[Clacky](https://clacky.app/) / [Blog](https://clacky.app/blog/) / Recording # How to record your Mac screen with internal audio You record your screen, play it back, and the picture is perfect but the sound is gone. The video you were showing is silent, the call has no other side, and in my case the click sounds I'd spent weeks making were missing. That last one is why I care. Clacky plays sounds when you click, and early users kept sending me silent recordings of it. So I went through every way a Mac can record its own sound, the free ones first. Here's what works today, depending on your macOS version. ![Justinas Rolando](https://clacky.app/justinas.jpg) [Justinas](https://clacky.app/about/justinas/), maker of Clacky 28 October 2026 / 8 min read ![Clacky’s recorder bar in a Mac window: No Mic, No Camera, Mac Audio switched on, Spotlight, and a red Record button.](https://clacky.app/blog/record-mac-screen-with-internal-audio/cover.webp) ## The short answer How do I record my Mac screen with internal audio? On macOS 27 or later, press Shift-Command-5, open Options, tick Include System Audio, then record. On macOS 15 or 26, Apple’s tools record only a microphone, so use OBS (free, the macOS Screen Capture source), route sound through BlackHole, or an app that records Mac audio, like Clacky. On this page 2. [Why there’s no sound](#why-no-sound "Why your Mac screen recording has no sound") 3. [macOS 27: ⇧⌘5](#screenshot-toolbar "On macOS 27: the Screenshot toolbar records system audio") 4. [OBS, free](#obs "On macOS 13 to 26: OBS records Mac audio for free") 5. [BlackHole](#blackhole "The QuickTime workaround: BlackHole and a Multi-Output Device") 6. [Clacky’s recorder](#clacky-recorder "One switch: Mac Audio in Clacky’s recorder") 7. [Voice plus Mac sound](#voice-and-mac-sound "Record your voice and Mac sound together, without echo") 8. [Test your mic](#try-tool "Test your microphone before you record") 9. [Questions](#questions) [Back to top](#) 2. [Why there’s no sound](#why-no-sound "Why your Mac screen recording has no sound") 3. [macOS 27: ⇧⌘5](#screenshot-toolbar "On macOS 27: the Screenshot toolbar records system audio") 4. [OBS, free](#obs "On macOS 13 to 26: OBS records Mac audio for free") 5. [BlackHole](#blackhole "The QuickTime workaround: BlackHole and a Multi-Output Device") 6. [Clacky’s recorder](#clacky-recorder "One switch: Mac Audio in Clacky’s recorder") 7. [Voice plus Mac sound](#voice-and-mac-sound "Record your voice and Mac sound together, without echo") 8. [Test your mic](#try-tool "Test your microphone before you record") 9. [Questions](#questions) ## Why your Mac screen recording has no sound Your Mac mixes every app’s sound into one stream, and a recorder has to ask for that stream specifically. Where a Mac’s sound goes, and the two places a recorder can listen. Everything your Mac plays, from music to a video call to a notification, goes into one mix that macOS sends to your speakers or headphones. People call it internal audio, system audio or desktop audio. It's the same thing. A screen recorder can get sound from two places: 1. **The microphone.** It hears your voice and the room. If your speakers are loud it may catch some of the Mac's sound through the air, but quietly and with echo. With headphones on, it catches none. 2. **System audio.** A clean copy of the mix, exactly as the Mac plays it. That's what you want for a tutorial, a game clip or a demo with sound. For years Apple's own recorders only offered the first one. That's the whole reason this question exists. Since macOS 13, apps can ask macOS for system audio directly (Apple calls the framework ScreenCaptureKit), so most good recorders do it now. Apple's own Screenshot toolbar caught up later, in macOS 27. So the fix depends on two things: which macOS you have (Apple menu → **About This Mac**) and whether you also want your voice in it. ## On macOS 27: the Screenshot toolbar records system audio The built-in way, free and already on your Mac. One tick in Options does it. Recording with system audio in Apple’s Screenshot toolbar, from Apple’s support page as of October 2026. If your Mac runs macOS 27, you don't need anything else. As of October 2026, [Apple's guide to recording the screen](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102618) describes it like this: 1. Press **Shift-Command-5** to open the Screenshot toolbar. 2. Click **Record Entire Screen** or **Record Selected Portion**. 3. Click **Options** and choose **Include System Audio**. You can pick a microphone in the same menu if you want your voice too. 4. Click **Record**. To stop, click the stop button in the menu bar. The video lands on your desktop as a .mov file unless you picked another place in Options. On macOS 15 Sequoia and macOS 26 Tahoe, the same Options menu only lists microphones, and QuickTime Player's screen recording has only a microphone option too. If that's your Mac, skip to the next section. Turn **Show Mouse Clicks** off in Options if another app already draws something at your pointer, or you'll get two circles on every click. ## On macOS 13 to 26: OBS records Mac audio for free OBS Studio looks like a tool for streamers, but its Mac source is the simplest free fix on older macOS. The two OBS sources that capture a Mac’s sound, from the OBS knowledge base as of October 2026. [OBS Studio](https://obsproject.com/) is free and open source, and it's what I'd use on macOS 13 to 26 if I didn't want to install anything clever. 