The music overlay for games

A music overlay is a small player that floats on top of your game and shows what's playing in Spotify or Apple Music, with play, pause and skip, so you never have to alt-tab out of a match. aux is a free music overlay for Mac and Windows games: it floats over whatever you play and shows your song, so you can skip, see synced lyrics and listen along with friends without leaving the game.

aux's disc player floating in the top-right corner of a first-person shooter, showing the song Night Drive with pixel pets walking round the disc — aux's disc player over Red Eclipse 2. The game keeps the whole screen; aux keeps the corner.

Why gamers use a music overlay

Most people play with music on. The trouble is getting to it: alt-tabbing out of a fullscreen game can minimize it, drop your frame rate for a moment, or get you killed mid-round. Media keys skip blind, without telling you what came on. A music overlay fixes both: the song is always in view, and the controls are a shortcut or a click away while the game keeps running.

See the song without leaving the game. Title, artist and cover in a corner you choose.
Control it in place. Skip, go back, pause and change the volume with keys, a click or a controller.
Stay out of the way. A good overlay shrinks during a match, lets your clicks through to the game, and uses so little of your computer you can't measure it.

What to look for

It has to show over fullscreen games

A normal "always on top" window, Spotify's own miniplayer included, usually disappears when a game goes fullscreen. A real overlay is built to stay visible over fullscreen and borderless games. On Windows, exclusive fullscreen is the hardest case; see why overlays vanish in fullscreen and how to fix it.

It shouldn't touch the game

Some overlays work by loading code into the game or hooking its graphics. That can cost frames and worries anti-cheat. aux never does either: it's a separate window drawn on top, the way a chat notification is.

It should be light

An overlay runs for hours next to a game that wants every frame. aux's Windows version is native code with no runtime, built to stay under 30 MB of memory and half a percent of CPU while playing. Over a match it switches to mini mode, a slim pill with no visualizer and no audio analysis.

It should work with your music app, without a login

Many overlays ask you to sign in to Spotify through its web API, and Spotify only allows playback control there for Premium accounts. aux talks to the Spotify or Apple Music app already running on your computer, so there's nothing to sign in to.

aux's mini mode: a slim dark pill showing the album cover, the song title Modem Love, a progress line and back, pause and next buttons — Mini mode, for mid-match. Rest the pointer on it and the controls appear; otherwise your clicks go straight through to the game.

Your options, briefly

Option	Platforms	Music apps	Stays on screen
aux	Mac, Windows	Spotify, Apple Music	Yes, with mini mode for matches
Xbox Game Bar's Spotify widget	Windows	Spotify	Only if you pin it
Steam overlay	Windows, Mac, Linux	No Spotify control built in	Only while you hold it open
Musme (Overwolf)	Windows	Spotify (controls need Premium)	In Overwolf-supported games
Spotify's miniplayer	Mac, Windows	Spotify (Premium)	Usually hidden by fullscreen games

The full side-by-side, with prices and what each one can't do, is in the best music overlays for gaming.

What aux adds on top

Synced lyrics, in the Hub or right on the cover in lyric mode. How it works.
Listen along with friends: jump into a friend's song in sync, or share a queue, Mac and PC together. How it works.
Visualizers that move to what's playing, and rave mode, which finds the drop.
Controller controls: on a PlayStation pad the touchpad is the album; swipe to skip.
Pixel pets that walk the player and ride the mini pill. Six are free.
Discord status: "Listening to aux", with the song and a button to play it.

aux's player in eight looks: the plain cover, Spectrum Halo, MilkDrop Plasma, Starfield Warp, Lava Lamp, Feedback Warp, Aurora and Kaleidoscope — The player and its visualizers. Each one reacts to the music, and none of them run in mini mode.

Getting it

aux is in testing on Mac and Windows and free during the beta. Pick your platform for the details: aux for Mac (macOS 13 or later) or aux for Windows (Windows 10 and 11). Optional worlds, each with two pets, scenery and a player theme, are $2.99 once; there's nothing random to buy.

Questions

What is a music overlay?

A small music player that floats on top of a game or other fullscreen app and shows the song that's playing, with controls, so you don't have to switch windows to see or change it.

Is a music overlay the same as a stream overlay?

No. A stream "now playing" overlay is a graphic your viewers see in OBS or Streamlabs. A music overlay is for you: it shows on your own screen, over your game, with controls.

Does a music overlay lower FPS?

A well-built one doesn't measurably. aux draws nothing while nothing changes, runs at low priority, and never hooks into the game's graphics. Its Windows budget is game FPS within noise with aux on or off.

Is aux free?

Yes. The whole overlay and six pets are free. Worlds are optional, $2.99 each, owned for good on Mac and PC.

Does aux work with Apple Music?

Yes, on Mac and Windows, with no sign-in. It follows whichever app you last pressed play in. More on Apple Music.

Your next match needs a soundtrack.

aux is free for Mac during the beta, with Windows in testing. Leave your email and we'll tell you the moment it opens.