Floating Volume Widget

A frameless, always-on-top per-app volume mixer for Windows 10/11. Drag it anywhere on your desktop and control the master device plus every app that's currently playing audio — from one tidy little panel.

⬇ Download the latest VolumeWidget.exe — no install, no Python needed.

Features

• Per-app + master sliders with mute toggles
• Live VU meters showing real audio levels, with smooth falloff
• Per-app icons pulled from the running executable
• Scroll to adjust — mouse-wheel over a row nudges its volume
• Right-click a row — reset to 100%, solo, or mute every other app
• Output device switcher — change the default speaker from the header dropdown
• Named presets — save the current mix and re-apply it in one click
• Quick mute all / unmute all
• Global hotkey Ctrl+Alt+M toggles master mute even when hidden
• Collapse rows and compact mode for a tighter widget
• Active-app highlighting — rows producing sound get an amber glow
• Minimize / close to the system tray (only the tray "Quit" exits)
• Idle fade to semi-transparent when the mouse is away
• Remembers window position, collapsed rows, compact/fade state, and presets

Setup

pip install PyQt6 pycaw comtypes psutil
python app_volume_widget.py

Build a standalone .exe

pip install pyinstaller
pyinstaller --noconsole --onefile --name "VolumeWidget" --icon app_volume_widget.ico app_volume_widget.py

The executable lands in dist/VolumeWidget.exe. To launch it at login, press Win+R, type shell:startup, and drop a shortcut there.

Notes

• Windows only (uses the Windows Core Audio APIs via pycaw).
• The output-device switcher uses the undocumented IPolicyConfig COM interface.

Support

If you find this useful, you can support development here: https://ko-fi.com/thealchemicgamer ♥

License

MIT