BeardedSpice
BeardedSpice is a free, open-source menu-bar utility for macOS that lets you control web-based media players and some native applications using your Mac's dedicated media keys (play, pause, next, previous). It works with Chrome, Safari and other browsers, automatically detecting which tab is playing audio and routing media commands to it. Users can customize which sites and key combinations trigger playback control, making it useful for anyone who listens to music or podcasts through web services without leaving the browser.
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1 suggestionBeardedSpice has been discontinued by its original developer as of the RoaringApps registry, meaning no new builds are being released or supported. However, the open-source GitHub repository is still maintained by the community, and versions 3.2.2 and later include native Apple Silicon support, making this one of the rare cases where a discontinued app still has a working native build. If you are running an older pre-3.2.2 build on an M-series Mac under Rosetta, download the latest signed DMG from github.com/beardedspice/beardedspice to get the native version and avoid any issues when Apple removes Rosetta 2 in macOS 28 (late 2027). If the app is no longer meeting your needs, modern alternatives like SteadyTune (available free on the Mac App Store and natively compiled for Apple Silicon) or the media-control features built into web browsers themselves may serve as replacements, though none fully replicate BeardedSpice's keyboard-driven extensibility.
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