Quick ways to screen record a video with audio on a Mac

A screen recorder is an easy way to capture the video and audio playing on your Mac. This guide walks you through the simplest steps to record video screen with audio on a Mac.

What to know if you'd like to record video screen with audio on Mac:

• To record audio and video on a Mac, enable the native screen recorder on your macOS.
• The built-in Screenshot Toolbar and QuickTime Player on macOS both allow you to record the video on your Mac screen as well as the audio coming from your microphone.
• However, to capture the videos with either internal or external sound on a Mac, you'll need some help from a more powerful screen capturer like AppGeeker Screen Recorder.

It's possible to record the audio and video on a Mac in several different ways.

In the digital age, you will find yourself in situations where you have to record the video and audio on your Mac screen many times. Maybe you're playing an online game and want to make a video of it, or you want to record your Mac screen with audio to make a tutorial video. The good news is that there are built-in tools on macOS to help you record your video screen and audio on Mac.

However, keep in mind that macOS won't allow you to record your system sound for security and copyright reasons. That's why you will need some extra tools for recording your Mac screen video with internal or external audio, or both at the same time.

To make things easier, in this guide, we've put together the quickest ways to record your video and audio on a Mac simultaneously.

How to record audio and video on Mac with built-in recorders

How to record video on Mac with audio using AppGeeker Screen Recorder

FAQs: Screen recording video with audio on Mac

How to record audio and video on Mac with built-in recorders

In fact, macOS comes with the native screen recorders that allows users to make a video recording of the full screen or a certain area on the Mac screen. Also, you can record and mix your voice as well as other audio using a selected microphone. To record both audio and video on the Mac, access the pre-installed screen recorder with Screenshot Toolbar or QuickTime Player:

Screenshot Toolbar (macOS Mojave or later)

The good thing about the Mac is that it has some built-in tools to record the screen video with audio. The Screenshot Toolbar is one of them that you can use conveniently any time while playing games, taking meetings, or making any tutorials.

You will just have to use simple keyboard shortcuts and the screen recording will be started in seconds. Another amazing feature of the Screenshot Toolbar is that you can record either the entire screen or a specific portion of the screen depending on your need. It also allows you to take screenshots at any time you want.

Note:

• It is important to know that Screenshot Toolbar is only available for macOS Mojave and above. If your Mac is running an older macOS version, you should try other methods discussed below.
• Screenshot Toolbar records any video playing on your Mac screen, but it doesn't support recording the internal system audio. To capture both video and audio on Mac, check out the AppGeeker Screen Recorder below.

Follow the steps to video record your Mac screen with audio using Screenshot Toolbar:

Step 1. How to access Screenshot Toolbar on macOS?

Press the Shift + Command + 5 shortcut on your keyboard to open the Screenshot Toolbar. The onscreen controls will show up, allowing you to record the video on the full screen or a select area. You can also capture a screenshot of your Mac screen with it.

Use Shift + Command + 5 shortcut to access the Screenshot Toolbar on macOS Mojave and later.

Step 2. Selecting relevant option for screen recording with audio on Mac.

Click on the arrow icon beside Options, you will find multiple options you can select for the screen recording. To include the audio and video in your screen recording, make sure you select the source audio from the Microphone option. You can also change the location where you want to save the recordings, or set a timer to count down before the recording starts, or let it show the mouse clicks while the screen recording.

The options you can adjust in the Screenshot Toolbar before starting to record.

Step 3. Play the video. Select to record entire screen or selected portion.

In the middle of the toolbar, select Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion. Adjust the recording area if you only want to capture a specific region instead of the full screen. When you're ready, click anywhere outside the toolbar or check the Record button to get started.

Switch to the app and play the video you wish to capture, and add your audio through the selected microphone while you record. Hopefully, you've set a timer for 5 seconds or more so you can get everything ready before the recording begins.

Step 4. Stop and save the recording.

Now when your recording is complete, just hit the red Stop button to end it. The video will be automatically saved on your Mac as an .mov file. Click the floating thumbnail to check it. You can now play and edit the video recording as you want.

QuickTime Player — New screen recording with sound

Another convenient method to record video and audio on Mac screen is through QuickTime Player which is Apple's own media player. You will not have to download this as it is already available in your MacBook as a system software. Generally, it is used to watch videos and listen to music, but many users do not know that it is also a great tool to record the computer screen with audio.

One important point to mention here is that there is some complication in recording the sound along with the screen video using the QuickTime Player. This software, just like the Screenshot Toolbar, does not capture the system sound coming from your macOS. Instead, it only saves the audio recorded from the microphone on your Mac.

Here are some easy steps to screen record your Mac with sound using QuickTime Player:

Step 1. Open QuickTime Player first. Search it in the Launchpad and click it to open.

Step 2. Enable screen recorder in QuickTime. Click on the File in the top left corner and select New Screen Recording which will open the local screen recorder.

Select New Screen Recording from QuickTime Player to enable the native screen recorder on Mac.

Step 3. Select the options for Mac screen recording with audio. Now you will find this step just lead you back to the Screenshot Toolbar. You can see a toolbar with different options for screen capture and record. Click on the Options and check the ones you require for the video recording.

The New Screen Recording from QuickTime Player brings you back to the Screenshot Toolbar options.

Step 4. Enable Microphone before you click the Record button. Before you start, make sure that the Microphone is checked in the Options menu, or your external audio will not be included in the screen recording.

Step 5. Start / stop the screen recording on your Mac. Now you are all good to start recording by clicking on Record and simply click on Stop when it is completed. The video you recorded will be stored on your Mac desktop by default. You're able to play, edit and share it as you wish.

