Shhh 🤫

A minimalist macOS menu bar app for instant microphone control

Overview

Shhh is a lightweight, native macOS menu bar application that gives you instant control over your microphone. With a single click or keyboard shortcut, you can mute/unmute your mic, adjust volume, and monitor audio levels—all from your menu bar.

Perfect for:

• 🎙️ Podcast recording
• 💼 Video conferences
• 🎮 Gaming
• 🎵 Music production
• 📞 Voice calls

Features

🎯 Core Features

• One-Click Mute/Unmute - Left-click the menu bar icon to toggle microphone
• Global Hotkey - Customizable keyboard shortcut (default: ⌃⌥⌘M)
• Volume Control - Smooth slider for precise volume adjustment (0-100%)
• Visual Feedback - Menu bar icon opacity reflects current volume level
• Start at Login - Optional auto-start on system boot

🎨 Design

• Native macOS UI - System-standard menus and controls
• Menu Bar Only - No dock icon, stays out of your way
• Dark Mode Support - Seamless integration with system appearance
• Minimal Resource Usage - Lightweight and efficient

🔒 Privacy & Security

• Sandboxed - Runs in macOS App Sandbox for security
• No Network Access - All processing happens locally
• No Data Collection - Your privacy is paramount
• Open Source - Fully transparent codebase

Installation

Requirements

• macOS 26.2 (Tahoe) or later

Download

• GitHub Releases — free
• Gumroad — same app, pay what you want ($0 works)

The prebuilt zip is not notarized yet: on first launch, right-click Shhh.app and choose Open.

Build from Source

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/rajmalviya456/Shhh.git
   cd Shhh

2. Open in Xcode

   open Shhh.xcodeproj

3. Build and Run

   • Select the Shhh scheme
   • Press ⌘R to build and run

Usage

Quick Start

1. Launch Shhh - The microphone icon appears in your menu bar
2. Left-click - Toggle mute/unmute instantly
3. Right-click - Open the control menu

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Toggle Mute - ⌃⌥⌘M (Control + Option + Command + M) - Customizable
• Quit App - ⌘Q (Command + Q)

Customizing Hotkey

1. Right-click menu bar icon
2. Select "Change Shortcut"
3. Press your desired key combination
4. Click "Save" or press Enter

Architecture

Modern Swift 6 Implementation

Shhh is built with the latest Swift 6 features and modern macOS development practices:

• ✅ Swift Concurrency - async/await with @MainActor default isolation
• ✅ Event-Driven Audio - CoreAudio HAL property listeners, no polling
• ✅ Structured Logging - OSLog for production-grade logging
• ✅ Typed Errors - Comprehensive error handling
• ✅ SwiftUI - Modern declarative UI
• ✅ Combine - Reactive state management

Project Structure

Shhh/
├── Shhh/
│   ├── ShhhApp.swift            # App entry point
│   ├── AppDelegate.swift        # Menu bar setup
│   ├── MicController.swift      # Microphone control (CoreAudio HAL)
│   ├── MicState.swift           # Reactive state management
│   ├── HotKeyManager.swift      # Global hotkey handling
│   ├── LoginItemManager.swift   # Start at login
│   └── Views/
│       ├── MenuContentView.swift      # Main menu UI
│       └── HotkeyRecorderView.swift   # Hotkey configuration
└── ShhhTests/                   # Unit tests

Key Components

MicController

• Controls the default input device via the CoreAudio HAL
• Handles volume get/set operations
• Manages mute/unmute with volume restoration
• Event-driven change notifications via AudioObjectAddPropertyListener
• Thread-safe with @MainActor isolation

MicState

• Observable state management with @Published properties
• Updates instantly on external volume changes (no polling)
• Error logging via OSLog

HotKeyManager

• Global keyboard shortcut registration
• Persistent hotkey preferences
• Singleton pattern for app-wide access
• Window management for hotkey configuration

Development

Building

# Clean build
xcodebuild -project Shhh.xcodeproj -scheme Shhh clean build

# Run tests
xcodebuild test -project Shhh.xcodeproj -scheme Shhh

# Build for release
xcodebuild -project Shhh.xcodeproj -scheme Shhh -configuration Release build

Dependencies

• HotKey - Global keyboard shortcut handling

Code Quality

• ✅ Approachable concurrency with @MainActor default isolation
• ✅ Comprehensive error handling
• ✅ OSLog structured logging
• ✅ Unit test coverage for core components

Troubleshooting

Hotkey Not Working

1. Check System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts
2. Ensure no conflicts with existing shortcuts
3. Try a different key combination

App Not Starting at Login

1. Open System Settings → General → Login Items
2. Verify Shhh is in the list
3. Toggle "Start at Login" in the app menu

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

Development Guidelines

• Follow Swift API Design Guidelines
• Maintain Swift 6 concurrency safety
• Add tests for new features
• Update documentation

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details

Acknowledgments

• Built with HotKey by Sam Soffes
• Inspired by the need for simple, reliable microphone control on macOS

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Made with ❤️ for the macOS community