Guides / Screen recording with audio
How to extract the audio from a Mac screen recording
Tested on macOS 26.4.1 (Tahoe), Apple M3 Max, 3 Sept 2026. Updated 2026-09-03.
You can extract the audio from a Mac screen recording with QuickTime Player (File > Export As > Audio Only, which Apple says produces "an Apple MPEG 4 audio file with an AAC audio track"), the Finder's Encode Selected Video Files service, or the built-in afconvert command. The track inside a Shift-Command-5 .mov is already AAC at about 100 kbps, so a stream copy with ffmpeg is lossless and took 0.15 seconds for a 97.5 second file.
How do I extract audio from a screen recording with QuickTime Player?
The no-install method. Tested on macOS 26.4.1:
- Open the .mov in QuickTime Player.
- Choose File > Export As > Audio Only.
- Name the file and click Save. You get a .m4a.
Apple's export guide describes the result as "an Apple MPEG 4 audio file with an AAC audio track" and notes that "movies that are exported as audio only are exported as MPEG4 audio files". It re-encodes, so the AAC you get is a second-generation encode of an AAC track. For a voice track that is inaudible; for music you would rather keep the original bits, which the Terminal methods below do.
One catch: if the recording was made with Microphone set to None, there is no audio track and Audio Only is greyed out. Nothing can be extracted because nothing was recorded; see why does my Mac screen recording have no sound.
How to extract audio with the Finder's Encode Selected Video Files?
The Finder has a hidden encoder for batches. Apple's QuickTime automation tips say that when you "Control-click a media file and choose Encode Selected Video Files" you get encoding options and can "extract the audio track from the movie".
- Select one or more .mov files in the Finder.
- Control-click and choose Encode Selected Video Files. If it is missing, look under Services in the same menu, or enable it in System Settings > Keyboard > Keyboard Shortcuts > Services.
- In the Encode Media window, set Setting to Audio Only, choose a destination, and click Continue.
Output is again an AAC .m4a, one per source file, with the original names. This is the fastest way to turn a folder of lecture or webinar recordings into audio in one go without the Terminal. It does not offer WAV or MP3; for those, use afconvert or ffmpeg below, or convert the .m4a afterwards with how to convert AIFF or WAV to MP3 on Mac.
How to extract audio from a .mov with afconvert or ffmpeg?
afconvert ships with macOS and needs no install. ffmpeg comes from Homebrew. Both measured on the same 97.5 second, 171 MB recording:
- Lossless copy of the AAC track, ffmpeg:
ffmpeg -i in.mov -vn -c:a copy out.m4a. Result 1.28 MB in 0.15 s. Nothing re-encoded. - 16-bit WAV, afconvert:
afconvert in.mov -d LEI16 -f WAVE out.wav. Result 18.7 MB in 0.05 s. - 24-bit WAV, afconvert:
afconvert in.mov -d LEI24 -f WAVE out.wav. Result 28.1 MB in 0.05 s. - AAC 256 kbps re-encode, afconvert:
afconvert in.mov -d aac -f m4af -b 256000 out.m4a. Result 2.9 MB in 0.42 s.
The WAV versions are decoded from the same 100 kbps AAC, so they are bigger but not better. Use WAV only when an editor or a DAW insists on PCM. For a folder, wrap the command in a loop: for f in *.mov; do afconvert "$f" -d LEI16 -f WAVE "${f%.mov}.wav"; done.
What quality is the audio inside a Mac screen recording?
Lower than people expect. Four Shift-Command-5 recordings on this Mac all carried the same kind of track: AAC, stereo, 48 kHz, between 98 and 104 kbps. That is Apple's fixed encoder setting for the Screenshot tool; there is no quality option for audio in the toolbar. An OBS recording on the same Mac used 160 kbps AAC by default, and OBS lets you raise it.
The practical consequence: if the sound is the deliverable, do not route it through a screen recording. A voice memo at that bitrate is fine. A music mix, a DJ set, or an interview you plan to edit is not; it will have been compressed once before you touch it. Record it directly as PCM instead. The size math is in how to record audio only without video on Mac, and the per-format table in how big is an audio recording per minute.
Audio Only: An Apple MPEG 4 audio file with an AAC audio track.
Apple, Export movies in QuickTime Player on Mac
Extracting the audio track from a 97.5 second, 171 MB Shift-Command-5 recording (measured 3 Sept 2026)
| Method | Output | Re-encodes | Result size | Time | Batch | Needs install |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuickTime Export As > Audio Only | M4A (AAC) | yes | not measured | seconds | no, one file at a time | no |
| Finder > Encode Selected Video Files > Audio Only | M4A (AAC) | yes | not measured | seconds | yes | no |
| ffmpeg -c:a copy | M4A (original AAC) | no | 1.28 MB | 0.15 s | yes, shell loop | yes (Homebrew) |
| afconvert to 16-bit WAV | WAV PCM | decode only | 18.7 MB | 0.05 s | yes, shell loop | no |
| afconvert to 24-bit WAV | WAV PCM | decode only | 28.1 MB | 0.05 s | yes, shell loop | no |
| afconvert to AAC 256 kbps | M4A (AAC) | yes | 2.9 MB | 0.42 s | yes, shell loop | no |
Source track: AAC stereo 48 kHz, 103 kbps. Timings from the shell's time command on an M3 Max.
Where AirCheck fits
AirCheck is for the next recording, not this one. If you screen recorded only to get the sound, it records system audio directly through ScreenCaptureKit as 24-bit PCM at the device rate, then exports WAV 16-bit, WAV 24-bit or 320 kbps MP3 into ~/Music/AirCheck, so there is nothing to extract and nothing was compressed to 100 kbps first. It costs $39 once and needs macOS 14 Sonoma or newer. It cannot open or convert an existing .mov; use afconvert for that.
When you do not need it: For the file you already have, QuickTime's Export As or the Finder encoder is free and enough. AirCheck does no conversion of existing files.
AirCheck records what your Mac plays, or any input, to one file. $39 once.
macOS 14 or newer. One-off payment. Fourteen-day refund, no questions asked.
Questions people ask
How do I convert a .mov screen recording to MP3 on a Mac?
Extract to WAV with afconvert, then encode to MP3 with a tool that bundles LAME, or use ffmpeg: ffmpeg -i in.mov -vn -b:a 192k out.mp3. macOS itself does not ship an MP3 encoder in QuickTime or afconvert.
Why is Audio Only greyed out in QuickTime's Export menu?
The movie has no audio track. Shift-Command-5 with Microphone set to None records video only. Check Window > Show Movie Inspector; if no audio format is listed, nothing can be extracted.
Does extracting audio lose quality?
A stream copy with ffmpeg does not. QuickTime's Audio Only export and the Finder encoder re-encode to AAC, a small second loss on an already 100 kbps track. Converting to WAV adds size but cannot add back what the first encode removed.
Can I extract audio from a video that is not a screen recording?
Yes, the same four methods work on any .mov or .mp4 that QuickTime can open, including OBS recordings once remuxed to mp4. See how to extract audio from a video file on Mac for formats QuickTime refuses, such as .mkv.
Sources
- Apple: Export movies in QuickTime Player on Mac
- Apple: Automation tips in QuickTime Player on Mac (Finder encoding)
- Apple: Take a screenshot or screen recording on Mac
Related guides
- How to record audio only on a Mac, without making a screen recording
- Why does my Mac screen recording have no sound?
- How to extract audio from a video file on a Mac
- How to convert a Mac recording to M4A or AAC
- How big is an audio recording per minute on a Mac?
- How to screen record with internal audio on a Mac
- Screen recording with audio: all guides
- Every guide, by topic