Smooth volume fade
Output volume ramps linearly to zero over the final minutes of the timer, updated every second. The fade window defaults to 5 minutes and can be set from 1 to 60.
Open source · macOS 14+ · Universal binary · Audio
Fall asleep to audio.
Wake to a quiet Mac.
Pick a duration from the menu bar and FadeToSleep gently lowers volume and screen brightness, pauses your media, then sleeps your Mac. Record a global hotkey to restart your last timer.
Free & MIT licensed · Apple Silicon & Intel · Latest release
Features
A gentle exit, handled.
Everything runs locally in the menu bar, with no accounts and no network access.
Screen brightness fade
The built-in display dims along with the volume. If your Mac has no built-in display, this step is skipped silently, and brightness is always restored afterward.
Presets and live countdown
Start with 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes, or enter any value from 1 to 600. A progress ring shows the time left, with Add 15 Minutes and Cancel buttons.
Choose how it ends
Sleep the Mac, sleep only the display, or just pause. FadeToSleep sends the system Play/Pause key first, so podcasts and videos stop before sleep.
Respects your changes
If you adjust the volume during a fade, the fade pauses and the menu offers Resume Fade. Volume and brightness are restored if you quit mid-fade, and volume can be restored after wake.
Hotkey and login launch
Record a global shortcut that starts your last-used duration, and optionally launch at login. A notification warns you one minute before the fade begins.
Screenshots
See it in action.
Install
Up and running in a minute.
FadeToSleep is open source and not notarized with a paid Apple Developer ID, so macOS needs one extra step the first time.
- Download FadeToSleep-macOS.zip and unzip it.
- Move FadeToSleep.app to your Applications folder.
- Clear the quarantine flag once, then right-click the app and choose Open:
xattr -cr /Applications/FadeToSleep.app
- When you start a timer, grant Accessibility access in System Settings Privacy Security Accessibility so FadeToSleep can pause your media notifications are optional.
Download
Get FadeToSleep for macOS
Free, forever. Built for macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, Apple Silicon and Intel.
Not notarized: on first launch right-click FadeToSleep.app → Open.
- macOS 14 Sonoma+
- Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel)
- MIT licensed · open source
- No ads, no accounts, no telemetry
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Is FadeToSleep really free and open source?
Yes. It is released under the MIT license, and the full source is on GitHub. There are no accounts, no ads and no tracking. If it helps you, you can optionally support development through the Support button.
What permissions does it need?
Accessibility is used only to send the Play/Pause media key at the end of the timer. Without it, the fade and sleep still work but media is not paused. Notifications are optional, and it never asks for Screen Recording or Microphone access.
Where is my data stored?
Only on your Mac. Your settings are saved locally in the app's preferences, and FadeToSleep makes no network connections. Volume and brightness are controlled directly through Core Audio and IOKit.
Why isn't the app notarized?
Notarization requires a paid Apple Developer account, which this free project does not have. Right-click the app and choose Open once to approve it, or build it yourself from source with Xcode.
Support ❤️
Built by one person, given away for free.
FadeToSleep is a free, open-source alternative to paid utilities. If it earns a spot on your Mac, a coffee keeps the updates coming.
☕ Support Or on Ko-fi