SoundStream for macOS

A replica of the classic SoundStream screensaver for modern macOS, built with Objective-C and OpenGL.

https://github.com/koocyton/soundstream_mac

About / 关于

English:

SoundStream was a beloved screensaver that visualized audio input as flowing particle streams. This project recreates that visual effect as a native macOS .saver bundle using OpenGL particle rendering.

However, due to macOS sandboxing restrictions on screen savers, the new macOS screensaver cannot access the microphone. Apple’s ScreenSaver framework runs .saver bundles in a sandboxed process (legacyScreenSaver) that does not grant microphone permissions — and there is no way to request them. As a result, this version uses autonomous particle animation instead of reacting to audio input.

中文：

SoundStream 是一款经典的屏保程序，它能将音频输入可视化为流动的粒子流。本项目使用 Objective-C 和 OpenGL 粒子渲染，将这一视觉效果复刻为原生 macOS .saver 屏保包。

但由于 macOS 对屏保的沙盒限制，新版 macOS 屏保无法访问麦克风。Apple 的 ScreenSaver 框架在沙盒进程（legacyScreenSaver）中运行 .saver 包，不会授予麦克风权限，也无法主动申请。因此，本版本使用自主粒子动画，而非响应音频输入。

Features / 功能特性

• Smooth 60fps particle stream animation / 流畅的 60fps 粒子流动画
• HSL color cycling with glow effects / HSL 色彩循环与辉光效果
• OpenGL hardware-accelerated rendering with multisampling / OpenGL 硬件加速渲染，支持多重采样
• Automatic Retina display support / 自动支持 Retina 显示屏
• Particle trail with fade-in/fade-out lifecycle / 粒子拖尾，带有淡入/淡出生命周期
• Stream head with edge-aware steering and braking / 流头具有边缘感知转向与制动

Why No Microphone? / 为什么无法使用麦克风？

English:

Starting from macOS Catalina (10.15), screen savers run inside a heavily sandboxed host process. The sandbox profile does not include microphone (com.apple.security.device.audio-input) entitlements. Even if you add NSMicrophoneUsageDescription to Info.plist, the system will never prompt the user for permission — the audio session simply fails silently.

This is a known limitation that affects all third-party .saver bundles. The original SoundStream used Quartz Composer (.qtz), which had broader system access in older macOS versions.

中文：

从 macOS Catalina (10.15) 开始，屏保在严格沙盒化的宿主进程中运行。沙盒配置不包含麦克风（com.apple.security.device.audio-input）权限。即使在 Info.plist 中添加了 NSMicrophoneUsageDescription，系统也不会弹出权限请求对话框——音频会话会静默失败。

这是影响所有第三方 .saver 包的已知限制。原版 SoundStream 使用 Quartz Composer（.qtz），在旧版 macOS 中拥有更广泛的系统访问权限。

Installation / 安装

English:

1. Build the project in Xcode (or use the pre-built soundstream.saver)
2. Double-click soundstream.saver to install
3. Open System Settings → Screen Saver and select soundstream

中文：

1. 在 Xcode 中构建项目（或使用预编译的 soundstream.saver）
2. 双击 soundstream.saver 进行安装
3. 打开 系统设置 → 屏幕保护程序，选择 soundstream

Project Structure / 项目结构

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soundstream/
├── soundstreamView.h       # ScreenSaverView header / 屏保视图头文件
├── soundstreamView.m       # Main implementation / 主要实现
├── Info.plist              # Bundle configuration / 包配置
├── Soundstream.qtz         # Original Quartz Composer file / 原始 Quartz Composer 文件
├── soundstream.saver/      # Pre-built screensaver bundle / 预编译屏保包
└── soundstreamlogo.jpg     # Project logo / 项目图标

Technical Details / 技术细节

License / 许可

Copyright © 2026 Henry. All rights reserved.

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