How to record your Mac screen with system audio

What macOS does on its own

On macOS 27 Golden Gate or later, the screenshot toolbar has the option built in:

1. Press Shift-Command-5 to open the toolbar.
2. Choose what to record: the entire screen, a selected window or a selected portion.
3. Click Options and choose Include System Audio. To add your voice, choose a microphone in the same menu.
4. Click Record. If you chose a window, click that window.
5. To stop, click the stop button in the menu bar or press Command-Control-Esc.

You get a .mov file, on the desktop unless you pick another place under Save to.

On macOS Tahoe 26, Apple's steps list a microphone and no system audio option. A microphone records what it hears, so on Tahoe the choices inside macOS are a microphone or updating to macOS 27 Golden Gate.

Record in Shotbolt

Shotbolt needs macOS 26 or later, and these steps work on both versions. Every download from this site starts with 7 days of Pro.

1. Click the Shotbolt icon in the menu bar and choose Record Screen Pro (Shotbolt Pro), or press Shift-Command-6, its default shortcut.
2. Drag out the area to record, or use Fullscreen or Window in the bar.
3. In the bar under the area, check the speaker switch, System audio. It starts on, and A flips it.
4. To add your voice, turn on Microphone with M. Its menu picks the microphone and shows a live level.
5. Click Record or press Return. With the microphone on, a three-second countdown comes first unless you change it.
6. To stop, press the shortcut again or click the recording item in the menu bar.

The take is an MP4. It lands in Quick Access, ready to share or to open in the video editor Pro (Shotbolt Pro). Help and Features have the rest.

Permissions macOS will ask for

• Screen & System Audio Recording. Turn Shotbolt on in System Settings → Privacy & Security. The same permission covers the screen and system audio. macOS applies it after Shotbolt restarts, and a message offers Reopen. See Allow Screen Recording.
• Microphone. macOS asks the first time you record with the microphone on. If access is off, the take goes on without your voice and says so.

Your voice and your Mac's sound

With both on, the file holds a mix of the two, which is what players play, plus system audio and the microphone on separate tracks. In the video editor Pro (Shotbolt Pro), the Audio panel lists both, so you can mute either one. Clean up voice Pro (Shotbolt Pro) and captions Pro (Shotbolt Pro) use only your voice.

Settings → Recording has the same two switches, plus Mix system audio into one channel, which plays the same sound left and right.

Limits

• System audio is one switch. The bar has no choice of app.
• Sound is for videos only. A GIF has none: see how to record a GIF.
• Apple notes that some apps, such as the Apple TV app, might not let you record their windows.

Questions

Does QuickTime Player record system audio?

Apple's steps for File → New Screen Recording in QuickTime Player list a microphone and Show Mouse Clicks in Recording, and no system audio. If the screenshot toolbar opens instead, its Options menu applies, with Include System Audio on macOS 27 Golden Gate or later.

More guides

• How to record a GIF of your Mac screen
• How to take a scrolling screenshot on a Mac
• All guides