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Shhh 🤫

A minimalist macOS menu bar app for instant microphone control

Swift Platform License

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

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

Made with ❤️ for the macOS community