iQualize
Features Architecture Install Changelog GitHub Download
/ CHANGELOG

What changed, and when.

Pulled live from GitHub releases. Same notes, same order — nothing rewritten for marketing.

v0.60.1 Latest

v0.60.1 — spectrum rendering that knows when to rest

Highlights

  • Less background CPU, same live response. The EQ editor keeps its spectrum animation at 60 FPS while the window is active, but stops periodic UI rendering when the window is backgrounded, minimized, occluded, or closed.
  • Only redraw what moves. Static graph elements no longer redraw with every spectrum frame, and disabled spectrum channels are no longer read from their analyzer buffers.

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+. Signed and notarized. It opens without a Gatekeeper workaround.

On first launch, allow audio capture when macOS asks. iQualize cannot process system audio without that permission.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

What's Changed

New Contributors

Full Changelog: github.com/dariuscorvus/iqualize/compare/v0.60.0...v0.60.1

---

*Release song: Kiko King & creativemaze — Resolution for Solitude — music.apple.com/de/album/resolution-for-solitude/1670474769?i…

Download .dmg 5.7 MB View on GitHub
v0.60.0

v0.60.0 — Runtime diagnostics you can trust

Highlights

  • See the whole audio path. Runtime diagnostics now distinguish the captured stream, render/DSP graph, and physical output device, including effective sample rates, channel counts, device identity, lifecycle state, and recovery counters (#157).
  • Unavailable stays honest. The CLI and diagnostics window consume the same immutable status snapshot, preserve missing telemetry as Unavailable, and provide a copyable report without guessing or interrupting playback.
  • Measure before changing behavior. Structured status logs publish at lifecycle, device-change, sleep/wake, teardown, recovery, and helper-failure boundaries, providing the evidence needed to investigate automatic USB DAC sample-rate switching separately (#158).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+. Signed and notarized. It opens without a Gatekeeper workaround.

On first launch, allow audio capture when macOS asks. iQualize cannot process system audio without that permission.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

What's Changed

Full Changelog: github.com/dariuscorvus/iqualize/compare/v0.57.0...v0.60.0

---

*Release song: Melvin Spix — Strike of Determination — music.apple.com/de/album/strike-of-determination/1566848460?i…

Download .dmg 5.7 MB View on GitHub
v0.58.0-prerelease Pre-release

v0.58.0 prerelease — Real-time audio state publication

Highlights

  • Render callbacks now see complete configurations. Audio settings publish as immutable snapshots with sequentially consistent reader protection and off-render reclamation, so a callback observes the old or new configuration instead of mixed state during updates (#164, #173).
  • EQ edits transition without zippering. Live biquad edits reuse filter state and ramp coefficient changes over 64 frames. Preset switches reset filter state cleanly, while explicit resets publish a fresh zero-state snapshot (#174).
  • The real-time callback no longer grows buffers. Render scratch storage and spectrum scale data are preallocated. Oversized render slices return silence instead of allocating, while unlimited EQ band counts remain supported (#152).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+. Signed and notarized. It opens without a Gatekeeper workaround.

On first launch, allow audio capture when macOS asks. iQualize cannot process system audio without that permission.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

What's Changed

Full Changelog: github.com/dariuscorvus/iqualize/compare/v0.57.5-prerelease..…

---

*Release song: Black Pumas — Know You Better — music.apple.com/de/album/know-you-better/1457164821?i=1457165…