Quick Tip:

• However, if the Screenshot Toolbar doesn't show up when you launch the QuickTime Player screen recorder, then you may see the Screen Recording control panel instead:

The Screen Recording panel may be like this sometimes.

If so, follow the steps to record the video and your audio on your Mac:

• Click the arrow icon next to the red button.
• Select a microphone as your source audio. Adjust the volume slider if you need.
• Let it record the mouse clicks by select Show Mouse Clicks in Recording.
• Play the video you desire on your computer.
• Check the Record red button. Click any place on your Mac screen to start recording.
• You can also drag your mouse to choose a recording area. Then click Start recording.
• End recording by hitting the Stop square button or pressing Command-Control-Esc keys.

It is important for you to know that the recordings you made with QuickTime will be named as Screen Recording + date + time and will be saved on your Mac as .mov files. You can view and edit the screen recordings with QuickTime Player or iMovie on your Mac. If you want to share and play it on other media platforms, you may need to convert it first.

How to record video on Mac with audio using AppGeeker Screen Recorder

The downside with the native recorders on macOS like QuickTime is that they don't have the ability to record the internal audio on your Mac. If you want to record both your mic audio and the system sound coming from the video or other active apps on your Mac screen, you'll have to switch to a more powerful recording tool.

Using the AppGeeker Screen Recorder is an ideal option to record the video and audio on your Mac at the same time. It is capable of capturing all your screen activities with audio simultaneously. The best thing is that you can record the internal and external audio selectively or both, so you will find it more effective in recording and mixing the system sound, microphone audio when you preform the screen recording.

Another advantage of the Screen Recorder is that it is quite easy to use and you can achieve your purpose with just a few clicks. Not only can it capture your Mac's screen activity, but it can also use your webcam to record a video with your face to make picture-in-picture videos, which makes it pretty convenient to record your YouTube reaction videos or make a tutorial guide showing what happens on and in front of your Mac.

Step 1: Install and run Screen Recorder. Select Video Recorder.

You will find Video Recorder option from the main interface when you launch the Screen Recorder.

Step 2: Select recording area and enable System sound / Microphone.

Select Full for recording the entire screen or select Custom for recording the specific portion. It depends on how you want your video recorded from your Mac screen. Enable the System Sound option if you want to record the audio as well. The Camera and Microphone options are also available if you'd like to record your video reaction or else.

You can enable the Camera, System sound, and Microphone option while you recording the Mac screen.

Optional step: Configure the settings to capture your Mac screen with audio.

You can play the video on your computer and simply click the REC button to start recording the selected audio and video on your Mac. And in case if you prefer to create a more advanced screen recording, hit the Gear icon to configure more recording settings to make everything recorded from your Mac screen as you require.

You're able to make it show countdown, hide the Dock and exclude the floating bar while recording. Additionally, you can highlight the mouse cursor and record the clicks, or make some adjustment to the location and formats of the output files.

Configure more settings before you perform the screen recording with audio on your Mac.

Step 3: Start / stop recording the screen video and audio.

When video recording starts once you click the REC button. But if you've set a timer, it starts after the countdown. During the process, press Control + Command + K to hide or show the floating panel. Once done with the recording, you can now click the red square to stop the capturing.

Another greatest thing is that it offers a real-time editing feature with which you can draw and add annotations like texts, shapes, and arrows to help your viewers.

The floating control panel lets you edit, pause, stop the recording whenever you need.

The preview window will come up automatically when the recording ends. Play the video and export it on your Mac by checking the Save button. You can clip the recording and save it as well.

Preview the screen recording before you export and save it on your Mac.

If you don't like the video or the audio you just recorded, hit Re-Record to capture the video and audio from your Mac screen once again.

By following the easy steps above, you can record all of your screen activities on your Mac, including videos, audio, webcam, gameplays, applications, and much more. With this easy-to-use Screen Recorder on your macOS, you can record everything on your Mac screen for further use or any private purpose.

Final Thoughts

Here in this guide, we tried to tell you some of the easiest ways to create a video recording with audio on your Mac. You can make it with the built-in recorders on your macOS, but sometimes you will need a more advanced option like AppGeeker Screen Recorder which offers a wider range of features to do a more flexible and complex screen recording with all your videos and audio included.

All the methods we mentioned above are available. Whenever you need to record screen video and audio on your macOS, you can go through these quick ways and do it in a few clicks.

FAQs: Screen recording video with audio on Mac

1. How do I record audio and video on my Mac?

• Open the QuickTime Player. Select File > New screen recording.
• Or press the Shift + Command + 5 shortcut.
• To screen record a video on Mac with audio, enable the Microphone from Options.
• Play the video. Select full screen or a recording area.
• Check the Record button to record everything in the selected region.
• Once done, hit Stop button and the recording will be saved as an .mov file.

2. How to screen record a video with audio on Mac?

If you've tried the built-in recorders on your Mac, then you probably know that macOS doesn't allow for recording the internal sound from your computer. Hence, to screen record a video and audio simultaneously on your Mac screen, get the AppGeeker Screen Recorder:

Open the Screen Recorder > Select Video Recorder > Choose recording area and enable the System sound, Microphone or both > Start screen recording with REC button > Stop the recording > Preview and save it on your macOS.

3. How to record the computer screen with audio?

If you have a Windows PC, try the Xbox Game Bar that comes with Windows 10 and 11. It allows you to capture game clips and record your computer screen on Windows.

For Mac users, access the Screenshot Toolbar using Shift + Command + 5 combination, or search the QuickTime Player in your Launchpad. However, if you're willing to record both the video and internal audio on your Mac, you'll want to use an extra tool like Screen Recorder.