The problem

macOS switches audio to whatever connected last. A dock or a waking monitor takes your sound, AirPods grab your mic in the middle of a call, and a powered off headset keeps "playing" through its dongle.

How it works

Audio Priority Bar keeps one ranked list each for headphones, speakers and microphones, and always uses the highest one connected. Headphones win over speakers when both are there.

Key features

• Switches back: when macOS or AirPods take a device on their own, your pick comes back. A change you make in Control Center or System Settings still counts as yours.

• Mute from anywhere: Option-Shift-M mutes the mic from any app, with no Accessibility permission. Shortcuts, Raycast or a Stream Deck can do the same through audioprioritybar:// links.

• Muted reminder: if an app records while you're muted, a reminder shows up.

• Monitors stay out: new HDMI and DisplayPort outputs start hidden.

• Jabra Link aware: the dongle is asked whether its headset is really on, and the app falls back in under a second when you switch it off.

• AirPods battery: left, right and case, with no Bluetooth permission.

• Switch notices: a short notice under the menu bar icon tells you which device it just picked.

Details

• Native Swift, no telemetry, MIT licensed

• Updates itself in place

• macOS 14 or later, Apple silicon and Intel

• Install: brew install --cask camguillory/tap/audio-priority-bar

• Not notarized yet, so the first launch needs Open Anyway in System Settings > Privacy & Security