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amplify apps that are too quiet\n- 🔇 **Mute Individual Apps** — Silence specific apps without affecting master volume\n- 💾 **Persistent Settings** — Your volume preferences are saved and restored\n- ⚡ **Lightweight** — ~30 MB memory footprint, minimal CPU\n- 🎧 **Plays Nice with Audio Gear** — Designed to play nicely with USB/Thunderbolt interfaces and Multi-Output/aggregate devices such as BlackHole; devices are never reconfigured\n- 🔄 **Auto-Update** — Checks for updates automatically; manual check via ⋯ → Check for Updates…\n- 🎯 **Menu Bar Only** — No Dock icon, zero visual clutter\n- 🌏 **English \u0026 Japanese** — fully localized UI\n\n## How Fabar Compares\n\n| | **Fabar** | **[BackgroundMusic](https://github.com/kyleneideck/BackgroundMusic)** | **[FineTune](https://github.com/ronitsingh10/FineTune)** | **[SoundSource](https://rogueamoeba.com/soundsource/)** |\n|---|---|---|---|---|\n| Price | Free | Free | Free | $49 |\n| License | MIT | GPL-2.0 | GPL-3.0 | Proprietary |\n| Architecture | Process tap | Virtual driver | Process tap | Virtual driver |\n| Installs a driver | No | Yes | No | Yes |\n| Unadjusted apps | Native path | All routed | Native path | All routed |\n| Volume boost | 200% | — | 400% | ✓ |\n| Per-app routing | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |\n| EQ / effects | — | — | ✓ | ✓ |\n| Install | DMG | DMG / brew | brew | DMG |\n| macOS | 14.4+ | 10.13+ | 14.2+ | 15+ |\n\nFabar focuses on one thing: simple, per-app volume from your menu bar. If you need EQ, per-app output routing, or audio effects, [SoundSource](https://rogueamoeba.com/soundsource/) and [FineTune](https://github.com/ronitsingh10/FineTune) are great choices. If you want the lightest tool that doesn't touch your system audio stack, that's Fabar.\n\n## Installation\n\n### Option 1: Download DMG (Easiest) ⭐\n\n1. Download the latest **Fabar.dmg** from [Releases](https://github.com/gigaptera/fabar/releases)\n2. Open the DMG file\n3. Drag `Fabar.app` to `/Applications`\n4. Launch Fabar from Applications\n\nThe first time you adjust an app's volume, macOS asks for the **Audio Recording** permission — Fabar needs it to process other apps' audio (System Settings → Privacy \u0026 Security → Audio Recording).\n\n### Option 2: Build from Source\n\nRequires **Xcode 16+** and **xcodegen** (`brew install xcodegen`):\n\n```bash\ngit clone https://github.com/gigaptera/fabar.git\ncd fabar/fabar-app\n./build.sh\n```\n\nOutput: `Build/Fabar.app` — copy to `/Applications`.\n\nSee [DEVELOPMENT.md](docs/DEVELOPMENT.md) for detailed setup and production builds.\n\n**Requirements**: macOS 14.4 (Sonoma) or later, Apple Silicon or Intel Mac\n\n## How It Works\n\nFabar uses **Core Audio Process Tap** to intercept app audio, adjust gain, and re-render it to the output device. This approach:\n\n- ✅ Works with any app (Spotify, Slack, Chrome, etc.)\n- ✅ Supports USB/Thunderbolt devices without distortion\n- ✅ Preserves audio quality — when the tap and device share a sample rate there is no resampling; gain is the only processing applied\n- ✅ Apps you never adjust stay on the native audio path, completely untouched\n- ✅ Adjusted apps run through a ~30 ms buffer — imperceptible for music and video\n\nFor technical details, see [ARCHITECTURE.md](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md).\n\n## Privacy\n\nFabar requires macOS **Audio Recording** permission because Core Audio Process Tap needs it to process other apps' audio. Fabar does **not** record, save, upload, or transmit your audio. Audio is processed locally on your Mac only for volume adjustment.\n\n## Compatibility Testing\n\nFabar is currently being validated across different macOS versions and audio setups.\n\n**Tested by the maintainer:**\n\n- macOS 14.4+\n- Built-in speakers\n- BlackHole\n- Multi-Output Devices\n\n**Looking for reports from:**\n\n- macOS 14.4, 14.5, 15.x, and newer versions\n- Apple Silicon and Intel Macs\n- AirPods / Bluetooth devices\n- USB / Thunderbolt audio interfaces\n- OBS, DAWs, Discord, Zoom, browsers, music apps\n\nIf you try Fabar, please open a [Compatibility report](https://github.com/gigaptera/fabar/issues/new?template=compatibility_report.yml).\n\n## Known Limitations\n\n- **Per-app output routing**: Not supported — adjusted apps play on the system default output. This only matters if you've explicitly pointed an app (a DAW, Zoom, etc.) at a different device inside that app; everything else follows the default and is unaffected\n- **Per-tab volume**: Not implemented (requires browser extension)\n- **AirPods / Bluetooth**: Inherent latency from the Bluetooth stack; adjusted apps may briefly glitch right after switching output devices while sessions rebuild\n\nSee [LIMITATIONS.md](docs/LIMITATIONS.md) for workarounds and detailed explanations.\n\n## Documentation\n\n- **[ARCHITECTURE.md](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md)** — How the audio pipeline works\n- **[LIMITATIONS.md](docs/LIMITATIONS.md)** — Known issues and workarounds\n- **[DEVELOPMENT.md](docs/DEVELOPMENT.md)** — Build, test, and contribute\n\n## Scopes\n\n### Fabar Lite (Current)\n\n- Per-app volume adjustment\n- Per-app mute\n- Persistent settings\n- Login item toggle\n\n### Fabar Lite Plus (Planned, Separate App)\n\n- Per-app output device selection\n- Advanced routing\n\n## Contributing\n\nBug reports, feature ideas, and pull requests are welcome — see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) for the workflow and [DEVELOPMENT.md](docs/DEVELOPMENT.md) for build instructions. For security issues, see [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md).\n\n## Support Fabar\n\nFabar is free and will always be free. Here's how you can help:\n\n- ⭐ **Star this repo** — helps Fabar reach more Mac users\n- 🧪 **[Open a compatibility report](https://github.com/gigaptera/fabar/issues/new?template=compatibility_report.yml)** — helps us validate across setups\n- 🐛 **File issues and PRs** — see [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md)\n- ☕ **[Buy Me a Coffee](https://buymeacoffee.com/gigaptera)** — funds development and hardware testing\n\nSee [SPONSORS.md](SPONSORS.md) for details.\n\n## License\n\nMIT License — see [LICENSE](LICENSE) for details.\n","project_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fgigaptera%2Ffabar","html_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/projects/github.com%2Fgigaptera%2Ffabar","lists_url":"https://awesome.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/projects/github.com%2Fgigaptera%2Ffabar/lists"}