Download .dmg 5.5 MB View on GitHub
v0.57.5-prerelease Pre-release

v0.57.5 prerelease — Hardened audio runtime lifecycle

Highlights

  • Capture state now has one owner. Capture enable, disable, wake recovery, helper restarts, and CLI requests used to cross several mutable flags and callbacks. That made overlapping transitions hard to reason about, especially around sleep/wake and helper startup failures. The runtime now goes through a dedicated lifecycle actor with explicit states, serialized transitions, persisted user intent, and a bounded transition history (#170).
  • Sleep/wake and helper crashes recover instead of wedging. iQualize now polls for output-device readiness after wake, backs off bounded recovery attempts, restarts the capture helper after unexpected termination, and reports helper restart counts in capture status (#171, #172). Repeated helper crashes end in a terminal failure instead of a silent retry loop.
  • Startup failure cleanup is shared with normal shutdown. Partial audio startup and shutdown now use one idempotent teardown path. Analyzer taps are removed only when installed, graph references are cleared, and the original startup error is preserved (#153).
  • Helper startup has a deadline. A wedged capture-helper handshake now fails after 10 seconds, terminates the helper, and releases partial resources instead of leaving the app stuck waiting forever (#169).
  • Developer ID installs use the final signed identity. The first signed prerelease uses codes.darius.iqualize for the app and codes.darius.iqualize.capture for the helper, matching darius.codes before users grant TCC permissions. This changes the macOS identity from earlier ad-hoc builds, so System Audio Recording permission must be granted again and existing UserDefaults-backed data may not carry over automatically: saved presets, favorites, hidden built-ins, pinned preset, OPRA cache state, and settings can appear reset. Reinstalling an unchanged bundle with a Developer ID identity also re-signs the capture helper, so a previously ad-hoc helper does not remain inside an otherwise signed app bundle.

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+. Signed and notarized. It opens without a Gatekeeper workaround.

On first launch, allow audio capture when macOS asks. iQualize cannot process system audio without that permission.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

What's Changed

Full Changelog: github.com/dariuscorvus/iqualize/compare/v0.57.0...v0.57.5-pr…

Download .dmg 5.5 MB View on GitHub
v0.57.0

v0.57.0 — OPRA search that ignores spacing and punctuation

Highlights

  • OPRA search stops depending on how you spell the model. One literal substring match meant Sennheiser HD800S found 3 EQ profiles and Sennheiser HD 800 S found 27 — the same headphone, two spellings (#156). Search now normalizes spacing, hyphens, underscores, punctuation, case, and diacritics before matching, so HD800S, HD 800 S, HD-800-S, and hd_800_s all resolve to the same product. Results are ranked exact → prefix → substring, so the headphone actually named HD 600 sorts above one whose name merely contains it. Matching moved into a testable OPRASearch type with a table-driven test suite; manufacturer-only and partial queries still work.
  • A stale detail pane no longer sticks around in the Preset Browser. Selecting a product, then narrowing the search so it dropped out of the list, left the old selection to reappear when the query was cleared (#155). The selection is now invalidated the moment the query excludes it.

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

What's Changed

Full Changelog: github.com/dariuscorvus/iqualize/compare/v0.56.0...v0.57.0

---

*Release song: Odymel, Coach Harrison — Knowledge is a weapon — open.spotify.com/track/7jWkjgyanEFBQ4f1hoTPS5*

Download .dmg 5.4 MB View on GitHub
v0.56.0

iQualize v0.56.0

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

What's Changed

Full Changelog: github.com/dariuscorvus/iqualize/compare/v0.53.0...v0.56.0

Download .dmg 5.3 MB View on GitHub
v0.53.0

iQualize v0.53.0

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

What's Changed

Full Changelog: github.com/dariuscorvus/iqualize/compare/v0.52.0...v0.53.0

Download .dmg 5.3 MB View on GitHub
v0.52.0

iQualize v0.52.0

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Thanks

  • @json20 for reporting #142 — v0.51.0 installs Info.plist with mode 0600
  • @nordicdata for reporting #144 — Alternative installation suggestion

