Your Mac is playing sound, but your recording captures only the microphone or comes back silent. You need either an app that captures system audio directly or a virtual audio device that sends playback into your recorder. Here’s how to save an audio-only recording with BlackHole and QuickTime, capture audio directly in OBS, and get computer sound into a screen recording.
Choose how you want to capture the sound
For an audio-only file in QuickTime Player, use BlackHole to send your Mac’s playback into a recording input. BlackHole handles the routing; QuickTime saves the sound.
For direct capture, use OBS Studio 30 or later on macOS 13 or later. It captures all desktop audio or one application without a virtual audio driver.
The built-in screen recorder has a Microphone selector under Options, but Apple provides no direct internal-audio switch. To include computer sound in a Screenshot or QuickTime screen recording, set up a virtual input first.
Set up BlackHole and keep hearing your audio
Use this setup to record through QuickTime while still hearing playback through your speakers or headphones. BlackHole supports Intel and Apple Silicon Macs, with the vendor listing macOS 10.10 onward.
Install BlackHole 2ch from its official product page, which provides download access through Discord or Homebrew.
Open Audio MIDI Setup.
Click + and choose Create Multi-Output Device.
Select your speakers or headphones and BlackHole 2ch for the new device. This sends playback to both your listening device and BlackHole.
Set your listening device as the Clock Source.
Enable Drift Correction for BlackHole.
Set the included devices to matching sample rates.
Right-click the new Multi-Output Device and select Use This Device For Sound Output.
Save an audio-only recording in QuickTime
This turns the sound routed through BlackHole into an audio file.
In QuickTime Player, choose File > New Audio Recording.
Open the recording-options pop-up.
Select BlackHole 2ch under Microphone. Despite the label, you’re choosing the virtual input carrying your Mac’s sound.
Choose your recording Quality.
Click Record.
Start playback in the application you want to capture.
Click Stop when you have recorded what you need.
Choose File > Save to save the recording.
Allow recording access in macOS
A missing recording permission blocks an app’s access to screen or system audio.
Open the Apple menu > System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording.
Enable your recording app or browser in the relevant access list. macOS separates screen-and-audio access from audio-only access; older versions use different permission labels.
If the app is missing, use the Add button to include it.
Start recording again in your chosen app. Permission allows capture, but it does not start a recording or set up BlackHole routing.
On a work or school Mac with managed recording permissions, ask your administrator to review the app’s access.
Capture audio directly with OBS
OBS Studio 30 or later on macOS 13 or later captures desktop or application audio without BlackHole.
- 1.Open OBS and add macOS Audio Capture in Sources.
- 2.Configure the source to capture all desktop audio or the application you want.
- 3.Play the sound and confirm activity in Audio Mixer.
- 4.Click Start Recording.
- 5.Click Stop Recording when finished.
Add internal audio to a Mac screen recording
This adds routed computer sound to the built-in screen recorder.
Complete the BlackHole Multi-Output Device setup above.
Press Shift-Command-5 to open the recording controls. QuickTime Player’s File > New Screen Recording opens the same interface.
Select Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion. On macOS Tahoe 26 onward, Record Selected Window is another option.
Open Options.
Select BlackHole 2ch under Microphone.
Click Record.
Start the content you want to capture.
Click the menu-bar Stop button or press Command-Control-Esc to finish.
Fix silent recordings and restore normal playback
BlackHole needs both sides of the connection: playback must reach BlackHole, and the recorder must use BlackHole as its input.
For system-wide capture, open System Settings > Sound > Output and select your Multi-Output Device.
Set the recording app’s input to BlackHole 2ch.
To capture just one application instead, select BlackHole 2ch in that application’s own audio-output selector. This works only in apps that provide an output-device selector; BlackHole does not add one to every app.
After recording, select your usual speakers or headphones under System Settings > Sound > Output to restore normal playback. There’s no need to uninstall BlackHole just to stop routing sound through it.
Skip old Soundflower tutorials. Its maintainer marks it deprecated and does not support Apple Silicon Macs.
If the BlackHole route still fails, try macOS Audio Capture in OBS Studio 30 or later on macOS 13 or later using the steps above. Protected content has separate restrictions: Apple warns that some apps, including Apple TV, do not allow their windows to be recorded.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I record internal audio and my microphone together?
Yes. Loopback combines selected applications and a microphone into a virtual device you can select as QuickTime’s input. BlackHole also works with a microphone in an Aggregate Device, but aggregation exposes separate channels rather than automatically mixing them. Use a recorder that supports the full channel count and test that both sources are captured.
Can I record just one Chrome tab’s audio?
Yes. In the Loom Chrome extension, select Current Tab and enable Include Tab Audio before recording. This captures only the selected tab’s audio.
Can Audacity record internal audio on a Mac?
Yes, after you route the sound into BlackHole. Open Audio Setup > Audio Settings. Set Recording Device to BlackHole and Channels to 2 (Stereo). Start recording while the source plays. Restart Audacity if the newly installed device is missing.
Does recording through the microphone capture internal audio?
A microphone near your speakers records sound acoustically. Direct internal-audio capture uses a system-audio recording feature or a virtual audio route such as BlackHole.