With Fabar as MIT-licensed free software, anyone can use, modify, and contribute.
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Yes. Fabar is MIT-licensed open source and completely free. You can support development via GitHub Sponsors or Buy Me a Coffee if you'd like.