"Why doesn't my Mac screen recording have audio?"

"QuickTime Player and macOS's built-in screen recorder can only capture microphone audio. They have no built-in way to record system audio — the sounds your Mac is actually playing. You need a virtual audio device to bridge that gap."

"How do I screen record with internal audio on Mac for free?"

"BlackHole is a free, open-source virtual audio driver. Install it, create a Multi-Output Device in Audio MIDI Setup, then select BlackHole as the mic in QuickTime. It works, but setup takes 20–40 minutes the first time."

"Does Soundshine capture game audio and browser audio?"

"Yes. Soundshine captures all system audio — from any app, browser tab, game, or video player running on your Mac. Whatever your Mac is playing goes into the Soundshine Microphone input."

"Will my speakers still work while Soundshine is recording?"

"Yes. Soundshine includes a system audio passthrough, so you continue hearing everything through your speakers or headphones while the virtual mic captures and routes that audio into your recording app."

Screen Recording on Mac Doesn't Capture Audio: Here's the Fix

You hit record in QuickTime Player, capture your whole screen, and then watch the playback: video is perfect, audio is either your own voice from the built-in mic or total silence. macOS screen recording has a well-known blind spot — it cannot capture the audio your Mac is actually playing, only microphone input.

This is not a bug. It is a deliberate restriction, and working around it takes one extra piece: a virtual audio device. Here is what is happening and how to fix it.

Why macOS Screen Recording Has No System Audio

macOS runs each app in its own audio sandbox. An app cannot silently tap into another app’s audio output without system-level permission. This protects you from malicious software recording your FaceTime calls or banking notifications in the background.

The downside is that Apple has never shipped a built-in “record what you hear” feature. QuickTime Player can see microphone inputs, which are explicitly shared, but it has no access to your system’s audio output. The same restriction applies to macOS’s built-in screen recorder (the one you get with Command-Shift-5).

The standard workaround is a virtual audio device: a lightweight driver that creates a fake microphone. You route system audio into it, and any recording app sees that virtual mic as a normal input. QuickTime records from it, and you get your system audio captured.

There are two realistic options for doing this on Mac: Soundshine and BlackHole. Both work. They differ in setup time.

How to Screen Record With System Audio

Option 1: Soundshine (Quickest)

Soundshine is a macOS menu bar app built for exactly this. It installs a virtual audio driver through a guided wizard, creates a “Soundshine Microphone” input visible to every app on your Mac, and passes your system audio through it while your speakers keep working normally.

Here is the audio path once Soundshine is running:

Step-by-step with QuickTime Player:

Download and install Soundshine. The setup wizard installs the audio driver in about 30 seconds. You will see an admin password prompt during installation.
Click the Soundshine icon in your menu bar and toggle routing on. Your system audio is now being captured by the virtual mic. Your speakers continue working normally.
Open QuickTime Player and choose File > New Screen Recording.
Before clicking record, click the dropdown arrow next to the record button. Under “Microphone,” select Soundshine Microphone.
Click the red record button and capture your screen as normal.

When you stop recording, QuickTime saves the file with your system audio included. The audio quality is 48 kHz, 32-bit float stereo — clean enough for podcasts, tutorials, and video production.

If you only need a straight audio recording without video, use File > New Audio Recording and pick Soundshine Microphone there instead.

Option 2: BlackHole (Free, More Setup)

BlackHole is a free, open-source virtual audio driver that has been the standard free option for Mac audio routing for years. It works, but it does not automate anything for you.

To use BlackHole for screen recording, you need to create a Multi-Output Device in macOS’s Audio MIDI Setup app. This lets your Mac send audio to both your real speakers and BlackHole at the same time, so you can hear what you are recording.

Here is the abbreviated version:

Download and install BlackHole from its GitHub repository.
Open Audio MIDI Setup (in Applications > Utilities).
Click the + button at the bottom left and choose Create Multi-Output Device.
Check both your regular output (built-in speakers or headphones) and BlackHole in the device list.
Set this Multi-Output Device as your system output in System Settings > Sound.
In QuickTime, select BlackHole as the microphone input.
Record.

The catch: you lose some control over volume while using a Multi-Output Device, and the setup can break after macOS updates. Sample rate mismatches between devices also cause audio distortion that takes some trial and error to fix. Budget 20–40 minutes the first time, and expect to reconfigure occasionally.

If you want to understand the full details of BlackHole setup and when it is worth the effort, the BlackHole for Mac guide covers the configuration step by step.

Which Option Is Right for You

If you need this working today and do not want to spend time in Audio MIDI Setup, Soundshine is the faster path. Install it, flip the switch, pick it as your mic in QuickTime. Done.

If you have time to configure a free tool and do not want to pay for software that solves one problem, BlackHole gets there. Just go in knowing the setup is not five minutes.

For anything more complex, like routing audio from multiple apps into separate tracks, or combining a mic with system audio in a single recording, you would want to look at Loopback from Rogue Amoeba. That is a $99 professional routing tool and it is built for setups with more moving parts than “capture my screen with sound.”

A Quick Note on Audio Quality

Most screen recorders accept whatever the input provides. Soundshine routes at 48 kHz, 32-bit float, which is higher than standard consumer audio (44.1 kHz, 16-bit). BlackHole also operates at high bit depths if you configure it correctly. For tutorials and presentations, any of these is more than sufficient. For audio destined for a podcast or professional video, the 48 kHz / 32-bit path from Soundshine avoids any quality step-down during capture.

Get Started

macOS not capturing system audio in screen recordings is a frustrating default, but it is a one-time fix. Set up a virtual audio device once, select it as your mic in QuickTime, and every future recording works the same way without any extra steps.

Download Soundshine for a 30-second setup, or go the BlackHole route if free is the priority. Either way, your next screen recording will have the audio it should.