By default, everything your Mac plays goes to the same set of speakers. The App Routing card at the bottom of the Mixer tab lets you break single apps out of that mix. Spotify to the kitchen, a game staying on the Mac.
Adding an app
In the App Routing card, click the + button at the bottom of the card. A menu opens listing the apps currently running. Pick one and it gets its own row with:
- The app’s icon and name.
- Its own fader with a percentage.
- A trailing menu in the Output column, where you choose where it plays.
Apps you never add simply follow Main Audio. You only need a row for an app you want to treat differently.
Where an app can go
The Output menu offers:
- Follows main output: the app plays in the main mix, wherever Main Audio goes. New rows start here.
- Your Mac’s own output: the app plays on the Mac itself, with its own volume.
- Any AirPlay speaker, whether it speaks AirPlay 2 or the older AirPlay 1.
- Bluetooth speakers.
Cast (Chromecast) receivers can’t be a per-app destination. They only play the whole mix. See What works with each kind of speaker for the full picture.
One more rule: a speaker holds one role at a time. If a speaker is part of Main Audio, it won’t appear in the app menus. To use it for a single app, switch it off in its mixer row first, then it shows up as a choice.
When a routed app quits
The row stays. It shows an offline marker, and the route is kept for next time. Launch the app again and it goes straight back to its speaker. If you want the route gone, remove the row instead.
Removing an app
Three ways, all equivalent:
- The − control on the App Routing card.
- Right-click the row and choose “Remove from list”.
- Select the row and press Delete.
Removing a row doesn’t stop the app’s sound. The app just rejoins Main Audio like any other.
Per-app routes keep working after the free trial ends, even though Main Audio then plays on one speaker at a time.
Apps sent to This Mac
An app you send to This Mac shows up by name in the This Mac row’s Source column, for example “System · Safari”.
Apps that always stay local
Settings › Audio has its own list, “Apps that stay on this Mac”, filled via “Add app…”. Apps on that list are excluded from Audiout entirely: they always play through the Mac’s own output and can’t be routed. If an app refuses to appear in the App Routing picker or ignores its route, check whether it’s on that list.
To understand how the app’s fader interacts with Main Audio and the speaker’s own fader, read The mixer: Main Audio, faders, and meters. More articles live at the support overview.