How to screen record on Mac with audio

On a Mac, recording the screen with audio usually means one of four things: the Screenshot toolbar (Command-Shift-5), QuickTime Player, a virtual audio driver such as BlackHole, or a native recorder that captures system audio without that driver. Built-in tools record the microphone reliably. They do not record internal computer audio (browser tabs, app UI sounds, and video playback) unless you add extra routing.

This guide walks through each method, where it fails, and how to tell microphone audio from Mac system audio. If you searched for “screen record on Mac with audio,” that distinction is the whole problem.

Microphone audio is your voice, or any sound the Mac’s input device hears. System audio (internal audio) is what the computer itself plays: a product video in the browser, notification sounds, a Figma prototype, a game, or a Zoom call you are capturing from your side.

QuickTime and the Screenshot toolbar are built around the microphone. That is why a silent demo of a SaaS app is so common: you recorded the pixels, narrated into the mic, and the in-app soundtrack never made it into the file. “How to record internal audio on Mac” and “how to record system audio on Mac” are the same job with different wording.

Press Command-Shift-5, choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion, then click Options. You can pick a microphone, a save location, and a timer. Start the recording, do the walkthrough, then stop from the menu bar.

This is the fastest way to grab a Mac screen. It is also the method that most often produces a file with no computer sound. Options lets you choose a mic. It does not offer “Mac system audio” as a source. If your goal is a silent UI capture plus voiceover, this is enough. If the product itself makes sound, keep reading.

• Good for: short clips, bug reports, silent UI, voiceover-only tutorials
• Weak for: recording computer audio, browser video, app sound effects
• Shortcut: Command-Shift-5, then Record

Open QuickTime Player, choose File → New Screen Recording, pick a microphone in the dropdown next to the record button, then capture the display or a region. Stop from the menu bar. Trim in QuickTime if you need a rough cut.

QuickTime is the same capture stack as Screenshot for most people. The microphone works. Internal audio does not, unless you route system sound into a virtual input first. If a tutorial told you “QuickTime records audio,” they usually meant the mic. That is why “QuickTime no sound” and “Mac screen recording no sound” show up as follow-up searches after this method.

BlackHole is a free virtual audio device. You install it, send Mac output into a Multi-Output Device (BlackHole plus your speakers), then set QuickTime, OBS, or another recorder to listen to BlackHole as the microphone. Done correctly, the recording includes system audio.

This is the classic answer on Reddit and Apple Support threads. It works. It is also the reason “BlackHole audio Mac” is a 2,000-plus search: setup is easy to get wrong. Echo, missing speakers while you record, leftover routing after you quit, and “I hear myself twice” are the usual failure modes. Loopback is the paid, more controllable version of the same idea.

1. 1Install BlackHole (2ch is enough for stereo screen recordings).
2. 2In Audio MIDI Setup, create a Multi-Output Device that includes BlackHole and your speakers or headphones.
3. 3Set that Multi-Output as the Mac’s output so you can still hear the computer.
4. 4In QuickTime or OBS, set the microphone / audio input to BlackHole.
5. 5Record a test: play a YouTube clip, stop, and confirm the file has sound without you speaking.

If you already live in OBS for streaming, BlackHole (or a similar device) is a reasonable tax. If you only wanted a product demo MP4, it is a lot of Audio MIDI Setup for one clip. There is a longer walkthrough of the driver-free path in our guide to recording Mac system audio without BlackHole.

If you want to skip the audio-driver setup, Glisio captures Mac system audio natively with the screen. Enable system audio in the recorder, optionally add the microphone and webcam, then record. The point is not a new brand name. It is avoiding a virtual device just to hear the computer in the file.

After capture, you can trim, apply cinematic auto-zoom, captions, and export a local MP4. Recording and editing stay free; watermark-free full-length export is Pro. That is the “record once, publish-ready” path if the built-in tools already failed you on internal audio.

• Screenshot or QuickTime: mic-only, short, no computer sound needed
• BlackHole + QuickTime or OBS: you need system audio and you already know Audio MIDI Setup
• Native recorder: you want screen + Mac system audio + optional mic without installing a driver

A cinematic recorder like Screen Studio also captures system audio. Glisio’s difference is native capture without requiring BlackHole, plus a $79 Lifetime option instead of a subscription if that is the comparison you care about. See the Screen Studio alternative page for an honest feature split.

On macOS Ventura and later, Screen Recording permission is required for capture. Microphone permission is required for voice. If system audio is an in-app toggle, grant whatever the recorder asks on first launch. Denying it once and forgetting is a common “no sound” cause. After a Mac OS update, re-check System Settings → Privacy & Security.

If the picture is fine and the file is mute, jump to the companion article: Mac screen recording has no sound. It covers muted tracks, wrong input, and QuickTime’s mic-only behavior in more detail.

Screenshot and QuickTime save .mov by default. That is fine for AirDrop. For YouTube, TikTok, or a docs site, transcode or export MP4 (H.264 or HEVC). If you need 16:9, 9:16, and 1:1 from the same take, do that in the recorder’s export step instead of re-recording three times.