mixr documentation
What mixr does, how to set it up, and the honest truth about how your Mac's audio hardware behaves. Start at the top, or jump to what you came for.
Getting started
What mixr does
mixr gives every Mac app its own volume and quietly handles the audio headaches macOS leaves to you — mic switching, ducking for calls, and honest device handling.
Installing mixr
How to install mixr on macOS — requirements, the one-minute install, where it lives in your menu bar, and how to remove it cleanly with nothing left behind.
First launch & permissions
What to expect the first time you open mixr — the one audio permission it asks for, why it needs it, what it never does, and how to grant or change it later.
The Setup Advisor
The Setup Advisor reads your actual Mac audio hardware and tells you what it sees in plain language — including the gotchas macOS quietly gets wrong.
Core features
Per-app volume & boost
Give every Mac app its own volume slider, independent of system volume — mute one app, boost a too-quiet one past 100%, and mixr remembers each level.
The mic kill switch
Mute your microphone instantly with a global hotkey, and always know whether your mic is really silenced — mixr won't fake a mute it can't deliver.
Auto-duck for calls
When your mic goes live, mixr automatically lowers your other audio so you can hear your call, then restores every app to exactly where it was.
Managing your devices
How mixr keeps your mic and audio output on the devices you prefer — priority lists, manual override, and device quirks like closed-lid mics and AirPods.
Understanding your hardware
Why can't mixr mute my audio interface?
If mixr shows "No mute" for your Focusrite Scarlett, Astro A50, or other USB interface, here's the honest reason — and exactly where the real mute control lives.
Why does my mic keep switching?
macOS moves your microphone to whatever connected last — often mid-call, to the wrong mic. Here's why it happens and how mixr's device resolver holds your input where you want it.
AirPods and call quality
Why AirPods drop to call quality the moment you join a meeting — it's a Bluetooth limitation — and how mixr keeps your mic elsewhere so your audio stays high quality.
What mixr can and can't do
An honest rundown of what mixr does and what it deliberately won't fake — per-app volume, mic pinning, ducking for calls, and the limits it's upfront about.
Help & reference
Keyboard shortcuts
mixr's keyboard shortcuts — the global mic-mute hotkey (⌥⌘M) that works from any app, plus popover shortcuts for muting, pinning, and resetting app volumes.
Troubleshooting
Fixes for common mixr issues — a missing app slider, a mic that shows "No mute", audio switching to the wrong device, auto-duck not triggering, and permission prompts.
Privacy
mixr works entirely on your Mac — no account, no analytics, no telemetry. What the audio permission does, and the one deliberate time mixr uses the network (license activation).