Click Take Over to bring your headphones over from another linked Mac. Turn on disconnect on lock or sleep to release them when you step away.
Why I built it
My everyday earbuds are a cheap pair of Btootos A90 Pros. They do the job, but moving them between Macs took far too many clicks.
The final straw was trying to use them with my phone in the evening, only to find they were still connected to my closed Mac back in the office.
I wanted my headphones to come over when I needed them and let go when I didn’t. So I built Hermes.
Take over, with a click
Install Hermes on each Mac and link them with a shared code. When your headphones are connected to another linked Mac, they show a Take Over button on the one you’re using.
Click it and Hermes asks the other Mac to release them, then connects them to this one. No getting up to find the other machine or digging through Control Centre.
If they’re being used on a call on the other Mac, Hermes warns you before switching. You can still take over if you need to.
Let go when you step away
Turn on disconnect on lock or sleep and Hermes releases your headphones when you step away, freeing them up for your phone to connect.
If you lock your Mac while music is playing through your headphones, Hermes waits until it stops before disconnecting. If the Mac goes to sleep, it disconnects them straight away.
Optional reconnection brings them back when you unlock your Mac, unless you’re using them elsewhere. You can turn either option off.
Hermes handles the Mac side of this. Your phone makes its own connection.
For other approaches to Bluetooth controls and shared listening, see our Mac Bluetooth app comparison.
A few other useful things
Hermes also lets you choose your Mac’s audio output and check headphone battery levels where supported, straight from the menu bar.
If you prefer a shortcut, Control–Option–Command–H connects or disconnects your headphones, including taking them over from another linked Mac.
Your Macs communicate locally over an encrypted connection, using your network or peer-to-peer Wi-Fi when nearby. There’s no account to create or cloud service involved in switching your headphones.
Free at launch. US$3.99 on the App Store.
Hermes Audio 1.0 runs on Intel and Apple silicon Macs with macOS 14 Sonoma or later.
To use Take Over, install it on each Mac, pair your headphones with each one, and choose Link Macs… in Hermes. Use the same link code on your Macs and allow Local Network access when prompted.
Hermes Audio is free to download from the Little Victories website at launch. When it arrives on the Mac App Store, it’ll cost US$3.99, with regional pricing in other currencies.
For now, grab it free from the website and give it a go.
