Guides / Screen recording with audio

How to screen record with internal audio on a Mac

Tested on macOS 26.4.1 (Tahoe), Apple M3 Max, 3 Sept 2026. Updated 2026-09-03.

You can screen record with internal audio on a Mac, but not with Shift-Command-5, which records only a microphone. The free route is OBS Studio: its macOS Audio Capture source records desktop audio on macOS 13 Ventura and later with no virtual driver. The older free route is the BlackHole driver plus QuickTime Player. Both produce a video file; if you only want the audio, a dedicated system audio recorder is simpler.

Can you screen record with internal audio on Mac at all?

Yes, with a third-party app. Apple's own Screenshot tool and QuickTime Player cannot do it; their only audio input is a microphone, and Apple's guide offers Microphone as the sole audio option. What changed in recent years is that Apple built a public API, ScreenCaptureKit, that lets any app capture "screen content and audio" once you grant permission in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording. Apple's description of that setting says you can allow an app "to record both your screen and audio, or just your audio".

That means two families of tools:

• ScreenCaptureKit apps (OBS Studio 30 and later, Audio Hijack 4, AirCheck): nothing installed in Audio MIDI Setup, your speakers keep working, permission is one click.
• Virtual audio drivers (BlackHole, Loopback): a fake output device that the recorder listens to. Works with any recorder including QuickTime, but you must build a Multi-Output Device or you hear nothing while recording.

If the reason you are screen recording is only the sound, skip the video entirely; see how to record audio only without video on Mac.

How to screen record on Mac with internal audio for free with OBS Studio?

OBS Studio is free and open source. Its knowledge base states that "when using OBS Studio 30 on macOS 13 (Ventura) and higher, you can use the new macOS Audio Capture Source" and that "you can choose to capture all desktop audio or just a certain application". Steps on macOS 26.4.1:

1. Download OBS from obsproject.com and open it. Approve the Screen & System Audio Recording prompt.
2. In Sources, click + and add macOS Screen Capture. Choose Display Capture or a window.
3. Click + again and add macOS Audio Capture. Leave it on Desktop Audio to capture everything, or pick an application.
4. Open Settings > Output. Set Recording Format to mp4 or mov if you need QuickTime playback; the default mkv plays in VLC but not in QuickTime Player.
5. Click Start Recording. Stop from the same button. Files land in your Movies folder unless you change Recording Path.

Keep Mic/Aux muted in the Audio Mixer unless you want your voice too. If OBS shows a flat meter for Desktop Audio, revisit OBS desktop audio not working on Mac.

How to screen record with internal audio on Mac using BlackHole and QuickTime?

This is the older method and it still works on macOS 26. BlackHole is a free virtual loopback driver; the vendor page describes it as a driver "that allows applications to pass audio to other applications with zero additional latency".

1. Install BlackHole 2ch from existential.audio (donation optional).
2. Open Audio MIDI Setup, click + at the bottom left, and choose Create Multi-Output Device. Tick your speakers or headphones and BlackHole 2ch. This keeps your speakers working.
3. In System Settings > Sound > Output, select the Multi-Output Device. The volume keys stop working while it is selected; that is normal.
4. Press Shift-Command-5, click Options, and under Microphone choose BlackHole 2ch.
5. Record. The "microphone" track now contains everything the Mac plays.

Failure mode: if you select BlackHole as the output directly instead of the Multi-Output Device, you record fine but hear nothing. Switch Output back to your speakers when done or every app stays silent. Full driver details are in the guide on what a virtual audio driver is and when you need one.

Which method should I use?

Pick by what you need in the final file.

• Video plus internal audio, free: OBS. It takes longer to set up once, then it is one click.
• Video plus internal audio, no extra software beyond a driver: BlackHole plus Shift-Command-5. You keep the familiar .mov workflow but you have to switch output devices every time.
• Video plus internal audio plus your voice: OBS with both sources, see sound and microphone at the same time.
• Only the audio: a system audio recorder. A screen recording of a 97.5 second clip on this Mac was 171 MB; the audio inside it was 1.28 MB. Recording audio directly avoids the video and the extraction step.

None of these capture DRM-protected video such as Netflix; that is covered in why is my screen recording black on Netflix.

You can choose to capture all desktop audio or just a certain application.

OBS Project, macOS Desktop Audio Capture Guide

Ways to get internal audio into a Mac screen recording

Prices from the vendor pages on 3 Sept 2026. Audio Hijack and AirCheck do not record video.

Where AirCheck fits

AirCheck is the right pick only when the screen part is incidental. It captures system audio through ScreenCaptureKit with no driver and no Multi-Output Device, records a 24-bit AIFF master, and hands you a WAV or MP3 in ~/Music/AirCheck. It costs $39 once and needs macOS 14 Sonoma or newer. A two hour take is about 0.97 GB at 24-bit 48 kHz or 0.14 GB as 320 kbps MP3, compared with the 1.59 GB a 52 minute screen recording used on this Mac.

When you do not need it: If you genuinely need the video, OBS Studio is free and captures both; AirCheck does not record the screen at all.

Questions people ask

How can I record my screen with internal audio on a Mac for free?

Use OBS Studio 30 or later on macOS 13 or newer. Add a macOS Screen Capture source and a macOS Audio Capture source, then Start Recording. It needs the Screen & System Audio Recording permission but no virtual driver.

How to screen record on Mac with internal audio without BlackHole?

Any app built on ScreenCaptureKit avoids BlackHole. OBS Studio does it for video plus audio. AirCheck and Audio Hijack do it for audio only. All three ask for the Screen & System Audio Recording permission once.

Why does my BlackHole screen recording have no sound through my speakers?

You set BlackHole itself as the system output, so sound goes only to the driver. Create a Multi-Output Device in Audio MIDI Setup that includes both your speakers and BlackHole 2ch, and select that as the output instead.

Does macOS 26 Tahoe let the built-in screen recorder capture system audio?

No. On macOS 26.4.1 the Screenshot toolbar still offers only a microphone under Options, and QuickTime uses the same toolbar. The four Shift-Command-5 recordings checked for this guide contained microphone audio only, never the Mac's own sound.

Sources

• Apple: Take a screenshot or screen recording on Mac
• Apple: Control access to screen and system audio recording on Mac
• OBS: macOS Desktop Audio Capture Guide
• Existential Audio: BlackHole
• Rogue Amoeba: Audio Hijack (requirements)
• Rogue Amoeba: Purchase Audio Hijack

Related guides

• Why does my Mac screen recording have no sound?
• How to screen record on a Mac with computer sound and your microphone at the same time
• How to record audio only on a Mac, without making a screen recording
• How to capture desktop audio in OBS on a Mac
• How to create a Multi-Output Device on a Mac (and keep hearing your audio)
• Does QuickTime Player record system audio on a Mac?
• Screen recording with audio: all guides
• Every guide, by topic