Fader
Fader by JFound
Mac App Store · macOS 14.4+ · audio mixer

Mix every app on your Mac with just the keyboard.

A per-app audio mixer that lives on letter keys. Tap a shortcut, drag your fingers across the keyboard, watch every app's volume move in real time. No hardware controller. No menu spelunking. Just a faster way to ride the levels you actually care about.

Download on theMac App Store $19.99 one-time · 3-day free trial
App Store sandboxed No account Audio stays on-device
Live demo — play with it

This is Fader Mode.

Hold a key. Drag a fader. Tap a chip to mute. Use your real keyboard — the Q/A/Z column controls Zoom, W/S/X is Spotify, E/D/C is your browser. (Just like in the app.)

FADER MODE
Zoom
75%
Q
A
Z
Spotify
60%
W
S
X
Browser
40%
E
D
C
System
85%
R
F
V
YouTube
30%
T
G
B

Press ⌘ ⇧ F in the real app to exit. Here, just drag the bars with your mouse or hit Q W E R T on your keyboard.

The Console

One window. Four tabs. Done.

Fader's Console is where you map letters, set your toggle hotkey, pick output devices for the Pro routing, and switch profiles. It opens once when you set up — then mostly stays out of your way.

Fader — Console
Fader Mode
Routing
Keybinds
Settings
TOGGLE HOTKEY
Toggle Hotkey Press this combo from anywhere to enter Fader Mode. Same combo exits.
⌘⇧F
DISMISS
Auto-dismiss after idle Exit Fader Mode if no key has been pressed for this long.
Toggle Auto · 3.0s
CHANNELS
Q A ZZoom
W S XSpotify
E D CArc
R F VSystem
T G BYouTube
Y H N—
U J M—
PER-APP OUTPUT
Default system output Apps without a custom route use this device.
MacBook Pro Speakers ▾
APP ROUTES
Spotify→AirPods Pro ▾
Zoom→Plantronics Voyager ▾
YouTube (Arc)→HomePod ▾
Logic Pro→Audient EVO 4 ▾
GLOBAL SHORTCUTS
⌘⇧MSpotify · Toggle mute×
⌥↑System · Volume +5%×
⌥↓System · Volume −5%×
⌘⇧ZZoom · Toggle mute×
F19Focused app · Toggle mute×
PROFILES
Active profile Swap between saved channel maps.
Default ▾
Default Streaming Music + New
APPEARANCE
ThemeLight, dark, or follow system.
Light Dark System
AccentPick one for light, one for dark.
LANGUAGE
App languageEnglish, 简体中文, 繁體中文, Français, Español.
English ▾
PRO
Fader ProOne-time $19.99 · 3-day free trial active
2 days left
Always in reach

The menubar dropdown.

When you're not inside Fader Mode, Fader is just a quiet icon in your menubar. Click it and you get one-tap volume control for every app you've mapped — no keyboard gymnastics required.

Same channels, same key bindings — just rendered as a drop-down list with mini-bars you can drag. The wordmark sits at the top, a status pill shows how many channels are live, and the footer has the three places you'd want to jump to: Console, Config, Quit.

Built with the same mint accent + glow as the rest of the app. Theme follows your system unless you've overridden it in Settings.

Fader
5 channels
Zoom
75
Spotify
60
Browser
40
System
85
YouTube
30
What's actually inside

Built for people who switch contexts all day.

Calls. Music. Streams. A DAW. The friction of jumping between volume sliders is small — but it happens twenty times a day. Fader removes the trip.

01 / CHANNELS

Up to 10 at once

Ten letter keys → ten apps. Reach them all without lifting your hand. Add a "focused-app" slot that auto-binds whatever app you're currently in.

02 / ROUTING

Per-app output device

Send each app to a different output device. Music to AirPods, calls to your headset, alerts to the speakers. Set it once.

03 / PROFILES

Save your setups

One profile for streaming, one for work, one for music. Switch from the Console menu.

04 / QUIET HUD

Out of mode, out of sight

The HUD only shows when you're in Fader Mode. Otherwise, Fader is a single icon in your menubar. No floating windows.

05 / THEMING

Light, dark, your accent

Light and dark themes, each with a separate accent color you pick — mint, cyan, blue, violet, rose, amber, yellow, coral.

06 / PRIVATE

Sandboxed, no cloud

App Store sandboxed. No account, no telemetry, no upload. Audio metadata never leaves your Mac. Trial state lives in your Keychain.

Frequently asked

Honest answers.

Do I need a Stream Deck or a hardware mixer?
No. That's the whole point. Fader uses your existing keyboard as the controller. If you already own a Stream Deck, fader bank, or a USB mixer — keep using it for whatever it's good at, and use Fader for the apps you actually need to ride moment to moment.
What macOS version do I need?
macOS 14.4 (Sonoma) or later, on any Apple Silicon or Intel Mac. Fader uses the modern audio framework that landed in 14.4 — that's why we don't go further back.
What does the free trial include?
Three days of everything, including Pro features. No card up front, no account needed. The trial state lives in your Mac's Keychain and starts the first time you launch — nothing for you to claim or sign up for.
Is the $19.99 one-time or a subscription?
One-time. Pay once, keep the Pro features for as long as you're on the same Apple ID. No subscription, no renewal email. Family Sharing supported.
Does Fader send my audio anywhere?
No. Fader controls volume and routing at the OS level — it doesn't record, stream, or upload any audio. There's no cloud component and no analytics. The privacy notice walks through what data the app touches at all (very little).
Can I get a refund if it doesn't work for me?
Refunds for App Store purchases are handled by Apple — you can request one within 90 days at reportaproblem.apple.com. The 3-day free trial is there so you can see if Fader fits before paying at all.
Who builds this?
Me — Tongkit Leong. One-man studio out of Macau, operating as JFound. Fader is part of a small portfolio of Mac and web tools I build between client work. Email support@jfound.net if you hit anything weird.
Support

Stuck? Email a human.

Bug reports, feature requests, licence questions — all the same address. Read every message. Aim to reply within two working days. No ticketing system. No chatbot triage.

Email supportsupport@jfound.net Privacy notice →