Getting Internal Audio Right on Mac — Why It Used to Be Hard, and What Changed

Mac audio setup for screen recording

This is the single most-referenced unresolved question across every Mac recording post on this site, so it earns its own answer rather than a paragraph buried inside individual reviews. Here’s exactly what’s changed, what still doesn’t work out of the box, and how to fix it when it’s not working.

Why this was ever a problem in the first place

macOS’s audio architecture historically had no built-in way to route internal system audio (what’s playing through your speakers) into a recording as a separate input — unlike Windows, which has long supported this natively through its audio mixer. For years, the only fix was installing a virtual audio driver — software that creates a fake audio device your Mac can route system sound through, which a recorder then captures as if it were a microphone input.

What’s actually changed

Modern versions of macOS, combined with recorders built in the last few years, have closed this gap for a lot of common cases. Tools like Movavi’s current Mac products handle system audio capture natively, without requiring you to install anything extra — a genuine improvement over the driver-dependent era. If you’ve read an older review (including some older coverage on this site) complaining about Mac audio capture requiring a workaround, that complaint may simply be outdated for the specific tool in question.

“A lot of what people ‘know’ about Mac audio recording being difficult is leftover knowledge from an era before native system audio capture became more common — it’s worth checking whether your specific tool has actually caught up before assuming you need a driver.”

When you still need a virtual audio driver

Some tools — usually older, free, or more basic recorders — still don’t capture system audio natively. BlackHole is the modern, actively maintained, free option (it replaced the older, now-unmaintained Soundflower, which you may still see referenced in outdated guides — don’t install Soundflower at this point, use BlackHole instead). Setup involves installing BlackHole, creating a Multi-Output Device in Audio MIDI Setup that combines your speakers and BlackHole, and setting that as your system output during recording.

The most common failure: recording is silent

If your screen recording plays back with no system audio at all, check these in order:

Is the recorder using a native system-audio option, or does it expect a driver? Check the specific tool’s audio settings menu — some have a dropdown that needs BlackHole (or an equivalent) explicitly selected as the input source.
Is your Mac’s actual audio output still going to your speakers/headphones, not just BlackHole? If you set BlackHole as your only output device, you’ll capture the audio but won’t hear it live — use a Multi-Output Device instead so both happen simultaneously.
Did you restart the recording app after installing the audio driver? Audio driver installations on Mac often require the app capturing audio to be relaunched before it recognizes the new virtual device.

The most common failure: audio plays live but isn’t in the recording

This usually means your Mac’s output is correctly going to your speakers, but the recorder isn’t pulling from the right input — check that system audio capture is explicitly enabled in the recorder’s settings, not just assumed on by default. Some tools default to microphone-only capture unless you specifically toggle system audio on.

Quick reference by recorder

Recorder	Native system audio?
QuickTime Player	No — mic only, no built-in system audio option
OBS Studio	Yes, via macOS’s audio capture once configured
Movavi (current versions)	Yes, native
ScreenFlow	Yes, native (multi-track by default)
Older/basic free recorders	Often no — check specifically before assuming

Frequently asked questions

Why is there no sound in my Mac screen recording?
Most commonly, the recorder isn’t capturing system audio by default — check its audio settings for an explicit system-audio toggle, or whether it requires a virtual audio driver like BlackHole.

Do I need BlackHole or Soundflower for Mac screen recording?
Soundflower is outdated and no longer maintained — use BlackHole instead if your recorder doesn’t support system audio natively. Many modern recorders no longer need either.

Is BlackHole safe to install on Mac?
Yes — it’s free, open-source, and widely used specifically for this purpose. Install it directly from its official GitHub page rather than a third-party mirror.

Priya Shah — Priya spent years doing freelance video editing before joining the team, which shapes her focus on Mac software and clean audio capture specifically. Read the full editorial standard →