Recording audio on the best Macs should be a simple process, but that unfortunately isn’t the case. Sure, recording only your microphone audio is easy through the Voice Memos app, but recording your system audio and screen is more difficult. For a long time, Macs did not support system audio recording at all.

Surprisingly, this is a feature that just works on our great iPhones. While Apple did add system audio recording to macOS through the ScreenCaptureKit API at one point, a lot of apps still don’t support the feature. In this guide, we’ll help you try and solve this entire mess in the easiest way possible.

How to record audio on Mac using the Voice Memos app

If your goal is to simply record your voice using your mic, the Voice Memos app is your best bet. This is a native app that’s already installed on your Mac, and it’s great for capturing quick voice notes or ideas without video. You could also use it for recording voiceovers.

1. Press the Command + Spacebar keys on your keyboard to bring up Spotlight Search. Search for the Voice Memos app.
2. After launching the app, click the red record button to record your voice. You could also use the Touch Bar controls if you have a MacBook with the Touch Bar.
3. While recording, click the pause button to stop or resume the recording temporarily.
4. Click Done to stop the recording.
5. Your recording will be automatically saved with the date and time. You can edit recordings by trimming or renaming them within the app.

How to record your screen and microphone using QuickTime

If you want to record your screen and microphone simultaneously, the QuickTime Player app is a good choice. Like the Voice Memos app, this is also a native macOS app that should be preinstalled on your system. Unfortunately, there is no system audio recording feature. Nevertheless, you can still record your screen and microphone with ease.

1. Press the Command + Spacebar keys on your keyboard to bring up Spotlight Search. Search for the QuickTime Player app.
2. Go to the File menu at the top and select New Screen Recording.
3. Choose either the Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion option.
4. Click Options to bring up the recording options menu. Choose your microphone to record your voice. From this menu, you can also choose if you want to set a timer and where you want the recording to be saved.
5. Click the Record button to start capturing your screen and microphone.
6. Hit the Stop button in the menu bar at any time to finish the recording.

It's important to note that at the time of writing this article, the QuickTime Player doesn't allow you to record system audio. However, there is a clever workaround for this in the next section.

Use a third-party plugin to record system audio with QuickTime

While QuickTime doesn't natively support system audio recording, you can install a third-party plugin called BlackHole to enable this feature. The process is a bit involved, but it's a one-time setup that you'll thank yourself every time you have to record your screen and system audio in the future.

1. Go to the BlackHole website to download the plugin. You'll have to enter your email to get a download link in your inbox. Once you get the download link in your inbox, click it, and you'll be taken to the download page.
2. On the download page, click BlackHole 2ch to begin the download. Double-click the downloaded file to run the installer.
3. Follow the prompts on-screen from the installer to start the setup processor. Mainly, it will ask you to accept the license agreement. That's it for installing Blackhole.
4. To get Blackhole working, press Command + Space, and search for Audio MIDI Setup. Click the first result.
5. In the Audio Devices window, click the + (plus) icon, and choose Create Aggregate Device.
6. Select the new Aggregate Device you just created, and make sure that Blackhole 2ch and Built-in Microphone are enabled. If you have an external mic, make sure you enable that instead of the built-in one.
7. Click the plus icon again in the Audio Devices window, and choose Create Multi-Output Device. Make sure that built-in output and Blackhole 2ch are enabled for this device as well.
8. Next, to keep things simple, double-click the names of the new devices you just created to rename them. Rename the Aggregate device to Quick Time Input and Multi-Output Device to System audio. Close the Audio Devices window now.
9. Next, search for Sound in Spotlight search, and click the first result that pops up. Under the Output tab, select the newly created System audio device.
10. Press Shift + Command + 5 on your keyboard to bring launch QuickTime. Click the options button, and select Quick Time Input.

Exploring the built-in macOS tools

The best thing about macOS is its built-in tools and features. While recording system audio isn't the simplest process, installing the BlackHole plugin for QuickTime is a one-time setup that works well. This goes to show that third-party apps and the built-in features are both equally great. If you want to improve your macOS experience even further, here are some essential Mac apps you should be using.