BetterTrumpet FAQ

BetterTrumpet is a Windows system-tray volume mixer built for faster control of individual apps and audio devices. It adds per-app volume, output routing, reusable audio profiles, persistent hard mute, a media popup, themes, undo and redo, and a command-line interface.

Yes. BetterTrumpet is free to download and its source code is public on GitHub under the MIT License. There is no paid tier required to unlock its mixer, profiles, media controls, or automation features.

No. BetterTrumpet does not include advertising or bundled third-party software. The installer installs the volume mixer, and a portable zip is available for people who prefer to run it without a traditional installation.

BetterTrumpet is open source, so its code and release history can be inspected publicly. Download it from the official BetterTrumpet GitHub releases page, Winget, or Chocolatey rather than an unofficial mirror. As with any desktop software, use the official sources and keep it updated.

BetterTrumpet supports Windows 10 version 1803 and newer, plus Windows 11. It uses Windows Core Audio and Windows Media Session APIs and currently ships as an x86 Windows desktop application.

BetterTrumpet runs as a separate system-tray app and gives you a more capable mixer without modifying Windows system files. You can keep using the built-in Windows audio controls whenever you want.

Yes. BetterTrumpet shows active Windows audio sessions and lets you change or mute each app independently. It also supports solo, hide, persistent hard mute, peak meters, and app-aware commands from its CLI.

Yes. You can choose output devices for apps, switch the default device, and save routing together with app volumes in reusable profiles. The CLI can also assign an app to a device for scripts and shortcuts.

Persistent hard mute remembers that an app should stay muted. When that app creates a new audio session after a relaunch or reboot, BetterTrumpet applies the mute again instead of treating it like a fresh app.

QuickTrumpet presets are reusable audio setups. A preset can restore app volumes and routing in one move, which is useful for switching between work, calls, games, speakers, and headphones. Presets can also be applied through the BetterTrumpet CLI.

Yes. Hovering the tray icon can open a media popup with artwork, play and pause, previous and next, seek, shuffle, repeat, and per-app media volume. Version 3.2.0 added native acrylic styling, smoother seeking, and optional access while media is paused.

BetterTrumpet is a polished fork of EarTrumpet rather than an unrelated clone. It keeps EarTrumpet's fast per-app audio foundation and adds its own onboarding, themes, media popup, profiles, persistent controls, auto-update flow, diagnostics, and JSON-friendly CLI.

You can use the setup executable or portable zip from GitHub Releases, install it with Winget using winget install --id xmn.BetterTrumpet, or install it with Chocolatey using choco install bettertrumpet.

Yes. Every supported release can include a portable zip alongside the regular setup executable. The portable build is useful for testing or for people who do not want a standard Windows installation.

BetterTrumpet includes diagnostic telemetry and crash reporting to help investigate bugs, crashes, and memory leaks. The privacy choice is explained during onboarding and telemetry can be disabled in the app's settings.

BetterTrumpet is maintained by one independent developer and built in public on GitHub. The software remains free, open source, ad-free, and supported mainly through community feedback, issue reports, contributions, and GitHub stars.