What's Changed

Full Changelog: github.com/dariuscorvus/iqualize/compare/v0.51.0...v0.52.0

Download .dmg 5.3 MB View on GitHub
v0.51.0

iQualize v0.51.0

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Thanks

  • @nordicdata for reporting #136 — CLI suggestion

What's Changed

Full Changelog: github.com/dariuscorvus/iqualize/compare/v0.50.0...v0.51.0

Download .dmg 4.9 MB View on GitHub
v0.50.0

iQualize v0.50.0

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Thanks

  • @iv-re for reporting #107 — Significant volume drop on multi-channel audio devices (even in Bypass mode)
  • @nordicdata for reporting #119 — Menu bar

What's Changed

Full Changelog: github.com/dariuscorvus/iqualize/compare/v0.45.0...v0.50.0

Download .dmg 4.9 MB View on GitHub
v0.45.0

v0.45.0 — OPRA credit, icon fix, and the "damaged" DMG

Highlights

  • The "damaged" DMG is fixed. Builds were signed with a certificate that wasn't on the build machine, so the app shipped with a broken signature that macOS flags as "damaged" (#115). The signature is now valid, and the release process verifies it. It still isn't notarized, so after dragging to Applications, clear the quarantine flag once: xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app
  • New app icon corners. The Signal Glow icon shipped with opaque white corners; they're now transparent, in the app and the README.
  • OPRA is credited in the Preset Browser and About dialog, as its CC BY-SA 4.0 license requires.
  • Preset Browser search no longer hides deleted built-ins when you switch from the OPRA tab.

Full details in the CHANGELOG diff.

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 3.3 MB View on GitHub
v0.43.0

v0.43.0 — Scroll to adjust the footer sliders

Highlights

The In, Out, and Balance sliders only responded to clicks and drags. v0.43.0 adds scroll-wheel support:

  • Scroll over a slider to nudge it by one step — 0.5 dB for In/Out, 0.05 for Balance.
  • Hold Shift to scroll in fine increments — 0.1 dB for In/Out, 0.01 for Balance.
  • Precise trackpad scrolls accumulate sub-step deltas, so slow gestures still register instead of rounding to nothing.

Full details in the CHANGELOG diff.

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.9 MB View on GitHub
v0.42.0

v0.42.0 — Preset Browser layout rebuild

Highlights

The Preset Browser's OPRA tab search box was overwritten by the headphone list while scrolling — rows drew straight through it (#108).

v0.42.0 rebuilds the browser layout:

  • Search field pinned at the top of the sidebar, above the list, so nothing overlays it.
  • Scrolling catalog list in the middle; the OPRA/iQualize picker moved to the bottom of the sidebar.
  • Search filters whichever catalog is active.
  • The sidebar is a fixed-width column — it can't be collapsed or dragged shut.

Full details in the CHANGELOG diff.

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.9 MB View on GitHub
v0.41.1

v0.41.1 — Native footer slider behavior

Highlights

The DreamUI rewrite replaced the original AppKit balance slider and dropped snap-to-center and double-click reset.

v0.41.1 moves In, Out, and Balance to the same native macOS slider control:

  • Balance snaps to center at ±0.05.
  • All three sliders reset to center on double-click.
  • Track clicks animate to the target over 100 ms.
  • Thumb dragging remains immediate.

Full details in the CHANGELOG diff.

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.9 MB View on GitHub
v0.41.0

v0.41.0 — Apple Continuity is a feature, not a patch

Highlights

🎧 AirPods Continuity handoff now works while EQ is enabled. Switch between Mac and iPhone mid-playback the same way you would with any other app — no quitting iQualize, no manual output rerouting, no compromise.

This is a first: every other system-audio EQ that wraps macOS's output device runs into the same wall (Background Music, eqMac — same open, unresolved complaint). iQualize doesn't have it anymore.

Root cause: a process that owns both an active Core Audio tap and a render stream on the same output device gets treated by macOS as non-preemptible infrastructure rather than a normal media app — silently blocking Continuity's handoff. iQualize now splits its audio capture into a separate helper process, so to macOS it looks like any other media app (Spotify, Music) — freely preemptible, exactly as it should be. Full investigation, dead ends, and the isolating experiment that found this are documented in CONTINUITY.md.

