How to change volume and brightness with your Mac trackpad

macOS doesn't have a trackpad gesture for volume or brightness. You can use the keys, the menu bar, or a small free app that turns the trackpad's edges into sliders.

The built-in ways

• Keyboard keys. The volume and brightness keys on the top row. Hold ⇧ Shift + ⌥ Option while pressing them to change in smaller quarter steps.
• Control Center. Click the Control Center icon in the menu bar and drag the Display or Sound slider.
• Menu bar sound icon. In System Settings › Control Center, set Sound to "Always show in menu bar" for a one-click volume slider.

All of these take your hand off the trackpad or need a precise click. If your fingers are already on the trackpad, a gesture is quicker.

Slide along the edge with UtilityPad

UtilityPad turns the thin strips along the edges of your trackpad into sliders. The middle stays a normal trackpad.

1. Download UtilityPad (free) and drag it into Applications.
2. Open it. It lives in the menu bar.
3. Volume: slide one finger up or down the right edge of the trackpad.
4. Brightness: slide along the left edge.
5. Keyboard light: slide along the top edge.

The pointer stays still while you slide, and a soft tick marks each step. Hold ⇧⌥ while sliding for fine steps. Left-handed? Swap the edges in Settings with two clicks.

Volume and brightness work straight away, without any permissions. It works on a MacBook's built-in trackpad and on Apple's Magic Trackpad, on macOS 13 Ventura or later.

Will it get in the way?

No. Only a deliberate slide along the very edge counts. Pointing, clicking and scrolling in the middle work as before, and you can pause every gesture from the menu bar or make them work only while you hold fn or ⌥.