Support → SoundSource

Figure out which app is making noise, with assistance from SoundSource

When running several applications and multi-tasking on your Mac, it may not always be obvious which of your applications is making noise. This can be more of an issue when some of your applications are hidden, running in the background or positioned across multiple displays.

If an application on your Mac is making noise, but it’s not clear which app it is, you can open SoundSource to find the answer. The next time you hear a sound you would like to trace to its source, click on the SoundSource icon in your menu bar and check in the Applications list.

The Applications list in SoundSource automatically updates to include any applications that have output sound in the past 15 seconds.

Once you identify the application that is the source of a sound you would like to silence or adjust, you can click on the Speaker icon to the right of the application’s name to quickly mute all of its audio output.

(Note: Sound effects aren’t included here, as those alert noises are all combined into a single sound effects process that isn’t specific to any one app.)