activevolume

A lightweight background utility for adjusting the audio volume of the active application using global hotkeys.

When you press Alt + PageUp or Alt + PageDown, the program dynamically detects the foreground window, resolves its PID along with any child processes, and increments or decrements their audio output level by 1% (can be changed at src/main.c).

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Linux Support

Prerequisites

You need a C compiler (gcc or clang) along with X11 and PulseAudio development headers:

sudo apt install gcc libx11-dev libpulse-dev

How to Build

This project uses the nob build system.

1. Bootstrap the builder:

   cc nob.c -o nob

2. Build the application:

   ./nob

Depending on the RELEASE_FLAG defined in nob.c (defaults to false for debug):

• Debug Target (build/activevolumedebug): Compiles with -O0, debug prints enabled, and AddressSanitizer/UndefinedBehaviorSanitizer checks.
• Release Target (build/activevolumerelease): Compiles with -O2 optimizations and stripped symbols.

Execution

Run the compiled binary:

./build/activevolumedebug

Or run the release target in the background:

./build/activevolumerelease &

Autorun at Startup

To make the release version start automatically on Linux startup, you can add it to your desktop environment's startup applications:

1. Open Startup Applications (on Linux Mint / Cinnamon).
2. Click Add -> Custom Command.
3. Set the fields:
   • Name: Active Volume Daemon
   • Command: /path/to/activevolume/build/activevolumerelease (replace with the absolute path to your compiled release binary)
4. Click Save.

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Windows Support

The utility is fully ported to Windows and utilizes native Win32 APIs, Toolhelp32 snapshots, and WASAPI COM interfaces.

Prerequisites

You need a MinGW-w64 C compiler environment (such as gcc).

How to Build

1. Bootstrap the builder:

   cc nob.c -o nob.exe

2. Build the application:

   .\nob.exe

Depending on the RELEASE_FLAG defined in nob.c:

• Debug Target (build/activevolumedebug.exe): Runs with a visible console window and outputs debug logs.
• Release Target (build/activevolumerelease.exe): Built with -mwindows, which allows it to run completely silently in the background without launching a Command Prompt.

Autorun at Startup

To make the release version start automatically at Windows startup:

1. Press Win + R, type shell:startup, and press Enter.
2. Create a shortcut to build/activevolumerelease.exe inside this folder.