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.40.1 → 0.41.0).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.9 MB View on GitHub
v0.40.1

v0.40.1 — Fix audio silence for apps launched after iQualize

Highlights

  • Fixed: apps launched while iQualize was already running (e.g. Discord) had no audio output until iQualize was quit. iQualize now polls for newly-appeared Core Audio processes every 2 seconds while running and restarts its process tap when one shows up, so late-launching apps get captured automatically — no manual device switch or restart needed (#87)

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.40.0 → 0.40.1).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.9 MB View on GitHub
v0.40.0

v0.40.0 — Per-device EQ memory

Highlights

  • Added: pin a preset to an output device — the pin button in the EQ window toolbar, or the menu bar — and it's recalled automatically whenever that device becomes active, including at app launch (#79)
  • Changed: the favorite-preset feature is renamed from "pin" to "favorite" (star icon) to avoid confusion with the new device pin
  • Changed: the in-app EQ window's preset picker now shares the exact same native menu as the menu bar dropdown — Favorites/Built-in/Custom sections, ⌥-click-to-favorite without closing the menu

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.39.0 → 0.40.0).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.9 MB View on GitHub
v0.39.0

v0.39.0 — Clearer CLI install prompt

Highlights

  • Fixed: the "Install Command Line Tool" button in Settings → General now explains what it does and reminds you to open a new Terminal window afterward — previously, running iqualize before clicking it just failed with a bare command not found. The README's Command Line section now leads with setup instead of burying it mid-sentence.
  • Fixed: that new hint text no longer blows out the width of the Settings window.

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.38.0 → 0.39.0).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.9 MB View on GitHub
v0.38.0

v0.38.0 — Command line interface for scripting and menu-bar-free control

Highlights

  • New: iqualize command line tool — check status, list/switch presets, toggle bypass, and get/set input & output gain, all from the shell without touching the menu bar. Makes iQualize scriptable (Shortcuts, launchd jobs, keyboard-shortcut launchers, etc). Install it from Settings → General → "Install Command Line Tool", or it's auto-symlinked by install.sh for dev builds. Suggested by @json20 (#90)

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.37.1 → 0.38.0).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.9 MB View on GitHub
v0.37.1

v0.37.1 — Fix custom preset gain-fork getting lost on relaunch

Highlights

  • Fixed: adjusting the Input/Output dB slider on a built-in preset (with "Share In/Out dB across all presets" off) forked it into a "(Custom)" copy correctly, but the app forgot which preset was selected — quitting and relaunching silently reverted to the original built-in preset instead of restoring your custom gain-forked one. The fork itself was never lost, just stopped being remembered as active.

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.37.0 → 0.37.1).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.8 MB View on GitHub
v0.37.0

v0.37.0 — Deletable built-in presets + iQualize catalog tab

Highlights

  • Deletable built-in presets — built-ins can now be deleted from the picker (except Flat, which stays as a safe fallback), so you're not stuck with the app's more opinionated presets (Hard Techno, German Rap, DEADBEEF, etc.) if you don't want them. Deleted ones aren't gone for good: the Preset Browser (Save/Import menu → "Preset Browser…") now has an iQualize tab alongside OPRA, listing anything you've deleted with a one-click Restore

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.36.0 → 0.37.0).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.4 MB View on GitHub
v0.36.0

v0.36.0 — Preset Browser for OPRA community EQ profiles

Highlights

  • Preset Browser — search and import community headphone/IEM EQ profiles directly from the OPRA database (Save/Import menu → "Browse OPRA Presets…"), instead of hunting down and downloading an eq_info.json file by hand. Browse by vendor/product, pick from the available community-contributed curves for that model, and import in one click

