CLI Reference

MicGuard doubles as a CLI tool. The mic-guard binary is symlinked to /usr/local/bin on install.

Commands perform direct work — CoreAudio calls for volume/mute, config file writes for set/enable/disable/toggle — and then post a requestStatus distributed notification so the daemon re-reads state and broadcasts statusChanged. The daemon is not required for the commands themselves to take effect, but without it no statusChanged notification will be broadcast to external integrations.

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Exit codes

Code	Meaning
`0`	Success
`1`	Error (invalid arguments, device not found, etc.)

Global flags

Flag	Description
`-q`, `--quiet`	Suppress confirmation output

Commands

`mic-guard list`

List all input devices.

$ mic-guard list
MacBook Pro Microphone
External USB Mic
AirPods Pro

With --output json, each device includes extended fields:

$ mic-guard list --output json
[
  {
    "current" : true,
    "muted" : false,
    "name" : "MacBook Pro Microphone",
    "preferred" : true,
    "volume" : 100
  },
  {
    "current" : false,
    "muted" : false,
    "name" : "AirPods Pro",
    "preferred" : false,
    "volume" : 75
  }
]

Field	Type	Description
`name`	String	Device name
`current`	Boolean	`true` if this is the active input device
`preferred`	Boolean	`true` if this is the configured preferred device
`volume`	Integer	Input volume 0–100
`muted`	Boolean	Mute state

`mic-guard current`

Print the current default input device.

$ mic-guard current
External USB Mic

`mic-guard set <name>`

Set the preferred device and switch to manual mode.

$ mic-guard set "External USB Mic"

`mic-guard volume <0-100>`

Set the input volume on the current device via CoreAudio and notify the daemon.

$ mic-guard volume 50

`mic-guard mute`

Toggle mute on the current input device via CoreAudio and notify the daemon. Unmute restores the pre-mute volume.

$ mic-guard mute

`mic-guard enable`

Enable MicGuard. It will revert the default input device whenever it changes away from your preferred mic.

$ mic-guard enable
enabled

`mic-guard disable`

Disable MicGuard. The default input device can change freely.

$ mic-guard disable
disabled

`mic-guard toggle`

Toggle MicGuard on/off. Prints the new state.

$ mic-guard toggle
disabled
$ mic-guard toggle
enabled

`mic-guard status`

Print whether MicGuard is enabled or disabled. When enabled, the current mode is shown in parentheses.

$ mic-guard status
enabled (auto)
$ mic-guard status   # when disabled
disabled

`mic-guard ping`

Ask the running MicGuard daemon to re-broadcast its current status via a com.pszypowicz.MicGuard.statusChanged distributed notification. Useful for forcing external integrations (e.g. SketchyBar) to refresh.

$ mic-guard ping

`mic-guard version`

Print the version. Also accepts --version and -v.

$ mic-guard version
mic-guard <version>

`mic-guard help`

Show usage information. Also accepts --help and -h.

Subcommand help

Every subcommand accepts --help and -h to print its own usage and description.

$ mic-guard volume --help
Usage: mic-guard volume <0-100>

Set input volume (0-100).