When you use macOS Catalina's built-in screen recording you'll get audio only from the microphone. If you want to record the audio coming out of the system and apps, you'll need to install a third-party extension. One company provides an extension for free that you can use with their software or just with macOS QuickTime screen recording.
You can also watch this video at YouTube (but with ads).
Updated method:
How To Record Your Mac Screen With Audio, December 2020.
Link: iShowU Audio Capture
Gary .. I have been trying to install iShowU and am sure I have followed you directions but it does not show up under options in Quicktime. I am running Catalina 10.15.4. I'm pretty sure I have followed the steps in your video. I do have Soundflower on this Mac then I have used before. could this be why iShowU is not showing Up?
Jim: I don't think having SoundFlower before would make any difference. I'd just make sure you follow the steps at their website exactly to get things installed properly.
I followed your video "How To Record Your Mac Screen With Computer Audio" to the letter, but when I choose the option Screen Recording, no audio is recorded.
I have the latest Mac Os Catalina
Jan: Nothing to do but to go over the steps carefully, make sure the extension is installed and working, etc.
Fantastic! Can't wait to try it. I am helping seniors with Apple devices and now, in these days of quarantine, this will allow me to create videos with accompanying audio in order to help them deal with problems on their devices.
Same problem as Jim Bembenk except I have Audiojingle instead of
SoundFlower I reinstalled the iShowU Audio Capture extension, and restarted a second time. It does not show when selecting Microphone options using Quicktime New Screen Recording or in Mid-Output Device.
Oh, gosh. So disappointed (2015 iMac/Catalina). I paused your video as I watched it, am positive I am following your instructions to the letter and it does not record the sound. After trying this, I wanted to be sure my speaker output was working & so I launched Music and hit play. No sound. When I tapped the keyboard key to increase sound, at the very bottom of the icon that appears at tap of the key was a tiny circle with a diagonal line. To be continued...
(continuing) I had to go into Sys Prefs/Sound and turn on Internal Speakers to get my sound back. Then tried to play the recording I made following your instructions again and again, no sound. I have never had anything like Sunflower installed on this iMac ever. Do so hope you can sort us out as it would be so useful.
gina: Not for you to do but to go back carefully through the steps and make sure it is all done exactly.
I am surprised not to see in my Applications folder an iShowU Audio Capture.app. Instead I see only Uninstall iShowU Audio Capture.app. Never seen this before. Is it worth trying to run the uninstall.app then try it all over again???
gina: I would first assume that the install went fine. Start with the steps following that.
Went through the whole process a second time and once again it did not record any sound. It was a great idea but so far, Jim, Jan, Roger, and I cannot get it to work. Four failures is too many; something is wrong here. Hope it gets sorted out.
gina (and others): Have you looked carefully at all the steps on the site? https://support.shinywhitebox.com/hc/en-us/articles/204161459-Installing-iShowU-Audio-Capture-Mojave-and-earlier-
Seems like the installer for catalina is "desecrated" and not to be used anymore - they want you to buy their program which is proprietary - that's why everyone is having a problem
Victor: Definitely not true. Well, they do want you to buy their app -- that is their business after all so of course -- but you definitely don't need it to use the extension.
⚠️ gina (and others): One thing that worked for a YouTube commenter was to make sure that in System Preferences, Security & Privacy, Privacy, for "Microphone" make sure QuickTime Player is checked. That solved it for them.
Hi, Gary: excellent video, except you do need to flag your last comment about checking QT in the microphone preference. I'm still using Mojave and it gave me an incomprehensible error message until I read your last comment. Now I'm recording even better than with SoundFlower!
Thanks much!
Daved: Thanks for letting me know. So that's now 2 people that were able to get it working with that one setting change.
I followed your directions using Blackhole as the audio capture software (also free) and it didn't allow me to hear sound in two places. I finally found an obscure note that when you set up the Multi-Output Device, you have to list the audio capture as the second choice and not the first. That solved the problem.
In the Midi Audio Devices window, on your video I see your Sample Rate is 48.0kHz whereas mine is set to 44,100Hz. Could that be a factor in these instructions not working for me and others? Guess I answered my own question: changed it for iShowU but it still failed to capture audio
gina: Did you try my suggestion for you above? The one with the ⚠️ next to it?
OMG. Yes, and the second time around I got it right and now it works just fine. Thanks ever so much for your patience. You have been very helpful, as always. Stay safe/stay healthy 'cause we need guys like you. :-)
I suspect some people are not using either the Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion before hitting Record but are using one of the Screen Capture options in QuickTime
Hi Gary - I've been using iShowU for years in order to capture videos online that I need for resume purposes. With this latest upgrade of iMac, it still works fine but I was looking into using QuickTime because of other audio conflicts, in order to disconnect from iShowU. So in my case, I have all the elements (assuming yes) but I cannot get QT to function and record the browser audio. My case is slightly different than the others. Should I review another tutorial?
Rebecca: So it works in iShowU but not in QuickTime Player? Try going through the later steps in the video to set it up so you can see it as an option in QuickTime Player.
Very nice! And hopefully iShowU keeps working with future versions of MacOS.
Thank you very much, Gary.
Hi Gina,
I am having the same issue as you before as I can't find the app at all after installing it numerous times. IN Midi Setup I only have built in Mic and built output. Can you advise how you manage to solve this installation issue?
I just upgraded to Catalina and have a 2016 MacBook Pro. This is exactly what I'm looking for, works like a charm! Thank you so much!
Thank you very much! I was having the same issue and turning on the mic for Quicktime solved it! Thanks again!
Thanks for the tutorial. I now can record audio as well as video. The limitation is that the audio does not include what I say, speaking into my microphone. The use case: I do zoom calls and have participants role play. I record the role play and then show it so we can review it together. My problem is that if I speak during the role play, my voice is not recorded. The zoom recording feature does not do what I need, as you have to wait until after the call to access it. Ideas?
Bob: If you are using Zoom, why not just use Zoom's built-in recording? Otherwise, maybe try the updated method: https://macmost.com/how-to-record-your-mac-screen-with-audio.html
Just want to say that I followed your instructions and everything went perfectly. Thank you.
Thanks for this great video, Gary. I can get all the way through your steps except for the last. When I have the screen record menu open (by pressing command + shift + 5) and I go to "Options", the "screen recording" output that you had us create does not show up as an option under "Microphone." Any ideas on how to get the new midi output we created to show up there?
Bob: You'll have to recheck everything or start over. If it isn't showing up there, you missed a step or didn't do everything just right.
Ah-ha! I see now that you first have to select the “screen recording” output in sound presences, but then in the screenshot/quicktime recorder, you have to select the IShowU Audio Capture for microphone. The multi-output name of “screen recording” does not show up, but iShowU does. And then it works! Thanks a bundle for this neat free option!