Change System Volume from Command Line on Mac OS
Oftentimes the awesome GUI applications we love are simply gloss over a command line functionality. While I do love a visual app, it's always good to know how to do things from command line, if only for the sake of automation. I've covered loads of command line secrets, most notably Mac Camera Access, so I wanted to figure out if I could control volume from command line.
Change Mac System Volume
The secret to changing Mac system volume from command line is through osascript:
# Max volume
sudo osascript -e "set Volume 10"
# Mute
sudo osascript -e "set Volume 0"
# 50% volume
sudo osascript -e "set Volume 5"
Values range from 0 (muted) to 10 (maximum volume). Note that you don't get to see a nice volume change indicator -- the volume simply changes without any feedback.
![Being a Dev Dad]()
I get asked loads of questions every day but I'm always surprised that they're rarely questions about code or even tech -- many of the questions I get are more about non-dev stuff like what my office is like, what software I use, and oftentimes...
![Animated 3D Flipping Menu with CSS]()
CSS animations aren't just for basic fades or sliding elements anymore -- CSS animations are capable of much more. I've showed you how you can create an exploding logo (applied with JavaScript, but all animation is CSS), an animated Photo Stack, a sweet...
![CSS content and attr]()
CSS is becoming more and more powerful but in the sense that it allows us to do the little things easily. There have been larger features added like transitions, animations, and transforms, but one feature that goes under the radar is generated content. You saw a...
![MooTools Documentation Search Favelet]()
I'm going to share something with you that will blow your mind: I don't have the MooTools documentation memorized. I just don't. I visit the MooTools docs frequently to figure out the order of parameters of More classes and how best to use...
Thank you for this tip. Are you sure that the maximum value is 10? On my Mac with High Sierra, the maximum value get on 7. The 8, 9, 10 also change the value to maximum. I did double check it by viewing the pop-up small window on volume indicator on menu bar.
This is how it’s done on Mojave:
The deprecated way is to specify a number between 0 and 7 for “set volume”
Is there a way to similarly look up the current volume setting (let’s say, in Mojave or Catalina)?
Options to get the current volume setting:
or