Background Music
A macOS audio utility that auto-pauses your music, sets per-app volumes and records system audio
Free · Open sourceLatest versionMac
1 / 3
About Background Music
Background Music is a macOS audio utility. It automatically pauses your music player when another audio source starts playing and unpauses it when the other source stops.
It also provides a volume slider for each running application, including the ability to boost quiet apps above their maximum volume, and lets you record system audio. It suits Mac users who want finer control over what they hear. The project notes that it is still in alpha.
Highlights
- Auto-pause for music players including iTunes, Spotify, VLC, VOX, Decibel, Hermes, Swinsian and GPMDP
- Per-application volume sliders, with the option to boost quiet applications
- Records system audio, for example with QuickTime Player
- Can record system audio and a microphone together through an aggregate device
- Sets itself as your default output device while it runs and restores the previous one when you quit
Description adapted from the project README.
- Version
- 0.5.0
- Updated
- Jun 10, 2026
- Size
- 788 KB
- License
- GNU GPL 2.0
Open source details
- Source code
- Exact source for v0.5.0
- Released
- Jun 10, 2026
- GitHub stars
- 19.3K
Community project. Help and bug reports go to the maintainers on GitHub; AppsXi does not provide support for this app.
License
CopyleftGNU GPL 2.0
Use and change it freely; anything built from it must be shared under the same license, with its source.
Read the full licenseHow this app was checked
AppsXi checks every version before it is listed.
Signed by Kyle Neideck (PR7PXC66S5)
Apple Developer ID team PR7PXC66S5
Notarized by Apple
Hardened Runtime on
File matches the hash GitHub published
SHA-256 c7742b48ac2e9ea955fea66e5c13bb56be5f1487e0b12bad93820984bccb69ef
No malware found
ClamAV 1.5.4 on Oct 13, 2026
Install and behavior test in a virtual machine: not run yet
Coming soon for all listings.
Versions
0.5.0checked
Checked Oct 13, 2026 · Mac
PKG · 788 KB
Questions about Background Music
Is Background Music free?
Yes. Background Music is free and open source under the GNU GPL 2.0. AppsXi lists the maintainers' official release and does not charge for it.
Is Background Music safe to download?
AppsXi downloads every version of Background Music from the maintainers' official GitHub release and checks it before it is listed. For version 0.5.0 (checked Oct 13, 2026), the Mac download is signed by its developer and notarized by Apple, each file matches the checksum GitHub publishes for the release, byte for byte and a malware scan found nothing.
Does Background Music run on Apple silicon Macs?
Yes. Background Music has a native Apple silicon build, and it runs on Intel Macs too.
What does Background Music need to run?
Background Music needs macOS 10.13 or later.
Who makes Background Music?
Background Music is an open source project by Kyle Neideck on GitHub (kyleneideck/BackgroundMusic). Help and bug reports go to its maintainers there.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Anyone who downloads it from AppsXi while signed in can review it a day later.
Something wrong with this app? Report a problem. Maintainer? Claim this listing or ask us to remove it.
