A small volume mixer for Windows 10/11 with live level meters. One row per app: slider, mute, and a meter that shows what is actually making noise.
- Press Win+\ to open it, press it again (or Esc, or click away) to close.
- No tray icon. A hidden listener holds the hotkey (about 24 MB RAM, 0% CPU while idle); the mixer window only exists while it is open.
- Apps with several processes (browsers, Discord) get one row.
- Switch between speakers and headset from the mixer, or send one app (Discord, a game) to a different output than the rest.
- Apps light up when they play sound: quiet apps fade back, the one making noise stands out.
- Shows what's playing (song or video title and artist, from YouTube, Spotify and the like) with previous / play-pause / next.
- Follows your Windows accent color and light/dark mode, or pick your own colors.
- Optional background picture (drag to position, zoom, darkness) or frosted glass, see-through bars, stereo meters, compact rows.
The Windows 11 volume mixer gives every app a slider, but it doesn't show how loud each app actually is, so when something starts making noise you're stuck guessing which one it is. If there's an option for that somewhere, I couldn't find it. The old mixer (sndvol) does have meters, but it looks like it's from 2009 and it's buried. So I made my own: one hotkey, a live meter on every app, and nothing sitting in the tray.
- Download or clone this folder to where you want it to live.
- Right-click
install.ps1> Run with PowerShell.
That builds Jackamixer.exe with the C# compiler that already ships with Windows (nothing to download), adds Jackamixer and Jackamixer Options to the Start menu, and starts the hotkey listener now and at every login.
To remove it, run uninstall.ps1, then delete the folder.
| Do this | To |
|---|---|
| Drag the slider, or scroll on a row | change volume (scroll = 2% per notch) |
| Click the app icon, or middle-click the row | mute / unmute |
| Click the Speakers name | switch the Windows output (speakers, headset, ...) |
| Click an app's name | send just that app to another output, or back to the Windows default; the row then shows where it plays (→ Headset) |
| Right-click an app > Hide | take it out of the mixer (bring it back in Options) |
| Right-click > Options..., or Start menu > Jackamixer Options | change how it looks and works (see below) |
The meter runs from -60 dB to 0 dB, turns yellow above -6 dB and red above -1 dB; the small tick holds the recent peak.
While Options is open the mixer stays up next to it and changes as you go, so you can see what you're doing. Everything saves right away; clicking anywhere else closes both.
| Tab | What's there |
|---|---|
| General | hotkey (press the keys you want), whether the hotkey opens the mixer (click away closes it) or toggles it, right-click menu, gear button, show what's playing, click Speakers to switch the output, click an app to pick where it plays |
| Background | picture with drag-to-move, zoom and darkness; frosted glass (your blurred wallpaper) when there's no picture |
| Look | use Windows colors, or your own accent color and dark/light background; bar opacity (when light-up is off), and whether the slider knobs fade with it |
| Effects | text shadow, smooth gradient meters, open/close animation, stereo meters, compact rows, and "apps light up when they play sound" with resting and light-up opacity for icons, names and bars |
| Apps | tick or untick which apps show in the mixer |
Why is iCUE (or Discord, OBS, Wallpaper Engine) bouncing when it isn't making sound? Apps with audio-reactive features listen to your speakers, Windows lists that as a session on your speakers, and its meter shows everything it hears. Hide it if it bugs you.
Picking an app's output uses the same Windows setting as Settings > System > Sound > Volume mixer, so the choice sticks for that app and shows up there too. It goes through an interface Windows doesn't document; if an update ever breaks it, app names just stop opening the menu. Switching the output sets the Windows default for everything (sound, and the communications device apps like Discord use).
Everything is saved in Jackamixer.ini next to the exe. You normally never touch it (the file explains each line), but you can; after editing it by hand, run Jackamixer.exe --reload.
hotkey=Win+\
hotkey_mode=close
background=C:\Pictures\something.png
background_dim=55
use_windows_colors=1
accent=#FF8AD8
icon_glow=1
icon_idle=55
icon_lit=100
bar_idle=100
bar_lit=100
now_playing=1
device_menu=1
app_output_menu=1
hidden_apps=icue.exe| Command | Does |
|---|---|
Jackamixer.exe |
open the mixer (starts the listener if it is not running) |
Jackamixer.exe --options |
open the options window |
Jackamixer.exe --background |
start only the hotkey listener |
Jackamixer.exe --reload |
re-read the hotkey from the ini |
Jackamixer.exe --quit |
stop the listener |
Jackamixer.exe --snapshot out.png |
render the mixer to a picture (--snapshot-options out.png 3 renders the options window on tab 3) |
build.cmd compiles Jackamixer.cs (the whole app, one file) with %WINDIR%\Microsoft.NET\Framework64\v4.0.30319\csc.exe. "Now playing" uses Windows' own media API through the metadata files in %WINDIR%\System32\WinMetadata, which every Windows 10/11 PC has. The icon is assets\jackamixer.ico.
MIT