Guides / Record system audio on macOS
MACOS · AUDIO · 5 MIN READ

How to record system (internal) audio on macOS

Recording your microphone is easy. Recording the sound coming _out_ of your Mac — a call, a video, a webinar — is where macOS puts up a wall. Here’s why, and the clean ways over it.

Why macOS blocks it by default

For privacy reasons, macOS doesn’t let apps silently grab the audio your speakers are playing. The built-in screen recorder (⌘⇧5) captures your microphone only. So if you record a call this way, you’ll hear yourself perfectly and everyone else not at all. This is the single most common “my recording has no audio” problem on Mac.

“Internal”, “system” and “desktop” audio all mean the same thing here: the mix of sound your Mac is outputting, as opposed to what your microphone picks up from the room.

Method 1 — a virtual audio device

The classic route is to install a virtual audio driver (the free, open-source kind) that creates a fake output device. You route your Mac’s sound into it, then record from it. It works, but there are sharp edges:

  • You have to build an aggregate device if you also want to hear the audio while recording.
  • It’s easy to leave your output pointed at the virtual device and wonder why your speakers went silent.
  • Every meeting starts with a little audio-routing ritual.

Method 2 — ScreenCaptureKit (the modern API)

Recent macOS versions expose a system API that lets approved apps capture system audio directly — no virtual driver, no routing. This is the clean foundation modern recorders build on. You grant a one-time Screen Recording permission (that’s the toggle that also unlocks system audio), and the app captures the output mix natively.

Method 3 — a recorder that does it for you

If you just want the result, a menu-bar recorder built on the modern API removes every step above. MeetingRecorder captures your microphone and system audio together — no virtual device, no aggregate setup, nothing to re-route when you’re done.

  • Grant Screen Recording once during setup.
  • Hit record; both your voice and the call’s audio are captured.
  • Keep them mixed, or save separate mic / system tracks for cleaner transcripts.
Separate tracks are worth it. When mic and system audio are on their own tracks, transcription can tell speakers apart far more reliably — you get “you” vs. “them” instead of one blurred column.

So which method?

  • One-off, and you like tinkering: a virtual audio device is free and fine.
  • You do this weekly and want it to just work: a recorder on the modern API, so there’s no routing to babysit.

Either way, the key idea is the same: the microphone is only half the recording. To capture a Mac meeting properly, you need the system audio too.

Record your next call in one click.

Mic + system audio, saved locally, transcript included. No bot, no host toggle, free.

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Keep reading
How to record a Zoom meeting on a Mac (with audio)
The built-in option, the audio trap most people hit, and how to capture both sides without a bot or a host’s permission toggle.