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How to record computer audio into Ableton Live on a Mac

Updated 2026-09-03.

You can record computer audio into Ableton Live on a Mac in two ways. Either give Live a virtual input by installing BlackHole and combining it with your interface in an Aggregate Device, then set an audio track to Ext. In on the BlackHole channel pair, or record the audio externally to a 24-bit WAV and drag it onto a track. Live cannot see another app's output on its own.

Why can't Ableton Live see my computer audio as an input?

Live's manual explains where inputs come from: "An audio interface's inputs are selected by choosing 'Ext. In' from the Input Type chooser of an audio track. The Input Channel chooser then offers the individual input channels." Those channels belong to the device chosen under Live > Settings > Audio > Audio Input Device, and Core Audio only lists real inputs there: your interface, the built-in mic, a USB mic. Playback from Spotify, a browser, or a video call is an output stream that macOS never presents as an input.

So the task is to make the Mac's output appear as an input device. A virtual driver (BlackHole) does that. Or you sidestep Live entirely, capture the audio with an app that reads system audio through Apple's ScreenCaptureKit, and import the file. Which one suits you depends on whether you need to hear and play along in Live while the audio comes in, or you just need the audio in the project.

How do I route computer audio into Live with BlackHole and an Aggregate Device?

  1. Install BlackHole 2ch. Quit Live if it is open.
  2. Open Audio MIDI Setup, click +, choose Create Aggregate Device. Tick your audio interface (or Built-in) and BlackHole 2ch. Apple's guide: "To set the clock source for the Aggregate Device, choose the device from the Clock Source menu" and "For each device that is not the clock source, select Drift Correction." Clock: the interface. Drift Correction: BlackHole.
  3. Click + again, Create Multi-Output Device, tick the interface and BlackHole 2ch. Right-click it, Use This Device For Sound Output. This is what lets you hear the source app while BlackHole gets a copy.
  4. In Live, Settings > Audio: Audio Input Device = the Aggregate Device. Audio Output Device = your interface directly, not the Multi-Output Device. Sample Rate: match what you set in Audio MIDI Setup (48000 is the usual choice).
  5. Click Input Config and enable the stereo pair that belongs to BlackHole. With an 8-input interface first, that is typically inputs 9/10; with the built-in mic first, 3/4.
  6. On an audio track set Audio From to Ext. In and pick that pair. Set Monitor to Off.
  7. Arm the track and press the Arrangement Record button. The manual: "A track will record whatever input source is shown in its In/Out section."

Detailed Aggregate Device screenshots are in how to create an Aggregate Device on Mac.

Is recording externally and importing the WAV simpler?

Usually. If you do not need to play along while the audio arrives, record it as a file and drag it from Finder or Live's browser onto an audio track. Live warps it to the set tempo unless you turn Warp off in the Clip View, which you should do for a DJ mix or a long reference track.

Record at the settings your set uses. A 24-bit 48 kHz stereo WAV measures about 16.5 MB per minute in our recordings, 0.97 GB per hour, so a two-hour reference set is around 2 GB. Live imports 16-bit and 24-bit WAV and AIFF without conversion; MP3 gets decoded to a cache copy first.

Tools that write such a file without a driver: OBS Studio 30 (free, video container, extract the audio afterwards, see capturing desktop audio in OBS), or a dedicated ScreenCaptureKit recorder that writes WAV directly. Either way your speakers keep working, the volume keys keep working, and there is nothing in Audio MIDI Setup to undo afterwards. For a producer replicating a reference track, this is the workflow that gets the audio into the set fastest; for sampling a stream live into a Session clip, the Aggregate route is required.

Why does my Live recording feed back or contain Live's own output?

The classic mistake is setting Live's Audio Output Device to the Multi-Output Device. Everything Live plays then goes to BlackHole, BlackHole is Live's input, and the armed track records Live's own playback on top of the source. With Monitor set to In or Auto the signal circles until it clips. Fix: Live's output goes to the interface directly; only the system output (System Settings > Sound) uses the Multi-Output Device.

Other things that show up as silence or noise:

If the loop is acoustic rather than electrical, the same fix as in GarageBand applies: monitoring off, headphones on. See recording system audio in GarageBand for the parallel setup.

A track will record whatever input source is shown in its In/Out section, which appears when the View menu's In/Out option is checked.

Ableton, Live 12 manual, Recording New Clips

Ways to get computer audio into an Ableton Live set on a Mac

RoutePlay along in Live while recordingMic and computer audio at onceDriver installSpeakers stay onFeedback-loop riskPrice
BlackHole as Live's input deviceyesnoyesonly with Multi-Output Deviceyesfree
Aggregate Device (BlackHole + interface)yesyesyesonly with Multi-Output Deviceyesfree
Record externally, import WAVnononoyesnofree (OBS) or $39
Loopback (Rogue Amoeba) into Liveyesyesyesyeslow$99

Loopback price from Rogue Amoeba as of Sept 2026; verify on the vendor page.

Where AirCheck fits

AirCheck is the external recorder for the import route. It captures system audio through ScreenCaptureKit, no BlackHole, no Aggregate Device, no Multi-Output Device, and writes a 24-bit 48 kHz master exported as WAV 24-bit, WAV 16-bit, or MP3 320 kbps. Drag the take from its Library straight onto a Live track. It also records an interface channel pair, useful for capturing a DJ controller's USB return before it goes into Live. $39 one-off, macOS 14 or newer. It does not route audio live into Live.

When you do not need it: If you need live routing, such as resampling a stream into a Session clip while playing along, BlackHole (free) or Loopback ($99) is the tool; AirCheck cannot do that.

AirCheck records what your Mac plays, or any input, to one file. $39 once.

Buy AirCheck for $39

macOS 14 or newer. One-off payment. Fourteen-day refund, no questions asked.

Questions people ask

Can Ableton Live record audio from another application on a Mac?

Not natively. Live records only from the Core Audio device selected in Settings > Audio. Install BlackHole and add it to an Aggregate Device with your interface, then set an audio track to Ext. In on the BlackHole channel pair. Or record the app's audio externally and import the file.

Do I need an Aggregate Device or just BlackHole?

BlackHole alone works if you do not need your interface's inputs at the same time. The Aggregate Device lets Live use the interface and BlackHole together, so you can record a mic and computer audio on separate tracks in one pass.

Why does Live's Audio Input Device not list BlackHole?

BlackHole was installed while Live was running, or the installer needs a restart. Quit and reopen Live, and check that BlackHole appears in Audio MIDI Setup first. If it is missing there too, reinstall the driver.

What sample rate and bit depth should the imported file have?

Match the set: 24-bit at the sample rate shown under Settings > Audio, usually 44.1 or 48 kHz. Live converts on the fly if they differ, but matching avoids resampling. A 24-bit 48 kHz stereo WAV is about 16.5 MB per minute.

Sources

Hannes Hennerbichler builds AirCheck and records his own DJ sets with it through a Focusrite Scarlett 8i6. Every step on this page was run on the macOS version stated above. Drafted with AI assistance, checked and edited by the author. About