ConAir

ConAir is a macOS utility that automatically mutes/unmutes your microphone in any app when you click the AirPods button. It consists of two components:

1. A background daemon that monitors system logs for AirPods microphone button events
2. A floating status bar that shows mic state and supports click-to-toggle

Prerequisites

• macOS 15.0 or later
• Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install)
• AirPods or compatible Apple audio device

Full Xcode is not required.

Installation

Option A: Download a release

Download the latest ConAir-vX.Y.Z-arm64.zip from Releases, unzip, and move ConAir.app to /Applications. Then install the daemon:

git clone git@github.com:sarcasticbird/ConAir.git
cd ConAir
./scripts/install.sh

Option B: Build from source

git clone git@github.com:sarcasticbird/ConAir.git
cd ConAir
./scripts/install.sh

The install script will:

• Compile the ConAir daemon
• Build the ConAir widget app via swift build
• Install both to their correct locations
• Configure the daemon to start automatically on login
• Launch the widget

Gatekeeper Notice

Since ConAir is not notarized, macOS will quarantine it on first run. After installation, if the app won't open:

xattr -cr /Applications/ConAir.app

Or: right-click the app in Finder → Open → click "Open" in the dialog.

Usage

Once installed, ConAir runs automatically:

• The daemon detects AirPods button presses and sends a notification
• The widget toggles mic mute state and updates the visual indicator
• Click the widget bar to manually toggle mute

Widget

• Red bar — microphone is muted
• Green bar — microphone is active
• Drag to reposition, click to toggle

Logs

cat ~/.conair_daemon/conair_daemon.log

Uninstallation

# Stop and remove daemon
launchctl unload ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.conair.mic.daemon.plist
rm ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.conair.mic.daemon.plist
rm -rf ~/.conair_daemon

# Remove widget
killall "ConAir" 2>/dev/null || true
rm -rf /Applications/ConAir.app

How It Works

The daemon monitors macOS system logs for input mute candidate events from com.apple.coreaudio. When detected, it posts a Darwin notification (ConAirButtonPressed). The widget listens for that notification and toggles the input device mute state via CoreAudio.

License

MIT — see LICENSE section below.

Copyright (c) 2024 ConAir Contributors

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.