Chirpy sound library

Chirpy ships with 72+ built-in sounds and you can upload your own in .mp3, .wav, or .caf. Chirpy plays a different notification sound for every Slack channel, contact, or Mac app, so you know what happened without looking, and the sound library is where you decide what each of those rules sounds like. Built-in sounds are grouped into nine categories, every sound can be previewed before you assign it, and each rule carries its own volume.

How many sounds does Chirpy include?

Chirpy ships with 72+ built-in sounds, organised into nine categories so you can find a distinct sound for each rule instead of scrolling a flat list. Every sound can be previewed in the app before you assign it, and favourites go in the My Sounds library for reuse across rules.

Can I upload my own notification sounds?

Yes. Chirpy lets you add your own audio files and assign them to any rule, alongside the built-in library. Uploaded sounds are stored locally on your Mac and appear in the My Sounds library so you can reuse them across rules.

What audio formats does Chirpy support?

Chirpy supports .mp3, .wav, and .caf files for custom sounds. Short clips work best. A notification sound should finish before you have finished reading the banner.

Which sound should I use for urgent notifications?

Use a short, sharp sound from the Attention category for urgent rules (an alert, a klaxon), and keep it to one or two rules. A sound reads as urgent because it is rare and unlike the others, so pair it with a higher per-rule volume and use soft ambient sounds everywhere else.

What sound categories does Chirpy include?

The built-in library is organised into nine categories. Pick a category that matches the kind of event, then a specific sound within it:

  • Minimal: Quiet ticks, taps, and blips for high-volume channels you want to notice but not be interrupted by.
  • Nature: Birds, water, and wood tones, soft enough for ambient background channels.
  • Retro: 8-bit and arcade tones. Distinctive and easy to tell apart from system sounds.
  • Success: Positive, rising sounds for deals closed, builds passing, and payments received.
  • Attention: Sharp, high-contrast alerts. Reserve these for the one or two rules that need you now.
  • Announcement: Fanfares and chimes for company-wide or broadcast channels.
  • Classic: Familiar bells and chimes that sit naturally next to macOS system sounds.
  • Humor: Comedy stings and groans. Good for low-stakes channels and for team in-jokes.
  • Office: Doorbells, typewriters, and desk sounds for everyday work notifications.

How do I pick the right sound for a rule?

  1. Decide what the rule is for: urgent (something is broken or someone is blocked), ambient (nice to know, not now), or positive (a win worth hearing).
  2. Match the category to that intent: Attention for urgent, Minimal or Nature for ambient, Success for positive.
  3. Keep urgent sounds rare. If three rules share the alert sound, none of them is an alert any more.
  4. Make neighbouring rules sound unlike each other. Two soft chimes are hard to tell apart at your desk; a chime and a bark are not.
  5. Set the per-rule volume rather than reaching for a louder sound. Ambient rules can sit well below your urgent ones.
  6. Preview the sound in Chirpy before saving the rule, then live with it for a day and swap it if it grates.

Can I hear what Chirpy sounds like?

Here are five sounds you can play in the browser. The full 72+ library is inside the app.

What are the rules for custom sound files?

  • Formats: .mp3, .wav, and .caf.
  • Length: keep clips short. A notification sound should be over before you have finished reading the banner.
  • Loudness: normalise your files rather than relying on volume alone, then fine-tune with Chirpy's per-rule volume.
  • Storage: custom sounds stay on your Mac. Chirpy does all matching locally through the macOS Accessibility API and never uploads notification content or your audio anywhere.
  • Reuse: anything you add shows up in the My Sounds library, so the same file can back several rules.

Where do I go next?

  • Guides: building rules that match by app, channel, person, or keyword, with AND/OR, wildcards like #prod-*, and priority ordering.
  • Download Chirpy: 3-day trial, no credit card, macOS 13 (Ventura) or later.
  • Pricing: $19.99 one-time, lifetime licence, 30-day money-back guarantee.
  • Changelog: what shipped and when.