How to record computer audio on Mac - 5 quick ways

Is there any way for Mac users to record the computer audio easily? Check out this guide for simple and tested methods to record internal or external sound on your Mac!

What to do if you want to record computer audio from Mac:

• The macOS comes with a native audio recorder called QuickTime Player. It captures the audio through a selected microphone on your Mac.
• However, sometimes you'll want to use other 3rd-party tools to record internal audio on Mac.
• With a range of built-in recording features, AppGeeker Screen Recorder makes audio recording and video capture on Mac much easier and faster.
• Recorders like Audacity, Easy Audio Recorder, and OBS Studio can also be used to record the computer sound from the macOS.

Use either the pre-installed tool or third-party recorders to capture computer audio from Mac.

We are living in a time when a large number of events have been shifted to the digital world. And the majority of the communications particularly business meetings, interviews, and educational lectures are being handled online. So, there will be different scenarios where you need to record the audio from your Mac.

Regardless of the reasons, knowing how to record computer audio from Mac is a necessary skill you'll want to have. However, if you've ever tried to record sound from your computer, you probably know that Apple doesn't offer users the ability to capture internal sound from macOS for some privacy and security reasons. But don't worry, in today's guide, we'll share a variety of easy solutions for recording audio on your Mac, including either internal sound or external audio.

Here are the easiest ways to record computer audio from macOS:

How to record audio on a Mac internally?

How to record internal audio on Mac?

• Screen Recorder: Audio / screen recorder for Mac
• Audacity: Record computer sound for macOS
• OBS Studio: Record Mac screen with audio
• Easy Audio Recorder Lite: Simple recording

FAQs

How to record audio on a Mac internally?

First of all, you should know that there's a built-in audio recorder – QuickTime Player on macOS through which you can easily record sound and listen to it anytime. This convenient tool is connected to your Mac's microphone (or an external one) and it's able to record all the audio coming through the mic.

So using the QuickTime Player, which is already available on your macOS, you can easily record a speech or an interview. Also, it's absolutely free and quite user-friendly. You don't have to pass through any complicated process to get the audio recorded. What's more, you can edit and save the audio recordings on your Mac for future listening.

How to record computer audio with QuickTime Player?

Step 1. Launch QuickTime Player on your Mac. QuickTime Player is pre-installed on your macOS in the Applications folder. You can also search it in the Launchpad. Once located, click it to open.

Step 2. At the top menu bar, click on File and select New Audio Recording from the drop-down list. You can also create new movie or screen recordings if you want.

Open QuickTime Player and select New Audio Recording to record sound on Mac.

Step 3. Adjust the recording settings in Audio Recording panel. When the control panel shows up, you can now see its simple interface and adjust the recording settings.

Click the down arrow next to the record button and select a source microphone. Choose either High or Maximum to decide the quality of your audio recordings. You can also drag the voice slider to set up the recording volume.

Select source microphone and adjust audio quality before starting the recording.

Step 4. When you're ready, click on the Record button to start. The floating toolbar will show you how long the recording is and how large the file size is.

Step 5. Once done, click the Stop button to exit recording mode.

You can then check the recording result by pressing the Play button. If you are not satisfied with the audio file you just recorded, use the Edit option to trim and adjust the audio file.

Step 6. Save the audio recording on your Mac. Go to File > Save to. Rename the sound track and choose a new location to save it on your Mac.

While recording audio with QuickTime Player

• QuickTime Player only allows for recording the audio from your Mac's own microphone or an external one. If you'd like to record the system audio on your Mac computer, you may need some extra help to get the job done.

How to record internal audio on Mac?

Although Apple has its own built-in application to record audio on Mac, you are not allowed to capture the internal sound on your macOS. So what to do when you need to record the computer audio from Mac? Is it possible to capture the internal audio from macOS? Well, scroll down to check out the quick and easy solutions below:

1. Screen Recorder: Audio / screen recorder for Mac

If you want to quicky record either the computer sound or external audio and save the recording files in various formats, give AppGeeker Screen Recorder a chance. It is a user-friendly tool and it simplifies the whole recording process: you can choose whether you want to record just your computer screen, your screen with audio, or just the audio.

While using its audio recorder feature, you are good to record your system sound as well as your voice from the microphone. And if you want, you can even record and mix your computer audio and the microphone inputs at the same time.

Step 1: Launch Screen Recorder on your Mac. If you tend to only record audio instead of the screen, simply select the Audio Recorder.

Run Screen Recorder and select Audio Recorder option from the main interface.

Step 2: Enable the System sound. If you need to add your own voice into the sound recording, turn on the Microphone option as well.

Check the gear button to configure more recording settings. From the Output section, you're able to select the output format and recording quality in Audio format and Audio quality.

Both the System sound and Microphone options are available for audio recording on macOS.

Step 3: Now you can play the target audio file on your Mac and press the Record button to start. It shows you how long the recording is and how much storage space the file will take up.

You can pause and stop the audio recording whenever you want.

Step 4: Once the audio recording is completed, click on the Stop button. Play the audio recording and export it on your Mac. You can also clip the audio file before saving it on your computer.

Play the recording result and click on Save option to save it on Mac.

With Screen Recorder on your macOS, you can record your computer screen and computer audio simultaneously or selectively. And once you finish, you can make basic editing and export the screen / audio recording on your Mac in various formats.

