How to record screen with internal audio on macOS without third-party apps

Recording your Mac’s screen has been trivial for years. Recording it with the system’s internal audio —the music from Spotify, the Zoom call, the beep of a video game— has long been macOS’s sore spot. Apple didn’t allow the Mac’s own sound to be captured natively, so we all ended up installing BlackHole, Loopback or Soundflower to achieve it.

That changed. Since macOS Sonoma 14 and, above all, with the improvements in macOS Sequoia 15, the capture bar (⇧ + ⌘ + 5) and QuickTime Player let you record system audio without installing anything. This guide explains step by step how to do it, what its limitations are, and when it’s still worth using an external app. It takes about 5 minutes to set up the first time.

What you need before starting

• A Mac with macOS Sequoia 15.1 or later (recommended). On Sonoma 14.x part of the process also works, but with fewer options.
• QuickTime Player (comes preinstalled; if you deleted it, it’s available on the App Store).
• Screen and system recording permissions granted to the app you use.
• Free disk space. One minute of 1080p recording with audio takes up between 15 and 40 MB depending on what you show on screen.

Check your version under Apple menu → About This Mac. If you’re below Sonoma, update or jump straight to the alternatives section.

Recording screen with internal audio using ⇧ + ⌘ + 5

This is the fastest method and the one I recommend for 90% of cases.

1. Press ⇧ + ⌘ + 5. The floating capture bar appears at the bottom of the screen.
2. Choose between Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion (the two icons on the right of the capture group).
3. Click Options.
4. In the Microphone section, select Mac Audio (on Sequoia) or System Audio. On Sonoma it appears as MacBook Pro Microphone by default; if your version doesn’t show “Mac Audio”, go to the QuickTime section below.
5. If you also want to capture your voice, choose Mac Audio + microphone.
6. Press Record.
7. To stop, click the stop icon in the menu bar (top right) or press ⌘ + Control + Esc.

The file is saved by default to the Desktop as .mov. You can change the location under Options → Save to.

Why “Mac Audio” doesn’t always appear

This option is available in Sequoia 15.0 and later. If you have Sonoma or an old beta, you’ll only see physical microphones. In that case, either update or use the QuickTime method I explain now.

Recording screen with internal audio from QuickTime Player

QuickTime has been recording screens since the Snow Leopard days, but only since Sequoia does it capture system audio natively.

1. Open QuickTime Player (Launchpad or Spotlight with ⌘ + Space).
2. In the menu bar: File → New Screen Recording.
3. The same ⇧ + ⌘ + 5 bar opens. Press Options.
4. Under Microphone, select Mac Audio.
5. Adjust Show Mouse Clicks if you’re making a tutorial. It helps show which button you press.
6. Press Record.
7. Stop with ⌘ + Control + Esc or from the menu bar.

When finished, QuickTime opens the video automatically. You can trim it with Edit → Trim (⌘ + T) without leaving the app.

Recording only system audio (no screen)

Sometimes you only want the audio: capturing a song from YouTube, saving the sound of a call, ripping the audio from a video you can’t download. On Sequoia it works like this:

1. QuickTime Player → File → New Audio Recording.
2. Next to the record button there’s an arrow. Press it.
3. Select Mac Audio.
4. Record, stop, and export.

The result is a clean .m4a file. No loops with virtual cables.

Adjusting recording quality

By default, macOS records at your screen’s native resolution and uses the H.264 codec with AAC audio. For most tutorials that’s plenty.

If you need more quality —for example, uploading to YouTube in 4K without double recompression— you have two options:

• Lower the screen resolution before recording. Under Settings → Displays, choose a lower scaled resolution. Recording at 5K from a Studio Display produces enormous files that you’ll later downscale anyway.
• Use HEVC instead of H.264. There’s no direct setting in the capture bar, but you can recompress afterward with Compressor or with ffmpeg from Terminal if you have Homebrew installed on your Apple Silicon Mac.

A useful command to reduce size while keeping decent quality:

ffmpeg -i input.mov -c:v libx265 -crf 28 -c:a copy output.mp4

The -crf 28 flag is the sweet spot for screen content; lower it to 23 for more quality, raise it to 30 if you prefer smaller files.

Common problems and how to solve them

“Mac Audio” doesn’t appear in the Microphone menu. You’re on Sonoma or earlier. Update to Sequoia 15.1 or later under Settings → General → Software Update.

Audio is recorded, but very low. Raise your Mac’s output volume before recording. macOS captures audio at the same level it plays through the speakers. If you lower the volume by half, the recording is also at half.

Nothing can be heard when playing back the recorded video. Check that under Options you chose Mac Audio and didn’t leave None. It’s the most common mistake. Also check that the app making sound (Spotify, a browser with DRM) isn’t blocking capture due to content protection.

Netflix, Apple TV+ and Disney+ show black. Correct and expected. The DRM of those platforms blocks video capture. There’s no legal or easy way around it. The audio sometimes does get recorded, the video doesn’t.

The microphone also picks up system audio with echo. You’re using internal speakers and microphone at the same time. Use headphones (AirPods work) or select only Mac Audio without the microphone.

The recording stops after a few seconds. Usually due to lack of space or macOS sending the app to the background for low performance. Close heavy apps before recording. On base M1 or M2 Macs with 8 GB of RAM, closing Chrome helps more than you’d expect.

Alternatives if you need more control

Native tools cover normal use. If you produce video, streaming or professional podcasts, they fall short.

• OBS Studio (free): recording with scenes, multiple audio sources, streaming to Twitch/YouTube. Medium learning curve. On Apple Silicon it performs well from version 30.
• ScreenFlow 10 (about €169): editing and recording in a single app. Ideal for long tutorials.
• Loopback (€109, Rogue Amoeba): advanced audio routing. If you need to mix Zoom audio, your microphone and a Spotify track in real time, there’s nothing better.
• BlackHole (free, GitHub): virtual audio driver. It’s still useful if you need to send system audio to another app that doesn’t detect it.

To edit your recording more deeply than a simple trim, take a look at how to start with DaVinci Resolve for free on a MacBook Pro M3. The free version is enough for 95% of tutorials.

Frequently asked questions

Can you record internal audio on macOS Ventura without installing anything? No. Ventura (13.x) doesn’t include the Mac Audio option in the capture bar. You need BlackHole or Loopback to route the audio, or update to Sonoma/Sequoia.

Is recording system audio legal? It depends on use. Capturing your own voice, a game or your own call is fine. Recording copyrighted content (a movie, a broadcast concert) to redistribute it is not. Personal use is a gray area depending on the country; in Spain private copying has nuances.

Can I record a FaceTime call with audio? Yes, the capture bar allows it. Keep in mind the other person isn’t notified. Ethically, let them know.

Does recording drain the battery a lot? Yes, quite a bit. A MacBook Air M3 recording the screen at 1080p with audio uses around 15-20% battery per hour. Plug it in if you’ll be recording long sessions.

Can I schedule an automatic recording? Not natively. The Shortcuts app doesn’t expose actions to start screen recording. You need AppleScript or an external app like Keyboard Maestro to automate it.