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OBS desktop audio not working on a Mac: fixes in order

Updated 2026-09-03.

OBS desktop audio fails on a Mac for one of five reasons, and the Audio Mixer meter tells you which group you are in. Flat meter: the Screen Recording permission is missing, you added the wrong source type, or macOS is older than 13. Meter moves but the file is silent: the track is muted, set to Monitor Only, or not assigned to the recording's audio track. Crackle or drift: a sample-rate mismatch.

Why is OBS not recording desktop audio on my Mac?

Start with the meter. Play something on the Mac and watch the Audio Mixer panel.

Requirements first: OBS's knowledge base says the macOS Audio Capture source needs "OBS Studio 30 on macOS 13 (Ventura) and higher". On macOS 12 the source is absent and only a virtual driver such as BlackHole works.

How do I fix the Screen Recording permission for OBS?

System audio reaches OBS through Apple's ScreenCaptureKit, which is gated by the Screen Recording permission, not the Microphone one. OBS's permissions guide lists it as the permission to "capture your desktop, windows, and apps".

  1. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording.
  2. Turn on OBS. If OBS is not in the list, click + and add it from Applications.
  3. Quit OBS completely and reopen it. macOS applies this permission at launch; a running OBS keeps its old, denied state, which is the most common reason the toggle "does not work".
  4. In OBS choose OBS Studio > Review App Permissions and confirm Screen Recording shows as granted.

If the toggle is on but the meter is still flat, the grant may be stale from an earlier OBS build (each update that changes the app's signature can invalidate it). Reset it from Terminal with tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.obsproject.obs-studio, reopen OBS, and accept the prompt when it appears. See also Screen and System Audio Recording permission not showing.

Wrong source type is the other flat-meter cause. Audio Input Capture lists microphones and interfaces; picking BlackHole there only works if the Mac's output is routed into BlackHole. Audio Output Capture does not exist on macOS builds. Use macOS Audio Capture.

Why does the meter move but the recording has no sound?

The audio reached OBS and was dropped on the way to the file. Three switches, in order:

  1. Mute. The speaker icon next to the source in the Audio Mixer is red. Click it.
  2. Audio Monitoring. Open the source's gear icon > Advanced Audio Properties. If Audio Monitoring is set to Monitor Only (mute output), you hear the source in your headphones but it is excluded from the stream and the recording. Set it to Monitor Off or Monitor and Output.
  3. Tracks. In the same window, the Tracks checkboxes 1 to 6 decide which mixdown the source belongs to. Then check Settings > Output > Recording > Audio Track (Output Mode: Advanced). If the source is on track 2 and the recording writes track 1 only, the file is silent. Tick the same track in both places.

A fourth, rarer one: an Application Audio capture stays bound to the process it was created against. If the app was quit and relaunched, the meter can look alive for a moment and then stay flat. Open the source properties and select the application again.

DRM-protected playback is not a bug you can fix. Apple TV+ and some Apple Music content arrive silent through ScreenCaptureKit by design; ordinary streams (YouTube, Spotify, Twitch, Zoom, Teams, Meet) record normally.

Why is my OBS audio crackling, drifting, or out of sync on a Mac?

OBS runs one sample rate for everything, set under Settings > Audio > Sample Rate: 44.1 kHz or 48 kHz. Every device feeding it is resampled to that rate in real time. Mismatches show up as periodic clicks, a slow drift between voice and desktop audio over a long recording.

  1. Open Audio MIDI Setup (Applications > Utilities) and note the format of your output device and of any mic or interface. System audio on a current Mac is delivered at 48 kHz; many USB mics default to 44.1 kHz.
  2. Set everything you can to 48 kHz in Audio MIDI Setup, and set OBS to 48 kHz. Restart OBS; the sample-rate setting only takes effect at launch.
  3. If you use BlackHole with a Multi-Output Device, every subdevice in that Multi-Output Device must share the rate too, otherwise macOS resamples one of them and drift follows.
  4. Bluetooth headphones or AirPods used as both mic and output drop to a low-rate hands-free profile as soon as the mic is active; the desktop audio you hear gets worse and OBS records that degraded stream if it is your output device. Record with wired output, or keep the Bluetooth device output-only.

Sample-rate detail for the system audio path is in what sample rate Mac system audio uses.

When using OBS Studio 30 on macOS 13 (Ventura) and higher, you can use the new macOS Audio Capture Source.

OBS Studio knowledge base, macOS Desktop Audio Capture Guide

OBS desktop audio symptoms on a Mac and where the fix lives

SymptomMeter movesFile has audioLikely causeWhere to fixRestart OBS needed
No desktop audio meternonoNo macOS Audio Capture source addedSources > +no
Meter flatnonoScreen Recording permission or macOS below 13System Settings > Privacy & Securityyes
Meter moves, silent fileyesnoMuted, Monitor Only, or wrong trackAdvanced Audio Properties, Output > Recordingno
Clicks or driftyesyesSample-rate mismatchAudio MIDI Setup + Settings > Audioyes
One app silent, rest fineyespartlyApp relaunched or DRM contentSource properties (reselect app)no

Order of checks reflects how often each cause appears in OBS forum threads on macOS; no frequency figures are published.

Where AirCheck fits

If the recording is audio-only and you have spent longer than the recording itself on OBS settings, AirCheck removes the mixer, tracks and container from the problem. It captures system audio through the same ScreenCaptureKit path with the one Screen Recording permission, shows a live level meter, and writes WAV 16-bit, WAV 24-bit or MP3 320 kbps. If the audio stream stalls for 5 s, a watchdog restarts capture into the same file. $39 one-off, macOS 14 or newer. It does not stream and does not record video.

When you do not need it: If you stream or need video and audio in one file, stay in OBS; every cause above has a fix, and once it works it keeps working.

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

Why is OBS not picking up desktop audio on my Mac?

Most often the Screen Recording permission is missing or OBS was not restarted after granting it, or the macOS Audio Capture source was never added because the global Desktop Audio device is Disabled on macOS. Check OBS Studio > Review App Permissions, then add the source.

How do I allow OBS to record desktop audio on a Mac?

Turn OBS on under System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording, quit and reopen OBS, then add a macOS Audio Capture source. The Microphone permission is separate and only affects mics and interfaces.

Why does OBS record my voice but not the desktop audio?

Your mic comes through an Audio Input Capture source, which works with the Microphone permission. Desktop audio needs a macOS Audio Capture source and the Screen Recording permission. Add the source and grant the permission, then restart OBS.

Does OBS need BlackHole on a Mac?

Not on macOS 13 or newer with OBS 30 or newer. If you installed BlackHole earlier, it can cause the silent-speaker problem when it is left as the system output; switch the output back to your speakers and use macOS Audio Capture instead.

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