🌐 Website: turhe123.github.io/volume-ceiling
Set a maximum volume for each output device so headphones can never blast your ears.
🆓 A free, open-source Hear Volume Limiter alternative for macOS 14+. Native Swift, no accounts, no subscriptions, MIT licensed.
🆓 A free, open-source Hear Volume Limiter alternative for macOS 14+. Native Swift, no accounts, no subscriptions, MIT licensed.
VolumeCeiling is a free, open-source, 100% native, backend-free alternative to paid utilities in the Audio category. It was inspired by Hear Volume Limiter ($5.99 one-time). It has no accounts, no analytics and no network code. Your limits are stored locally in UserDefaults.
- Per-device ceilings. Each output device that has software volume control gets its own ceiling slider (5–100%). Ceilings are stored by the device's unique ID.
- Default ceiling (80% out of the box) for any device without its own limit, plus a per-device reset button.
- Live enforcement. VolumeCeiling listens to CoreAudio for volume changes on the active output. If the volume goes above the ceiling, it lowers it right away. Short debouncing prevents flicker when you hold the volume keys.
- Clamp on connect. When a device connects or becomes the default output, its volume is brought under the ceiling. It returns to the last volume seen for that device, never above the ceiling.
- Menu bar indicator showing the state icon (active / paused / off), the current device name and its ceiling.
- Menu bar window with the active device, its live volume and a ceiling slider with a tick mark for the current volume. Other known devices, including ones that are not connected, are listed below it.
- Safe preset. One click sets 60% on headphone-type devices, detected by name.
- Master switch and Pause for 1 hour. Pausing resumes automatically and survives a relaunch.
- Optional settings lock. Changing limits needs a confirmation click, which unlocks editing for 5 minutes.
- Optional notifications when the limiter intervenes (at most one per device every 30 seconds).
- Launch at login via
SMAppService. - Honest about unsupported outputs. Devices with no software volume (some HDMI, DisplayPort or USB DAC outputs) are shown greyed out with a reason instead of being ignored.
Limitations: limits are enforced in software by lowering the volume right after it rises. Brief spikes within the callback latency may occur, and outputs that control volume in hardware cannot be limited.
The menu bar window shows the active output device, its live volume and an 80% ceiling slider, with other known devices listed below.
Settings let you choose the default ceiling, apply a 60% safe preset to headphones, and turn on notifications, clamp on connect, launch at login and the settings lock.
Pause for 1 hour suspends the limiter and shows when it will resume automatically.
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Download
VolumeCeiling-macOS.zipfrom the latest release. -
Unzip it and move
VolumeCeiling.appto/Applications. -
Because the app is open source and not notarized, run:
xattr -cr /Applications/VolumeCeiling.app
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The first time, right-click the app and choose Open.
Requires macOS 14+ and Xcode with Swift 5.9+.
brew install xcodegen
xcodegen generate
xcodebuild -project VolumeCeiling.xcodeproj -scheme VolumeCeiling -configuration Release -derivedDataPath ./build buildThe app is produced at build/Build/Products/Release/VolumeCeiling.app.
VolumeCeiling asks for very little. Based on the source:
- Accessibility: not requested.
- Screen Recording: not requested.
- Microphone: not requested.
- Volume control: needs no permission. It uses CoreAudio to read and write device volume.
- Notifications: optional. The system prompt appears only the first time you turn on "Show notifications". If you decline, the setting turns itself off.
- Login item: optional. It is registered only if you enable "Launch at login", and macOS may show it in System Settings › General › Login Items.
VolumeCeiling was written by Claude Code inside an automated pipeline, from a plain-English spec. No code, binaries or assets from any commercial app were used; it is a clean-room reimplementation of a feature set, not a copy.
What that means in practice:
- The full source is in this repo under the MIT license. Read it before you run it.
- No network calls, no analytics, no third-party dependencies. Only Apple frameworks.
- Ad-hoc signed and not notarized, which is why Gatekeeper warns on first launch.
- It has had less human review than a hand-written app. Bug reports and pull requests are welcome.
If VolumeCeiling saves your ears, you can support development:
The app also has a "Support / Donate ❤️" button.
VolumeCeiling is one of a growing collection of free, open-source Mac utilities built the same way: native Swift, no accounts, no telemetry. Browse the full gallery at turhe123.github.io/mac-apps.
Prefer something that runs in the browser? The same pipeline builds free, private web tools: PDF, image, developer, data and audio tools, nothing uploaded.
MIT © Or Davidai Bachar