SmartPause

Meet SmartPause

SmartPause is a Mac menu-bar utility that directs the play and pause key to the application currently producing sound. When the key is pressed, it checks the active audio process and sends the command there. If nothing is playing, it can resume the last item that was paused.

When two supported apps are playing, a single press switches between them, while a double press controls the selected one. A small widget shows the action and what the next press will do. SmartPause supports common music players and browsers, requires Accessibility permission, and is free, open source, and available for Apple silicon and Intel Macs.