Build a menu bar app that sets the volume for each Mac app
A developer built a free, open-source macOS menu bar app with Opus 5.5 that gives every app its own volume slider.
Source
@ishuagra02 on X · 2026-09-25
Written in our own words. Credit to the original author. Link checked 2026-10-22.
What they did
A developer built a free, open-source macOS menu bar app with Opus 5.5 that gives every app its own volume slider.
Result (as claimed)
Released free and open source; he called it the most fun he had building in months.
Tools they used
Cost: Claude Opus 5.5: from $4 in / $20 out per 1M tokens.
Set it up
Write a one-page brief
Describe the app in plain words: who it is for, the 3 core screens or actions, and what "done" looks like.
Start the project with your agent
Open Claude Opus 5.5 and paste the brief. Ask it to propose a stack and a file plan before writing code.
Build one slice at a time
Ship the smallest working flow first, run it, then add features one by one. Commit after each working step.
Test it like a user
Click through on desktop and phone. Ask the agent to add basic tests and fix anything that breaks.
Check security and ship
Keep keys in environment variables, check auth and database rules, then deploy and share the link.
Copy the full setup prompt
Paste into your agent and it will walk you through the setup, asking before anything that sends, posts or spends.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Claude Code. Goal: Build a menu bar app that sets the volume for each Mac app What the original author did: A developer built a free, open-source macOS menu bar app with Opus 5.5 that gives every app its own volume slider. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Released free and open source; he called it the most fun he had building in months. Source: https://x.com/ishuagra02/status/2103340404108406886 Tools they used: Claude Opus 5.5, macOS Category: Vibe coding & apps Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Codex. Goal: Build a menu bar app that sets the volume for each Mac app What the original author did: A developer built a free, open-source macOS menu bar app with Opus 5.5 that gives every app its own volume slider. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Released free and open source; he called it the most fun he had building in months. Source: https://x.com/ishuagra02/status/2103340404108406886 Tools they used: Claude Opus 5.5, macOS Category: Vibe coding & apps Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
You are helping me set up this AI use case end to end in Grok Bot. Goal: Build a menu bar app that sets the volume for each Mac app What the original author did: A developer built a free, open-source macOS menu bar app with Opus 5.5 that gives every app its own volume slider. Reported result (as claimed by the author): Released free and open source; he called it the most fun he had building in months. Source: https://x.com/ishuagra02/status/2103340404108406886 Tools they used: Claude Opus 5.5, macOS Category: Vibe coding & apps Please: 1. Ask me 3 short questions about my situation (accounts I have, budget, what I want the output to look like). 2. Propose a step-by-step plan using these tools or cheaper alternatives, with the time and cost of each step. Use official pricing pages; say "check pricing" if unsure. 3. Then do the setup with me one step at a time, waiting for my OK before anything that sends messages, posts publicly, spends money or deletes data. 4. Finish with a checklist to run it again next time.
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