See this article for more details.

Native Audio Manager for macOS

A native Node.js module that provides system-level audio device management and capture capabilities for macOS applications. This module is particularly useful for Electron applications that need to interact with system audio devices and capture audio streams.

Features

• System audio device management and monitoring
• Audio stream capture from system devices
• Permission handling for microphone and audio capture
• Automatic audio device change detection
• Support for aggregate audio devices
• TypeScript type definitions included

Installation

First, install the required global dependencies:

npm i -g node-gyp electron-rebuild node-addon-api

Development Setup (VSCode)

This command configures the project for building with node-gyp.

npm run configure

This command creates a .clangd file in the project root, to make code-intellisense work in vscode.

./setup-clangd.sh

Use it in Electron

Native nodejs addon has to be built with electron-rebuild. If you are using electron-react-boilerplate, simply put this project under the release/app folder. Add it as dependency in package.json.

  "dependencies": {
    "native-audio-manager": "file:native-audio-manager"
  }

Then run this command inside the release/app folder.

npm install

Core Functions

Audio Device Management

getPermissions()

Returns the current permission status for microphone and audio capture access. The status can be:

• notDetermined: Permission hasn't been requested yet
• authorized: Permission granted
• denied: Permission explicitly denied
• restricted: Permission restricted by system policy

requestPermissions(deviceType, callback)

Request system permissions for audio access.

• deviceType: Either 'microphone' or 'audio'
• callback: Function called with permission result

Audio Capture

setAudioCallback(callback)

Sets up a callback function to receive captured audio data.

• callback: Function that receives audio data as Buffer

startCapture()

Starts capturing system audio. Returns a Promise that resolves when capture begins.

• Throws error if permissions not granted or setup fails

stopCapture()

Stops the current audio capture session. Returns a Promise that resolves when stopped.

Technical Details

• Uses macOS Core Audio and AVFoundation frameworks
• Implements TCC (Transparency, Consent, and Control) permission handling
• Supports automatic audio device change detection
• Creates and manages aggregate audio devices when needed
• Handles audio format conversion and buffering

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.