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.35.0 → 0.36.0).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.4 MB View on GitHub
v0.35.0

v0.35.0 — Import from AutoEQ/OPRA & per-preset gain by default

Highlights

  • Import from AutoEQ/OPRA — Import Preset… now also accepts AutoEQ ParametricEQ.txt/GraphicEQ.txt and OPRA eq_info.json files, so community headphone/IEM EQ profiles can be dropped in directly. GraphicEQ curves are resampled onto the app's 31-band ceiling, and each format's preamp/gain value carries over as the preset's input gain
  • Per-preset In/Out dB by default — new installs now store input/output gain per preset instead of sharing one value across all presets, so an imported preamp/gain value isn't silently ignored. Toggle "Share In/Out dB across all presets" in Settings → General to restore the old shared-gain behavior

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.34.0 → 0.35.0).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.3 MB View on GitHub
v0.34.0

v0.34.0 — Favorite presets & per-preset gain

Highlights

  • Pin/favorite presets — pin frequently-used presets (e.g. a headphone EQ and Flat) so they show at the top of both the menu bar dropdown and the in-app preset picker, for one-click switching. ⌥-click any preset to pin/unpin it (#80)
  • Per-preset In/Out dB — input and output gain can now be stored on each preset individually, so switching presets restores that preset's gain. A new "Share In/Out dB across all presets" toggle in Settings → General keeps the previous shared-gain behavior if you prefer it (on by default)

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.32.2 → 0.34.0).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.3 MB View on GitHub
v0.33.0

v0.33.0 — Per-preset In/Out dB

Per-preset In/Out dB

Input and output gain (In dB / Out dB) can now be stored per-preset instead of being one shared value across the whole app — switching presets restores that preset's own gain. A new "Share In/Out dB across all presets" toggle in Settings → General restores the previous global behavior (on by default, so nothing changes unless you opt in). Adjusting gain on a built-in preset while per-preset mode is on forks it into a "(Custom)" copy, matching how band edits already work.

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.32.2 → 0.33.0).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.3 MB View on GitHub
v0.32.2

v0.32.2 — Audio-only permission

Narrower permission on first launch

iQualize no longer requests the combined Screen & System Audio Recording permission. AudioHardwareCreateProcessTap already triggers its own narrower TCC prompt scoped to system audio only, so the app now shows up under macOS's separate "System Audio Recording Only" permission bucket instead of the one that also grants screen-content access.

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.32.1 → 0.32.2).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.3 MB View on GitHub
v0.32.1

v0.32.1 — Dream UI polish

Dream UI polish and fixes

Follow-up fixes for the v0.32.0 SwiftUI Dream UI rewrite, mostly addressing feedback from #81.

  • Spectrum colors now respect Settings → Display — the canvas was silently ignoring your custom pre/post-EQ line and fill colors and drawing hardcoded ones instead (with the fill defaults inverted)
  • ±12/±18/±24 range control now acts as a toggle — clicking a value turns off Auto-scale and applies that range immediately, instead of silently being overridden while still looking selectable
  • Band knobs at 20 Hz/20 kHz no longer get clipped by the canvas edge; the spectrum trace now reaches the edges too
  • "Output:" device name truncates instead of stretching the window, and moved to its own row
  • On-graph dB/Hz labels only show for the selected/hovered band instead of cluttering every knob at once
  • Footer controls reorganized: Bypass at the start of row 2, Q/Oct at the end, Auto-scale next to the range control

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.32.0 → 0.32.1).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.3 MB View on GitHub
v0.32.0

v0.32.0 — SwiftUI Dream UI

🎛️ New SwiftUI "Dream" EQ window

The whole EQ surface has been rebuilt from scratch in SwiftUI — a Canvas-rendered chart with dB/Hz axes, real pre/post-EQ spectrum, smoothed Catmull-Rom traces, per-band ghost responses, and a live composite curve, with draggable knobs and bandwidth handles right on the graph. Band values live in a five-row readout grid with inline editing and a native filter-type dropdown. Same audio engine, presets, and saved state underneath.

