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shashvat1965/slidesense

A free macOS menu bar app that turns the left and right edges of a MacBook trackpad into brightness and volume sliders.

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Last commit
4 days ago

What is it?

SlideSense lets you change screen brightness and system volume by sliding a finger up or down along the left and right edges of a MacBook trackpad. The left band controls brightness and the right band controls volume, with a matching on-screen panel, haptic ticks at each step, and a quick mute gesture on the top-right corner.

The bottom edge can also host a media strip: swipe left or right to skip tracks, and double-tap to play or pause. Sensitivity, band width, required modifier keys, quarter-step precision mode, and cursor freezing are configurable in the settings window.

The app runs from the menu bar with no Dock icon. It reads the trackpad through Apple's private MultitouchSupport framework and changes levels through CoreAudio and DisplayServices, so it depends on private APIs and requires a built-in Force Touch trackpad and macOS 13 or later.

Key features

  • 01Left edge adjusts brightness and right edge adjusts volume by sliding up or down.
  • 02Liquid Glass on-screen display on macOS 26, with a frosted HUD on earlier versions.
  • 03Haptic feedback at each level step.
  • 04Quarter-step precision mode, always on or held with Shift+Option.
  • 05Double-tap the top-right corner to mute, and use the bottom edge as a media strip.

Use cases

  • Adjusting volume or brightness without reaching for the keyboard function keys.
  • Controlling media playback from the bottom trackpad edge while working.
  • Replacing the default brightness and volume keys with finer, gesture-based control on a MacBook.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Clone the repository

    git clone https://github.com/shashvat1965/slidesense.git
  2. 2

    Enter the project folder

    cd slidesense
  3. 3

    Build and open the app

    make run

Things to know

  • macOS only, and requires a built-in Force Touch trackpad; Magic Mouse is not supported yet.
  • Relies on private Apple frameworks that may break in future macOS releases.
  • The prebuilt download is not notarised, so Gatekeeper requires a manual override on first launch.
  • Needs Xcode 15+ or the Swift 6 toolchain to build from source.

In collections

macOS menu bar appsOpen-source Mac apps

Topics

#macos#trackpad#menu-bar#swift#swiftui#volume-control#brightness#gestures#liquid-glass#macos-app

FAQ

What is slidesense?
A free macOS menu bar app that turns the left and right edges of a MacBook trackpad into brightness and volume sliders. SlideSense lets you change screen brightness and system volume by sliding a finger up or down along the left and right edges of a MacBook trackpad. The left band controls brightness and the right band controls volume, with a matching on-screen panel, haptic ticks at each step, and a quick mute gesture on the top-right corner.
Is slidesense free to use? What license does it have?
slidesense is open source under the MIT license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is slidesense still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to slidesense was on Nov 2, 2026.
What can I use slidesense for?
Adjusting volume or brightness without reaching for the keyboard function keys. Controlling media playback from the bottom trackpad edge while working. Replacing the default brightness and volume keys with finer, gesture-based control on a MacBook.
How do I install slidesense?
Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/shashvat1965/slidesense.git Enter the project folder: cd slidesense Build and open the app: make run
Where can I get slidesense?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/shashvat1965/slidesense

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