AuralTap
This page explains every feature — and just as importantly, what the app deliberately doesn't do.
Pick one or more apps from the list of running apps and record only their audio output. Apps currently producing sound show a green dot. Helpers of multi-process apps such as browsers are rolled up under their host app automatically, so you never have to decode cryptic process names.
Tick nothing and record everything playing through your output device. This is the same stream macOS' own screen recorder uses — perfect for system sounds, one-off notification chimes, or any time you don't want to cherry-pick apps.
Need your own voice on file too? Just tick the microphone.
The microphone is off by default. Once enabled you can mix it into the target track (great for meeting notes) or keep it as a separate track (great for post-production). Microphone access is a separate system permission, asked only once on first use.
When recording several apps at once you have two storage modes: mix everything into one WAV, or give each app its own WAV. In per-track mode every track starts and stops independently — stop the local music and let the meeting keep rolling.
Output is uncompressed WAV: 48 kHz sampling rate, stereo. No transcoding, no compression artifacts — just the raw data the audio system delivers. Recordings longer than 4 GB automatically switch to the BW64 container format (the extension stays .wav), which current audio software reads without trouble.
System audio, several apps and the microphone can all record simultaneously, each with its own live level meter — up to 8 parallel tracks.
Set a recording-length timer, or stop automatically after a period of continuous silence — handy for unattended lecture capture.
Every finished recording plays back right inside the app and can be revealed in Finder with one click. Files land in the folder you chose in the app — the directory is entirely yours.
| Output format | WAV (lossless, uncompressed); long recordings upgrade automatically to the BW64 container, extension unchanged |
|---|---|
| Sample rate / channels | 48 kHz / stereo |
| System requirements | macOS 14.2 or later (Apple Silicon and Intel) |
| App size | Under 10 MB |
| Network | Recordings are never uploaded; an order ID is sent after a purchase. No third-party SDKs, no analytics |
| Capture method | macOS public API (not screen recording) |
These boundaries are deliberate. Read them now instead of discovering them later.
It won't mute other apps or change system volume — macOS exposes no public API for that, and we don't touch private ones.
Screens are unrelated to audio. AuralTap never requests the Screen Recording permission and Info.plist contains no such declaration.
The output is a clean WAV. Editing, transcoding and noise reduction belong in your audio editor or converter of choice.
Requested the first time you hit record, to capture system or per-app audio. Granted once, never asked again.
Only requested after you tick the microphone and start a recording. Never touch the mic, never get asked.
Screen recording, camera, location, contacts, accessibility, full disk access — AuralTap needs none of them and will never ask.