2. Audacity: Record computer sound for macOS

Another popular audio recorder for Mac users is the third-party tool Audacity. It's an open-source application and generally used by those who want to record high-quality audio files and make basic audio editing. If your work doesn't include any screen-capturing task, you can go with the Audacity as it supports the audio-only recording.

The Audacity software is capable of audio / voice recording on your Mac, however, to get it working on your Mac, you'll need an extra helper – Soundflower. With these two on your Mac, you can now start recording computer sound from your macOS and export the captured audio file into different formats. So let's explore the steps to record the audio playing on your Mac using Audacity:

Step 1. Download and install the Soundflower application on your Mac and open it.

Step 2. Click the Apple icon from the top menu bar. And go to System Preferences > Sound. Check the Output option, and select Soundflower (2ch) as the output device.

Use the Soundflower as the output device on Mac.

Step 3. Launch Audacity and set up the recording device. Click on the Audio Setup > Recording Device. Set the recording device to Soundflower (2ch).

Step 4. Now, press the Record button before playing the audio that you wish to record. You can see the sound waves while it captures the audio on your Mac.

Click on the Start button to record internal sound on Mac with Audacity.

Step 5. As soon as the audio is finished, click the Stop button to end recording. Now save the sound recording on your Mac by selecting File > Export. There are multiple formats available for exporting the audio you just recorded from your Mac.

Export the audio file on Mac in different formats.

3. OBS Studio: Record Mac screen with audio

OBS is also quite a popular video and audio recording software that is frequently used by bloggers and influencers. It is a free application for recording video and audio on Mac. You can easily download it on the Internet.

Different from Screen Recorder and Audacity, it records both the screen and the audio on your Mac. That is, you will not be able to record your computer audio alone. But the good news is that you can convert the video into MP3 or other audio formats after saving the recording file.

Note:

• There's no direct access to capture the system audio on macOS internally, so you may need an extra app like Soundflower to help you with the desktop audio recording.

Step 1. Download and install OBS software on your macOS.

Step 2. Get Soundflower on your Mac and set it up as the audio output. On your desktop, click the Apple icon > System Preferences > Sound > Output > Soundflower (2ch).

Step 3. Open OSB Studio and make basic settings. To make it easier, you may select Optimize just for recording, I will not be streaming to enable the auto-configuration wizard.

Step 4. Click the add + button at the bottom in the Source section and add a new recording source by selecting Display Capture. Rename it and click on OK.

Select Display Capture from Source section to create a new recording source.

Step 5. Select Settings from the left options. In the Output part, set up a location folder to store the recording results on your computer.

Step 6. Press the Start Recording button from the left side and play the source audio on Mac.

Step 7. Once finished, select Stop recording and save the recording on your computer.

Like we mentioned before, OBS Studio will force to record your screen and audio at the same time. So when you get a video recording at the end, you'll want to convert it into an MP3 file so you can play the recorded audio at any time.

4. Easy Audio Recorder Lite: Simple recording

As evident from its name, Easy Audio Recorder Lite is an audio recording application that allows users to record computer audio on Mac as easy as possible. It's a lightweight recorder. You can easily download it through its official website. The only problem with this tool is that you will have to set up the Soundflower first to record the system audio on your Mac.

As we did in one of the previous methods, in the menu bar, hit the Apple icon > System Preferences > Sound. Select the Soundflower (2ch) as the output device. This will connect your Mac audio to the available sound recorder.

• Open the Easy Audio Recorder Lite application after you download and install it on your Mac.
• Click on Input Device, and select Soundflower (2ch) as the primary recording device.
• Select the Record option and play the audio file you'd like to record.
• Once done, you can stop the recording process by hitting the Stop button. Then recording file will be automatically saved on your macOS.

After that, you can access and play the saved audio recording to see whether you have everything captured.

Final words

This guide presents some of the best audio recorders for Mac users. You can compare them and choose which one is the most suitable for you. If you want a simply solution to record either internal or external audio on your Mac, don't miss the AppGeeker Screen Recorder which provides audio recording in lossless quality. And it's the only direct solution among the above methods to capture internal audio on your Mac computer without using additional tool.

FAQs

Q1: How do I record internal audio on my Mac?

Mac users can try the following solutions to record the internal sound on computer:

• AppGeeker Screen Recorder
• Audacity
• OBS Studio
• Easy Audio Recorder

Q2: How to capture internal sound with QuickTime Player?

Yes. To record internal audio with QuickTime Player, get Soundflower app on your Mac first. Then from the top menu bar, click Apple > System Preferences > Sound. Then select Soundflower from the Output option.

After that, run the QuickTime, select File > New Audio Recording. Click the drop arrow and select Soundflower as the source audio from Microphone. Once done, click on Record button to start recording. When finish, press the Stop button and save the audio file.

Q3: Can I record both computer screen and audio on Mac?

Record computer screen and audio simultaneously using AppGeeker Screen Recorder in 4 steps:

• Open the Screen Recorder after it's installed successfully.
• Select Video Recorder and enable the System sound.
• Click the Settings to adjust the recording format and quality.
• Press REC to record and click Stop to end.

Once done, you can preview the screen recording and save it on your Mac.