Guides / Fixing Mac audio recording problems
Why is my app missing from Screen & System Audio Recording on my Mac?
Tested on macOS 26.4.1 (Tahoe), Apple M3 Max, 3 Sept 2026. Updated 2026-09-03.
An app is missing from System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording because macOS lists apps only after they have asked once. On macOS 26 Tahoe this one pane covers screen capture and system audio capture. Trigger the request from inside the app, add it with the Add (+) button, or reset the stored decision with one tccutil command, then relaunch the app.
Why is the app not in the Screen & System Audio Recording list?
The list is not a catalog of installed apps. It is a log of decisions. macOS writes an entry the first time an app calls the screen capture API (ScreenCaptureKit on macOS 13 and later) and shows the permission sheet. Until that call happens, there is nothing to list.
Three situations produce the missing entry most often:
- The app has never tried to capture. Recorders that open on a Library view only ask when you press Record with a system audio source selected.
- The app was moved or replaced. A copy in a different folder, or an unsigned build, can be treated as a new app with no entry.
- You are looking at the wrong pane. On macOS 13 Ventura it was called Screen Recording; on macOS 26 Tahoe it is Screen & System Audio Recording. Microphone capture has its own list, covered in Mac microphone permission not working.
Apple's guide confirms the manual route: "To add an app to a list, click the Add button below the list, then navigate to the app you want to add."
How do I make the app ask for the permission?
The cleanest fix is to trigger the request, because macOS then creates the entry itself.
- Quit the recorder fully (Cmd-Q, not just closing the window).
- Launch it again and select a system audio or screen source, not the microphone.
- Press Record. The permission sheet appears once. Click Open System Settings.
- Turn the toggle on. macOS may say the app must be quit and reopened. Do that.
Tested on macOS 26.4.1: the sheet appears only on the first capture attempt per app. If you clicked Deny earlier, the app is listed with its toggle off and no sheet returns; turn the toggle on in the pane. If it is not listed at all after a Deny, use the reset below.
The toggle grants screen capture and system audio capture together. There is no separate audio-only switch on Tahoe.
How do I reset the Screen Recording permission with tccutil?
tccutil manages the privacy database from the Terminal. Its manual page describes reset as: "Reset all decisions for the specified service, causing apps to prompt again the next time they access the service. If a bundle identifier is specified, the service will be reset for that bundle only." For this pane the service name is ScreenCapture.
- Open Terminal (Applications > Utilities).
- Reset one app by bundle identifier:
tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.example.recorder - Or reset every app for that service:
tccutil reset ScreenCapture - Quit and relaunch the app, then press Record. The sheet appears again.
Find a bundle identifier with osascript -e 'id of app "AppName"'. No sudo is needed. The command prints nothing on success; "Failed to reset" means the service name is misspelled, and names are case sensitive. The same tool resets the microphone (tccutil reset Microphone), useful for the wider checks in why is my Mac not recording sound.
The toggle is on but the recording is still silent. What now?
A green toggle proves permission, not capture. Documented failure mode: an app granted the permission while running keeps its old denied state until relaunched. macOS shows a reminder in most cases, but not when the grant came through the Add (+) button. Quit with Cmd-Q and reopen before testing.
If a relaunch does not help, check in order:
- The source. System audio capture records what the Mac plays; it never includes your microphone, which needs the Microphone permission in its own take.
- DRM content. Apple TV+ and some Apple Music playback can play silent under ScreenCaptureKit; YouTube, Spotify and Zoom capture normally.
- The macOS version. Driver-free system audio capture exists on macOS 13 and later; older systems need a virtual driver, see what is a virtual audio driver.
For the pane renaming and what else moved on macOS 26, see what macOS Tahoe changed for audio recording.
To add an app to a list, click the Add button below the list, then navigate to the app you want to add.
Apple, macOS User Guide, Control access to screen and system audio recording
Three ways to get an app into the Screen & System Audio Recording list
| Method | Creates the entry | Needs Terminal | Relaunch required | Works if you clicked Deny |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trigger the request (press Record on a system source) | yes | no | yes | no |
| Add (+) button in the pane | yes | no | yes | yes |
| tccutil reset ScreenCapture | yes, on next request | yes | yes | yes |
All three end with the same toggle; the difference is only how the entry is created.
Where AirCheck fits
AirCheck captures system audio through ScreenCaptureKit, so it needs exactly this one permission and nothing else: no BlackHole, no Loopback, nothing added in Audio MIDI Setup. It asks the first time you press Record with the System Audio source selected, which is the path that creates the entry reliably. AirCheck costs $39 once, runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or newer, and its own playback is excluded from the capture, so auditioning a take never ends up in the next one.
When you do not need it: If you only need your microphone, this pane is irrelevant; Voice Memos or QuickTime work with the Microphone permission alone. If the app never appears even after tccutil, the app itself is not calling the capture API and no recorder can fix that.
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
Why can't I screen record with sound on Mac?
The built-in Cmd-Shift-5 recorder captures the microphone, not what the Mac plays. Sound from apps needs a recorder that uses ScreenCaptureKit system audio capture, which is what the Screen & System Audio Recording permission controls. Grant it once and relaunch the app.
Where is Screen Recording in System Settings on macOS Tahoe?
Apple menu > System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording. The pane was named Screen Recording on macOS 13 Ventura and earlier; Tahoe renamed it because the same grant now covers system audio.
Does tccutil need sudo?
No. tccutil reset ScreenCapture edits your own user's privacy database. It prints nothing when it succeeds. Add a bundle identifier after the service name to reset one app instead of all of them.
Sources
- Apple: Control access to screen and system audio recording on Mac
- Apple: Control access to screen recording on Mac (macOS 13 Ventura)
- tccutil(1) manual page
Related guides
- Why is the microphone permission not working for my app on Mac?
- Why is my Mac not recording sound?
- What did macOS 26 Tahoe change for audio recording?
- Can a Mac record internal audio natively?
- Why is my USB audio interface not showing up on my Mac?
- Why does my Mac recording only capture one channel?
- Fixing Mac audio recording problems: all guides
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