FineTune on GitHub (ronitsingh10/FineTune)

FineTune README

FineTune

Control the volume of every app independently, boost quiet ones up to 4x, route audio to different speakers, and shape your sound with EQ and headphone correction. Lives in your menu bar. Free and open-source.

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FineTune popup showing per-app volume control, multi-device output routing with picker popover, AutoEQ headphone correction, and device-level volume sliders

FineTune showing the Brave Browser app row expanded with the EQ panel open and a Vocal Clarity preset selected

Install

Homebrew (recommended)

brew install --cask finetune

Manual — Download latest release

Quick Start

Install FineTune and launch it from your Applications folder
Grant Screen & System Audio Recording permission when prompted
Click the FineTune icon in your menu bar. Apps playing audio appear automatically.

That's it. Adjust sliders, route audio, and explore EQ from the menu bar.

Tip: Want FineTune to auto-switch to a specific device when you connect it? Open edit mode (pencil icon) and drag it above the built-in speakers. This is a one-time setup. Your preferred order is saved permanently.

Features

🎚 Volume Control

Per-app volume — Individual sliders and mute for each application
Per-app volume boost — 2x / 3x / 4x gain presets
Pinned apps — Keep apps visible in the menu bar even when they're not playing, so you can configure volume, EQ, and routing in advance
Ignore apps — Completely disengage FineTune from specific apps. Tears down the audio tap so the app returns to normal macOS audio
Scroll-wheel volume — Hover any slider in the popup, the HUD, or the EQ panel and scroll to adjust.

⌨️ Keyboard

Global volume hotkeys — Bind your own keys to App Volume Up, App Volume Down, and App Mute from Settings → Shortcuts. The "app" is whichever is currently making sound, so volume-down while a YouTube tab plays behind a foreground Terminal turns down YouTube, not the terminal. If nothing is audible, the hotkey falls through to the frontmost app.
Toggle the popup from anywhere — Bind a hotkey to Toggle FineTune Popup and the menu bar opens or closes on demand, including from full-screen apps.
Configurable step size — Pick Coarse / Normal / Fine / Extra-Fine under Settings → Shortcuts → Volume Step. The same setting governs the F10–F12 media keys, the global hotkeys, and the popup's arrow-key navigation.
Hold to ramp, auto-unmute on volume-up — Holding App Volume Up or Down emits repeats the way macOS does for arrow keys. Volume-up while muted unmutes and sets the new level in one keystroke.
Drive the popup with the keyboard — Once the popup is open, ↑ / ↓ move between rows, ← / → adjusts the focused row's volume (Shift = 2× step), M toggles mute, Return / Space activates, Tab switches between Output and Input device tabs, Esc closes. The focused row autoscrolls to center as you arrow through.

🔀 Audio Routing

Multi-device output — Route audio to multiple devices simultaneously
Audio routing — Send apps to different outputs or follow system default
Device priority — Choose which device FineTune switches to when a new device connects; auto-fallback on disconnect
Auto-restore — When a device reconnects, apps automatically return to it with their volume, routing, and EQ intact

🎛 EQ & Correction

10-band EQ — 20 presets across 5 categories
User EQ presets — Save, rename, and manage custom EQ configurations per app
AutoEQ headphone correction — Search thousands of headphone profiles or import your own ParametricEQ.txt files for per-device frequency response correction
Loudness compensation — Automatic bass and treble correction at low volumes using ISO 226:2023 equal-loudness contours, with real-time level management to keep perceived loudness consistent

🖥 Devices & System

Input device control — Monitor and adjust microphone levels
Alert volume — Control macOS notification and alert volume from settings
Smart volume backend — FineTune auto-picks hardware, DDC, or software volume per device. If the hardware slider on a USB DAC or HDMI output doesn't actually control level, force software volume from the device inspector and FineTune remembers the choice for that device
Device inspector — Tap the info button on any device row for sample rate (with picker), transport, UID copy, hog-mode banner, and the software-volume override
Hide devices — Eye toggle in edit mode hides output and input devices you don't want in the list, mirroring the app-hide flow
Bluetooth device management — Connect paired devices directly from the menu bar
Monitor speaker control — Adjust volume on external displays via DDC
Media keys & Volume HUD — Opt-in F10–F12 control for the default output device, with a Tahoe-style or Classic-style on-screen HUD. The write goes through FineTune's volume pipeline, so keys keep working on USB interfaces and HDMI outputs where macOS's own keys are greyed out because the hardware slider is broken.
Dynamic menu bar icon — Pick from four styles in Settings (Default, Speaker, Waveform, Equalizer). The Speaker style tracks volume live (zero / low / mid / high glyphs) and switches to a slashed speaker when muted. All styles briefly flash the new output's SF Symbol on device switch. Changing style applies instantly, no relaunch required.
Menu bar app — Lightweight, always accessible
URL schemes — Automate volume, mute, device routing, and more from scripts

