Choose playback sources and priority on Mac

Start with the music app or speaker you use

Playstate's optional setup detects supported music apps installed on this Mac. Choose only the players and speakers you want it to follow. A Spotify, Doppler, VOX, Music, or VLC setup can work without a HomePod or Sonos speaker. Experimental Qobuz support needs its own checks.

Setup selects sources and optional widget and startup preferences. Playback observation begins after setup closes. macOS may ask for the permissions required by the sources you selected. Keep the source app open when it supplies the audio.

You can skip setup and return using Settings → General → Run Setup Again. Completed setup is remembered. The supported music apps guide lists the controls and permissions for each player.

Put your preferred source first

Open Settings → Sources. The ordered list contains supported Mac players and speaker groups, with checkboxes and a status beside each source. Drag a row up or down: the highest-priority enabled source that is playing supplies the now-playing view. A speaker can sit above a Mac app if that is how you listen.

For example, put your living-room HomePod above Spotify to see the speaker while both are playing. Move Spotify above it to prefer the Mac app. Uncheck a source you never want followed. Turning it off does not quit its player or stop that player's audio.

For keyboard access, select a row and use Move Up or Move Down, or Option-Command-Up and Option-Command-Down. The source order is saved and also orders the available speaker groups. Offline rooms keep their saved place. A stereo pair is one group in the list.

When no enabled source is playing, Playstate can keep the last observed source visible while paused. The order does not combine queues or synchronize HomePod and Sonos. Apps using the developer playback-sharing API remain behind supported apps and speakers in priority.

Choose rooms and discovery separately

The HomePod and Sonos toggles below the list enable network discovery. Enable the type you own to find rooms, then use each speaker group's checkbox to keep your intended selection. A selected room remains configurable when temporarily offline; a disconnected row is not proof that the speaker is ready for commands.

Mac and speakers need local access to each other. Allow Local Network access for Playstate and check whether a guest network, VPN, or device-isolation setting is blocking discovery. The HomePod and Sonos discovery guides walk through those checks.

Use the status to choose the next step

Select a source in Settings → Sources to read its status and available recovery action.

• App closed: use Open Player, then start a song in that app.
• Waiting for playback: the source has not supplied a loaded song yet. Check the player itself.
• Automation denied: use Open System Settings and allow the chosen player under Playstate in Privacy & Security → Automation.
• Accessibility needed: experimental Qobuz controls need Privacy & Security → Accessibility.
• Disconnected or connection timed out: check the player or speaker, then use Retry. For speakers, also check the local network.
• Off or not installed: enable the source or install its player before expecting a song.

These states distinguish a permission problem from an empty player or unreachable speaker. Apple documents Automation access separately from Local Network access. Granting one does not grant the other.

Preview the widget before changing it

In Settings → Widget, choose a theme, size, and track-information layout to see a preview. The Minimal preset uses a small cover with controls over it; Compact keeps a compact dark appearance; Information puts text beside the cover. You can also adjust the source badge, corners, background opacity, and hide-when-paused behavior.

The draft stays separate from your saved widget until you press Apply to Widget. Looking at a preset or theme does not change the desktop widget. Closing Settings without applying discards the draft. Customization follows the trial and license rules, and the Apply action checks them.

For VOX and Doppler, Playstate reads embedded artwork supplied by the player when available. Optional catalog matching can help with missing artwork and may show another album edition; it does not change your library's tags or cover.

Control playback without opening the menu

Settings → Keyboard lets you record shortcuts for playback, previous/next, source-volume up/down, mute/unmute, and showing or hiding the widget. Duplicate or unavailable combinations are reported, and Escape cancels a recording. The keyboard shortcuts guide lists the defaults and explains recording and troubleshooting.