How to change volume on a Mac with the trackpad, no keys needed

You can't change the volume with a trackpad gesture in stock macOS. Apple's list of Multi-Touch gestures covers scrolling, zooming, Mission Control and more, but nothing for sound. The quickest built-in way without the keys is the Sound slider in Control Centre; if you want a real gesture, an app like Slidr turns the right edge of your trackpad into a volume slider.

What are the built-in ways to change Mac volume without the keys?

There are three, and they all work on any Mac running a recent macOS.

Control Centre. Click the Control Centre icon in the menu bar and drag the Sound slider. Apple's Control Centre guide describes it in one line: drag the Sound slider to adjust the volume on your Mac. It's two clicks and a drag, which is fine once in a while and tiresome twenty times a day.

The Sound icon in the menu bar. The same page explains you can Control-click an item in Control Centre and add it to the menu bar. Do that with Sound and you save one click every time.

System Settings. Sound settings has an output volume slider too. It's the slowest option, but it's where you also pick the output device.

None of these are gestures. You still have to find a small target and drag it, usually while looking at the top right corner of the screen instead of whatever you were doing.

Are there keyboard shortcuts that help?

Yes, a couple worth knowing even if you mostly use the trackpad. From Apple's Mac keyboard shortcuts page:

• Option-Shift-Volume Up or Volume Down changes the volume in smaller steps.

• Option with any volume key opens Sound settings straight away.

The small-step trick is the one to remember. The normal steps feel coarse on headphones late at night.

Why isn't there a trackpad gesture for volume?

Apple has never shipped one. The trackpad gestures in macOS are built around navigation: two fingers to scroll and swipe between pages, three or four fingers for Mission Control and switching spaces, and a two-finger swipe in from the right edge for Notification Centre. Volume and brightness live on the keyboard's top row.

That works well when your hands are on the keys. It works less well when you're leaning back watching something, or your MacBook is closed on a stand and you're using a Magic Trackpad with no keyboard nearby.

How do you add a volume gesture to the trackpad?

This is where Slidr comes in. It's a small menu bar app (macOS 12 or later) that reads one finger on the edges of your trackpad. By default, sliding up or down the right edge changes volume and the left edge changes display brightness.

You get an on-screen level overlay and on a Force Touch trackpad a small haptic tick on every step. If you'd rather have volume on the left, there's a Swap Sides option.

Setup takes about a minute: download it from the download page, drag it to Applications, open it, and allow Accessibility access in System Settings so it can read the trackpad. The trackpad volume guide walks through each step and what to check if nothing happens.

Will it clash with Notification Centre or scrolling?

Notification Centre opens with a two-finger swipe from the right edge. Slidr's edge slides use a single finger, so the two don't collide; your multi-finger macOS gestures keep doing what they did before. In version 1.4 a second finger also cancels a slide, which means two-finger scrolling near the edge no longer nudges the volume.

Accidental changes are the other worry. A resting palm doesn't start a slide, and Slidr ignores the edges while you're typing. If the edge still catches your finger, set Edge Width to Narrow (Standard and Wide are the other options). Want more deliberate control? Limit gestures to the bottom quarter of the edge, or require a Hold-to-Slide Key such as Shift. And if one app needs the whole trackpad, pause Slidr in that app.

All of these live in the Slidr icon in the menu bar. There's no separate settings window to hunt for.

What else can the trackpad edges do?

Once the right edge is doing volume, the other edges tend to follow. In 1.4 the top edge switches apps out of the box, the bottom edge changes keyboard backlight brightness on Macs that have it, and you can set either edge to Media instead (double-tap to play or pause, slide to skip tracks). Corner double-taps for Mute or the Screenshot toolbar exist as well, but they start switched off.

The full picture of what macOS already does, and where the edges fit around it, is in the trackpad gestures cheat sheet.

What does it cost?

Slidr has a 3-day free trial with no payment and no account. After that it's $4.99 once, not a subscription, and one licence covers up to 3 Macs. If you'd rather build your own gestures from scratch, BetterTouchTool is the well-known alternative for full input customisation; the comparison page lays out the differences honestly.

If all you want is the volume slider without the hunt, the built-in Control Centre route works today and costs nothing. If you want it under your finger, try the edge for three days and see whether you go back.