🎨 Appearance

Light or Dark theme — Settings → General → Theme matches macOS or locks FineTune to Light or Dark. The menu bar popup, every popover, and the volume HUD switch immediately.
Popup density — Settings → General → Popup Size picks Compact / Comfortable / Spacious with a live tile preview. Compact fits more apps on small screens; Spacious gives bigger hit areas for trackpads.

Documentation

AutoEQ & Headphone Correction — Apply frequency correction from the AutoEQ project, import EqualizerAPO profiles, or browse autoeq.app
URL Schemes — Automate FineTune from Terminal, Shortcuts, Raycast, or scripts
Troubleshooting — Permission issues, missing apps, audio problems

Contributing

Star this repo — Help others discover FineTune
Report bugs — Open an issue
Contribute code — See CONTRIBUTING.md

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/ronitsingh10/FineTune.git
cd FineTune
open FineTune.xcodeproj

Requirements

macOS 15.0 (Sequoia) or later
Audio capture permission (prompted on first launch)

Support

FineTune is free and open source, forever. If it made your day a little easier, you can buy me a coffee — but genuinely not expected 🙏

License

GPL v3

9.8K ·GitHub

FineTune

What is this?

FineTune is a free, open-source macOS menu bar app for sound control: per-app volume with up to 4x boost, audio routing to multiple output devices, and a 10-band EQ with headphone correction — pitched as an alternative to SoundSource.

How do I get it running?

Install via Homebrew (recommended) or download the latest release manually, launch it from Applications, and grant the Screen & System Audio Recording permission. Apps playing audio then appear automatically in the menu bar popup.

Which macOS version do I need, and anything else?

macOS 15.0 (Sequoia) or later is the only stated requirement, plus the audio-capture permission it asks for on first launch. Nothing else needs to be installed.

Does volume control actually work on every DAC and HDMI output?

Mostly — FineTune auto-picks hardware, DDC, or software volume per device. If a hardware slider doesn't really change the level, a known USB DAC/HDMI problem, you can force software volume from the device inspector and it remembers per device.

Is it really free, or is there a catch?

It is GPL v3, and the README promises it stays free and open source forever; the only ask is an optional buy-me-a-coffee donation.

Why does it need the Screen & System Audio Recording permission?

On macOS, capturing per-app audio requires that permission, so FineTune asks once on first launch. If you do not want it touching certain apps, the Ignore apps option fully disengages them and tears down the audio tap.

Can I automate it from scripts or Shortcuts?

Yes — URL schemes cover volume, mute and device routing, and the docs mention driving FineTune from Terminal, Shortcuts, or Raycast.

Why build this when SoundSource exists?

The README's own pitch: FineTune does per-app volume, multi-device routing, and EQ with headphone correction as a free, open-source GPL app living in the menu bar.

What are similar projects?

dimble, Ice, macos-sysdata, OpenYoink, vorssaint-utils, BetterDisplay, tendedero, rooms

Which topics is it in?

menubar-app, menubar, audio-processing, menu-bar, swiftui, macos-app, audio, swift, utility, gplv3, productivity, gui

Creator: ronitsingh10
Size: 10 MB
Stars: 9.8K
Updated: CommitJul 09 Releasev1.9.0Jul 09
Age: 8mo
Commits · 90 Days

FineTune README

FineTune

Install

Quick Start

Features

🎚 Volume Control

⌨️ Keyboard

🔀 Audio Routing

🎛 EQ & Correction

🖥 Devices & System

🎨 Appearance

Documentation

Contributing

Build from Source

Requirements

Support

License

FineTune (ronitsingh10/FineTune)