QuietCue

A quiet macOS menu bar utility that pauses the media you are currently playing while the microphone is in use.

Interface preview

This is a clean documentation preview of the menu bar experience. The native app stays in the menu bar, shows the current media session, and keeps the controls intentionally compact.

What it does

QuietCue watches for active microphone processes. When microphone use starts, it asks macOS for the current Now Playing session and pauses that session. When microphone use ends, it resumes the same session only if QuietCue still owns the pause.

Behavior and features

• Watches microphone activity without recording or uploading audio.
• Controls the current Now Playing session instead of pausing every audio app.
• Supports Spotify, Chrome/YouTube, Apple Music, and other players that expose media controls to macOS.
• Manual media changes take precedence: if you switch players, change tracks, or resume playback yourself, QuietCue will not unexpectedly resume the old session.
• Menu bar controls include Auto pause, Launch at login, and Exit.
• The app runs as a lightweight menu bar utility with no Dock window.

How it works

Microphone becomes active
            ↓
Read the current Now Playing session
            ↓
Pause it and remember ownership
            ↓
Microphone is released
            ↓
Resume only if the same session is still paused

Requirements

• macOS 15 or newer for the current bundled microphone monitor.
• Apple Silicon for the current development build.
• System microphone access when macOS requests it.
• A media player or browser page that exposes Now Playing/media-remote controls.

Build and run

From the project directory:

./script/build_and_run.sh --verify

The build script compiles the bundled MediaRemote adapter, builds the SwiftPM application, stages a real QuietCue.app bundle with the app icon, and launches it from the menu bar. Use --logs or --telemetry when diagnosing a local build.

Create a private preview DMG

For a friend-only test build, create an ad hoc-signed DMG:

./script/package_preview.sh

The resulting file is dist/QuietCue-Preview.dmg. It is intended for private testing, not public distribution. On first launch, macOS may require a right-click on the app and Open.

Release packaging

The release script creates a Developer ID-signed ZIP. It requires a locally installed Developer ID Application certificate:

./script/package_release.sh

After storing Apple notarization credentials in a keychain profile, set NOTARIZE=1 to submit, staple, and validate the notarized app:

NOTARIZE=1 NOTARY_PROFILE=quietcue-notary ./script/package_release.sh

Limitations

• QuietCue can only control players that publish a Now Playing/media-remote session to macOS.
• Browser media can depend on the page and Chrome re-registering its media session after a reload; this behavior is controlled by the browser and the page.
• The preview DMG is ad hoc-signed and is not notarized.

Project layout

Sources/MicPause/       SwiftUI menu bar app and state handling
Vendor/                 Bundled MediaRemote adapter
Assets/                 App icon and README interface preview
script/                 Build, preview-DMG, and release packaging scripts
Tests/                  Swift unit tests

License and acknowledgements

The project includes a bundled MediaRemote adapter under Vendor/mediaremote-adapter. See the repository files and the vendor project for applicable license information.