Also in this release
  • Startup gain fix — saved In/Out gain is now applied at launch instead of only when the EQ window is first opened (#74)
  • Footer reorganized into signal/display rows; Theme moved to Settings → General; Light-mode and canvas polish

Full details in the CHANGELOG (0.30.0 → 0.32.0).

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.3 MB View on GitHub
v0.29.0
Added
  • In-app Help window (Cmd+? or "Help…" in the menu bar dropdown) renders the README's Features section directly inside the app — no need to leave for GitHub. Includes a "View latest on GitHub" link for content newer than your installed build (#60, suggestion #8)
  • Standard macOS Window and Help menus in the OS menu bar (visible when Hide from Dock is off) — Window auto-lists open iQualize windows for keyboard navigation; Help mirrors the in-app Help shortcut

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 1.1 MB View on GitHub
v0.28.0
Added
  • About iQualize alert now has a "View on GitHub" button that opens the project page in your default browser (#60)
  • Custom Pre-EQ and Post-EQ spectrum colors — each spectrum has a line color and an optional fill (with its own color) in Settings → Display, with reset buttons to return to the dynamic system color. Pre-EQ now supports fill too (off by default; Post-EQ defaults to on, matching the previous look)
Changed
  • Post-EQ Spectrum checkbox is disabled and the post-EQ line is hidden while EQ is bypassed (post-EQ would just mirror pre-EQ in that state); your preference is preserved and restored when bypass turns off
  • Settings window honors a 320pt minimum content width so every row has matching left/right margins

Install

Download the .dmg, open it, and drag iQualize to Applications. Universal build: Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14.2+.

iQualize is signed with an ad-hoc signature, not a Developer ID certificate, and it is not notarized. macOS puts a quarantine flag on anything downloaded from the web, and for an app it cannot verify that shows up as a malware warning on first launch. Nothing is wrong with the download. Gatekeeper is reporting that the app has not been through Apple's notarization service, which requires a paid developer account.

The fastest fix is one command, which clears the flag so none of the warnings below appear:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/iQualize.app

Then open it normally. If the .dmg itself will not mount, clear the flag on the download first: xattr -c ~/Downloads/iQualize-*.dmg.

Without Terminal

The GUI route works too, but it takes four screens and the first one looks like a dead end. Worth knowing what is coming.

1. Open iQualize. You get this. There is no "open anyway" here; that is expected. Click Done, not Move to Trash.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-1-blocked.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize Not Opened. Apple could not verify iQualize is free of malware" width="340">

2. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, and scroll to Security. The blocked app now appears with an Open Anyway button. This row only shows up after step 1, which is why the order matters.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-2-open-anyway.webp" alt="System Settings Privacy and Security: iQualize was blocked to protect your Mac, with an Open Anyway button" width="620">

3. Confirm. macOS asks a second time, more sternly, and may ask for your password. Click Open Anyway.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-3-confirm.webp" alt="macOS dialog: Open iQualize? with Move to Trash, Open Anyway, and Done buttons" width="340">

4. Allow audio capture. This one is iQualize asking, not Gatekeeper. The EQ cannot work without it. It is the permission that lets the app see system audio at all.

<img src="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/DariusCorvus/iqualize/main/assets/gatekeeper-4-audio-permission.webp" alt="macOS dialog: iQualize would like access to record your system audio" width="340">

Older macOS versions expose the same Open Anyway option under System Preferences → Security & Privacy → General. Screenshots are from macOS Tahoe. Apple rewords these dialogs between releases.

If you ever see "iQualize is damaged and can't be opened" instead, that is a different problem: a genuinely broken signature rather than a missing one. That was #115, fixed in 0.45.0. Report it if a current release does this.

For the iqualize command line tool: Settings (⌘,) → General → Install Command Line Tool.

Download .dmg 0.6 MB View on GitHub