How to screen record on Mac with audio (mic and system sound)

There are two kinds of audio in a Mac screen recording, and most “my recording has no sound” problems come from mixing them up:

• Microphone audio: your voice, picked up by the built-in mic, a headset, or a USB microphone.
• System audio: sound coming out of your Mac, such as a video, a call, an app alert, or music.

macOS records the first one easily. The second one depends on your macOS version and the tool you use. Here is how to get each one, and both together.

Method 1: The Screenshot toolbar (Shift + Command + 5)

This is the quickest built-in option and works on every recent Mac.

1. Press Shift + Command + 5 to open the Screenshot toolbar.
2. Choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion.
3. Click Options.
4. Under Microphone, pick your mic. It defaults to None, which is why so many first recordings come out silent.
5. If your version of macOS shows a system-audio choice in this menu, turn it on to capture app sound as well.
6. Click Record. To stop, click the stop button in the menu bar or press Command + Control + Esc.

The recording is saved to your Desktop by default. You can change that under Options → Save to.

Method 2: QuickTime Player

QuickTime gives you the same capture with a slightly different interface.

1. Open QuickTime Player and choose File → New Screen Recording.
2. The same Screenshot toolbar appears. Open Options and choose your microphone.
3. Record, stop, and QuickTime opens the result so you can trim it right away with Edit → Trim.

QuickTime is handy for a quick trim. For anything beyond that, such as removing pauses, adding captions, or zooming into small text, you’ll want a real editor.

Method 3: Capture system audio with a virtual audio driver

If your macOS version has no system-audio option, the classic workaround is a free virtual audio device such as BlackHole:

1. Install the virtual audio driver.
2. In Audio MIDI Setup, create a Multi-Output Device that includes both your speakers or headphones and the virtual device, so you can still hear what you are recording.
3. Set that Multi-Output Device as your sound output in System Settings → Sound.
4. In the Screenshot toolbar, choose the virtual device as the Microphone.

This works, but it has real downsides. You can’t adjust the output volume while a Multi-Output Device is active. You have to switch everything back afterwards. And recording your voice and system audio at once means building an Aggregate Device as well. It’s fine for a one-off recording and fiddly for daily use.

Method 4: A recorder that captures both natively

Modern Mac screen recorders use Apple’s ScreenCaptureKit, which can capture app and system audio directly with no driver, no routing and no Audio MIDI Setup.

In JiffyRecord, for example, you choose screen or window, camera, microphone and system audio in the recorder before you start. Each source stays a separate, editable layer, so you can turn down a loud demo video without touching your narration. After you stop, silence removal, captions and click-aware zoom are applied automatically, and every one of those changes stays editable.

Why is there no sound in my Mac screen recording?

Work through these in order:

1. Microphone set to None. Open Options in the Screenshot toolbar and choose a mic. This is the most common cause.
2. Microphone permission is off. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone and make sure the app you’re recording with is allowed.
3. Screen recording permission is off. Under Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, allow your recorder. Then quit and reopen it, because the permission only takes effect after a relaunch.
4. You expected system audio but only recorded the mic. The built-in mic can faintly pick up your speakers, which is easy to mistake for system audio. If app sound is missing, use Method 3 or 4.
5. Headphones were the output. With headphones on, the mic can’t hear app sound at all. Capture system audio directly instead.
6. The wrong input device was selected. If you plugged in a headset or USB mic, check that it is the device selected under Options.

Can I screen record on Mac with my voice and my face?

Yes. The built-in tools record your screen and microphone but not your camera. A common workaround is to open Photo Booth or a QuickTime New Movie Recording window and record it as part of the screen. A dedicated recorder records the camera as its own layer instead, so you can move it, resize it or hide it later, without capturing a floating window that sits in the way.

Quick checklist before you record

• Pick the mic explicitly. Never rely on the default.
• Do a five-second test recording and play it back with headphones.
• Silence notifications with Focus → Do Not Disturb.
• Close apps that might play unexpected sounds.
• Decide whether you need system audio before you start, not after.

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