SoundLock

Your audio. Your rules. Always.

A macOS menu bar app that locks your audio device priority so the right output and input are always selected.

Download SoundLock Source on GitHub

Free · MIT license · macOS 13+

Pro audio setups Multi-device Bluetooth Video call mic stability

Overview

macOS constantly reassigns your default audio device on its own logic — plug in a monitor, connect AirPods, join a call, and suddenly the wrong speaker or mic is active. SoundLock ends that.

You rank your output and input devices once. SoundLock listens to CoreAudio device events and instantly restores your top available device whenever macOS tries to switch. Event-driven, no polling, ~20MB RAM and 0% idle CPU.

Screenshots

Menu bar popover: ranked devices, volume, mute, and guard toggle.

Features

Ranked priority lists with drag-to-reorder
Offline persistence across restarts
Volume and mute control from the menu bar
Guard toggle to lock or unlock at any time
Launch at login with zero Dock footprint
CoreAudio event-driven: ~20MB RAM, 0% idle CPU
Privacy-first: no network, no mic permission, local storage only

Privacy

SoundLock reads zero audio bytes, never requests microphone permission, ships no network code, and stores preferences locally via UserDefaults. No telemetry, no analytics.

Use cases

Pro audio setups Multi-device Bluetooth Video call mic stability

Best for: anyone tired of macOS switching audio devices on its own

Install

1. Download & unzip

Download SoundLock.app.zip, unzip it, and drag SoundLock.app into your Applications folder.

2. First launch (Gatekeeper)

The app is unsigned. Right-click it and choose Open twice, or clear the quarantine flag from Terminal:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/SoundLock.app

Build from source

Requires macOS 13+ and Xcode Command Line Tools. Clone the repo and run:

git clone https://github.com/lucasmancan/SoundLock.git
cd SoundLock
bash build.sh

Source on GitHub Buy me a coffee