1. Download it from obsproject.com and open it. 2. Under **Sources**, click **+** and add **macOS Screen Capture**. Pick your display. On macOS 13 or later [this source records the Mac's audio](https://obsproject.com/kb/macos-screen-capture-source) along with the screen. 3. macOS asks for **Screen & System Audio Recording** permission. Allow it in System Settings, then reopen OBS. 4. Play something and watch the audio meter in the **Audio Mixer** move. If it moves, the sound will be in the file. 5. Click **Start Recording**, then **Stop Recording**. **File → Show Recordings** opens the folder. OBS 30 and later also has a **macOS Audio Capture** source, which can record one app's sound only. That's handy when you want a browser video in the recording but not your notifications. The catch is the learning curve. OBS has scenes, sources, encoders and a lot of settings, and the first run takes ten minutes of poking around. Once set up, it's reliable. ## The QuickTime workaround: BlackHole and a Multi-Output Device The old trick still works with QuickTime, but it changes how your Mac’s sound is routed until you switch it back. How a virtual audio device lets a microphone-only recorder hear the Mac. Audio MIDI Setup is built into macOS. Before apps could ask for system audio, everyone used a virtual audio device. It still works, and it's the way to get Mac sound into QuickTime or any app that only lets you pick a microphone. 1. Install [BlackHole](https://github.com/ExistentialAudio/BlackHole), a free, open-source virtual audio driver. The 2-channel version is enough. 2. Open **Audio MIDI Setup** (in Applications → Utilities). Click **+** at the bottom left and choose **Create Multi-Output Device**. 3. Tick your speakers or headphones and **BlackHole 2ch**. Put your speakers first so they're the clock source. 4. In **System Settings → Sound → Output**, pick the Multi-Output Device. You still hear everything. 5. In QuickTime (**File → New Screen Recording**) or the Screenshot toolbar, open **Options** and pick **BlackHole 2ch** as the microphone. Two things trip people up. While the Multi-Output Device is selected, the volume keys stop working, because macOS gives it no volume control. And if you forget to switch the output back afterwards, you'll wonder why your volume keys are broken tomorrow. I'd only use this if OBS isn't an option. ## One switch: Mac Audio in Clacky’s recorder The app I make has a recorder with system audio on by default, because I needed my click sounds in the video. ![Clacky’s recorder bar: Full Screen (selected), Window and Area, then No Mic, No Camera, Mac Audio switched on, Spotlight, and a red Record button.](https://clacky.app/blog/record-mac-screen-with-internal-audio/recorder-bar.webp) Clacky’s recorder bar with Mac Audio on, the default. A real snapshot of Clacky 2.7. I built a screen recorder into Clacky for exactly this problem. Clacky plays click, keyboard and scroll sounds, and people wanted to show them off in videos, but Apple's recorder dropped them. Choose **Record Screen…** in Clacky's menu, pick **Full Screen**, **Window** or **Area**, and record. **Mac Audio** is on by default, so the video has everything your Mac plays, Clacky's own clicks included. If the track comes out silent when it shouldn't, the preview tells you straight away instead of letting you find out later. You can add a microphone and a camera bubble from the same bar. It needs macOS 15 or later. Recordings are saved to ~/Movies/Clacky as .mov files and you can export MOV, MP4 or GIF. Nothing is uploaded. Sound barely changes the file size. A minute of stereo AAC audio at 128 kbps is under 1 MB, while the picture was 2.5 to 67 MB a minute in [my own measurements](https://clacky.app/blog/how-big-is-a-screen-recording-on-mac/). Try your own length and screen: ● Try it: drag the slider 300 MB 4 minutes, 1080p, 30 fps, HEVC An estimate, the same one Clacky’s Studio export shows. A quiet screen often records several times smaller. Clacky is $4.99 once for one Mac, with a 3-day free trial in the app. If you only need audio in a recording now and then, the free options above do the job. ## Record your voice and Mac sound together, without echo The one mistake that ruins most tutorials: the microphone hears the speakers. ![A close-up of Clacky’s recorder controls: a microphone menu set to No Mic, a camera menu set to No Camera, the Mac Audio button switched on, Spotlight, and Record.](https://clacky.app/blog/record-mac-screen-with-internal-audio/mac-audio.webp) Microphone and Mac Audio are separate switches, so you can record either or both. A real snapshot of Clacky 2.7. Whatever you record with, the trick for voice plus system audio is the same: **wear headphones**. If the Mac's sound comes out of the speakers, the microphone records it a second time, a few milliseconds late, and the video sounds like it was made in a bathroom. Then do a 10-second test before the real take: 1. Start recording with both system audio and your microphone on. 2. Say a sentence, then play a sound on the Mac. You can use the click pads below; they play Clacky's real click sounds in your browser. 