Halo 1.0 · for macOS · menu bar
Keep your QuadCast lit on a Mac.
HyperX makes one app for the lights on a QuadCast, and it only runs on Windows. On a Mac, the rings sit on whatever they were last told, or you leave a terminal open running QuadcastRGB.
Halo is a small lighting desk that lives in your menu bar. Set both rings, close the window, and the lights stay on.
Built on QuadcastRGB, the open-source QuadCast driver. Menu bar only. No Dock icon. No terminal.
Halo 1.0 for Apple silicon. Direct download.
Looks
- Status
- Holding
- Look
- Signal
- Rings
- Together
- Mode
- Solid
Close the window with the red dot. The lights keep holding.
Window closed
The lights are still holding. Open Halo again from the microphone in the menu bar.
How it works
One icon, one window, two rings.
-
01
The microphone icon
Halo lives in the menu bar as a microphone icon. There is no Dock icon. Click it and you get three things: Show Halo, Release microphone, Quit Halo.
-
02
The microphone on screen
The left half of the window is your QuadCast with its two light rings. The room behind it glows in the current color, so you see the setup before you look over at the desk.
-
03
Looks
Signal, Dark, Split, Wheel, Breath, Storm. One click sends a whole setup to the microphone. Save your own and it sits next to them.
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04
The controls
Mode, brightness, speed, color. Up to eleven colors on animated modes. Type a hex code, or open the Mac color panel, which opens in the middle of the Halo window.
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05
Close, release, quit
Close the window and the lights stay on. Release lets go of the microphone, Hold takes it back. Quit lets go and leaves. Halo can open at login, so you set it once.
Try it · The rings
Two rings. Set them apart.
The upper and lower rings can share one setup or each run their own. The modes are the microphone's own modes, the ones the QuadCast already knows. Halo just lets you reach them on a Mac.
Released · lights off
Rings
Editing
Mode
Colors 1 of 1
Spec sheet
Everything it does, on one page.
- Runs in
- The menu bar only. Microphone icon, no Dock icon.
- Menu
- Show Halo · Release microphone / Hold microphone · Quit Halo
- Rings
- Upper and lower, together or split
- Modes
- Solid, Blink, Cycle, Wave, Lightning, Pulse
- Brightness
- 0–100
- Speed
- Every mode except Solid
- Blink
- On time, and optional random colors
- Colors
- Up to 11 on animated modes, 1 on Solid. Hex field and the Mac color panel.
- Looks
- Signal, Dark, Split, Wheel, Breath, Storm, plus any you save
- Window
- Closing it keeps the lights. Quit or Release lets go.
- Login
- Can open at login
- Best on
- HyperX QuadCast S
- Driver
- QuadcastRGB and libusb, used in this app
- Download
- Halo 1.0 for Apple silicon.
Plainly
What Halo is, and what it isn't.
It does
- Hold the lights on your QuadCast for as long as it runs.
- Use the microphone's own modes: Solid, Blink, Cycle, Wave, Lightning, Pulse.
- Set the upper and lower rings together or apart.
- Run QuadcastRGB for you, from the menu bar, with no terminal.
It doesn't
- Replace NGENUITY. That is HyperX's official app, and it is Windows-only.
- Keep holding the lights after you Quit or Release. Letting go means letting go.
- Come from the Mac App Store. The sandbox blocks this USB access, and the GPL driver conflicts with App Store terms.
Which QuadCast
| Model | What works through QuadcastRGB |
|---|---|
| QuadCast S | Both rings and the animated modes. This is the one Halo is aimed at. |
| QuadCast 2 | Brightness only, not color. |
| QuadCast 2 S | Solid color only. |
| DuoCast | Supported by the driver. |
Before you download
Questions people ask.
Isn't there an official app for this?
There is. HyperX makes NGENUITY, and it only runs on Windows. There is no Mac version, which is why Halo exists.
Why not just run QuadcastRGB myself?
You can. It's a command-line tool from Homebrew, with no interface and no product site. To keep the lights on, its terminal stays open. Halo runs that same program for you and puts the controls in the menu bar.
Does it stay running?
Yes. Halo lives in the menu bar, so closing the window keeps the lights on. Quit Halo, or Release microphone, and it lets go. It can open at login, so the lights come back without you thinking about it.
Can the two rings be different?
Yes. Choose Split and the upper and lower rings each get their own mode, colors, brightness and speed. The Split look is a deep violet upper ring over an orange lightning lower ring.
Which QuadCast models work?
QuadcastRGB, the driver inside Halo, supports the QuadCast S, QuadCast 2, DuoCast and QuadCast 2 S. On the QuadCast 2 only brightness works, not color. On the QuadCast 2 S only solid color works. Halo is aimed at the original QuadCast S, where both rings and the animated modes work.
Will it be on the App Store?
No. The App Store sandbox blocks the USB access Halo needs, and the GPL license of the driver conflicts with App Store terms. Nothing comparable is on the Mac App Store for the same reasons. Halo is a direct download.
Halo for Mac