3. Stop, play the file back, and check you can hear both, at similar volumes. ● Try it: tap a pad to hear it Clacky’s own sound engine, playing in your browser. Turn your sound on. If your voice is too quiet next to the Mac's sound, turn the Mac's volume down a little rather than shouting. If your voice is missing, check the microphone with the free [mic test](https://clacky.app/tools/mic-test/) at the bottom of this page. And if you're recording a call, ask the other people first. In many places it's the law, and it's polite everywhere. ## Record your Mac screen with internal audio 1. 1**Check your macOS version.** Apple menu → **About This Mac**. macOS 27 or later can do it built in; macOS 13 to 26 needs another app. 2. 2**On macOS 27: use the Screenshot toolbar.** Press **Shift-Command-5**, pick a record button, open **Options**, choose **Include System Audio**, then **Record**. 3. 3**On macOS 13 to 26: use OBS.** In OBS Studio, add a **macOS Screen Capture** source, allow **Screen & System Audio Recording**, then **Start Recording**. 4. 4**Add your voice with headphones on.** Pick a microphone too, and wear headphones so the microphone doesn’t record the speakers. 5. 5**Test 10 seconds first.** Talk, play a sound, stop, and play the file back before the real take. ## Test your microphone before you record [Open it on its own page](https://clacky.app/tools/mic-test/) A free mic test: see the level move as you talk and play yourself back, so you know your voice will be in the recording. Nothing you say leaves the page. Free tool, runs in your browser The tool loads here as you scroll. You can also [open it on its own page](https://clacky.app/tools/mic-test/). Nothing you do in it is uploaded or saved. ## Questions ### Can QuickTime record internal audio on a Mac? Not by itself. QuickTime’s screen recording offers a microphone only. Pick a virtual device like BlackHole as the microphone and send the Mac’s sound to it with a Multi-Output Device, or use the Screenshot toolbar on macOS 27, which has Include System Audio. ### Why is my Mac screen recording silent? Most likely the recorder used only the microphone, or no audio at all. On macOS 15 and 26, Apple’s Screenshot toolbar and QuickTime can’t record the Mac’s own sound. Use an app that captures system audio, or upgrade to macOS 27. ### Can I record the sound of just one app? Yes, with OBS 30 or later: the macOS Audio Capture source can record one application’s audio instead of the whole Mac. That keeps notifications and other apps out of the recording. ### Is it legal to record a video call? It depends on where you and the other people are. Many places require everyone’s consent. The safe habit is to ask at the start of the call, and most call apps show a recording notice when you use their own recorder. ### Does recording system audio make the file much bigger? Barely. Stereo AAC audio at 128 kbps is under 1 MB a minute. In my tests the screen video was 2.5 to 67 MB a minute, so the picture is what makes a recording big. Try Clacky on your Mac Click and keyboard sounds, a screen recorder, screenshots and a little harbour town that grows while you work. Free for 3 days, no card. Then $4.99/month or $4.99 once. [Download the free trial](https://clacky.app/try/)[See what's inside](https://clacky.app/features/) macOS 13 or later. ![](https://clacky.app/justinas.jpg) ## Written by Justinas Rolando I make Clacky and build it in public. I write about what I learn making a small Mac app. More about me on the [about page](https://clacky.app/about/justinas/), and a free newsletter at [justinasrolando.com](https://justinasrolando.com/?ref=clacky-blog). ## Related on clacky.app - [How to record click sounds in a screen recording](https://clacky.app/record-click-sound/) - [How big is a screen recording on a Mac?](https://clacky.app/blog/how-big-is-a-screen-recording-on-mac/) - [Screen recording size calculator](https://clacky.app/tools/screen-recording-size-calculator/) - [Free mic test](https://clacky.app/tools/mic-test/) ## More from the blog [Every post](https://clacky.app/blog/) - [![](https://clacky.app/blog/how-big-is-a-screen-recording-on-mac/cover.webp)Recording23 October 20268 min readHow big is a screen recording on a Mac? I measured itI saved four test recordings seven ways. A minute of typing was 2.5 MB, scrolling 49 MB, ProRes almost 1 GB. 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