Recording audio from a website on a Mac is tricky because there is usually no download option available. You can use your Mac's internal microphone and speakers, but they're prone to capturing the noise around you as well.
Instead, we suggest you use a virtual audio driver along with a native audio recording app, like QuickTime Player. We'll show you how to record the audio from any browser on your Mac below.
Set Up the BlackHole Audio Driver for Your Mac First
Before we get into using the native apps to record audio from websites, you first need to install a virtual audio driver.
Using a virtual audio driver, like BlackHole, allows you to capture the sound from internet browsers and other apps on your Mac. It creates a virtual link between the audio output heading to your speakers and your Mac's audio input. This allows you to route the audio from a browser directly into a recording app on your Mac.
Once you register on the BlackHole site, you'll get an email with a download link giving your two app option: a two-channel or a 16-channel version. Choose to install the two-channel package, since it'll be enough.
Once you install it, you might have to restart your Mac.
After rebooting your Mac, you'll be able to select the BlackHole audio driver as the sound input and output whenever you want to record audio from a website site.
Here's how to go about it:
- Click the Apple icon in the top-left corner of the menu bar and select System Preferences.
- Click Sound.
- Click on the Output tab and select BlackHole from the list that appears.
- Lastly, click on the Input tab and choose BlackHole.
Since this is a virtual audio driver, you don't have to worry about any external sound getting recorded. While the BlackHole audio driver usually works flawlessly, you should take note of these quirks:
- Every time you want to record audio, you have to select the BlackHole audio driver as the sound input and output.
- You won't get to hear any audio while recording it.
Switching to the BlackHole audio driver is a hassle. To make it easier, create an Automator workflow or write an AppleScript and automate the process with a keyboard shortcut.
After installing BlackHole, use either of these two apps to record audio from web browsers on your Mac
1. QuickTime Player
As well as playing media files on your Mac, QuickTime Player can record audio, video, and even your Mac's screen. For recording audio, you get the basic options: a record button, a volume control, and a file size counter.
To use QuickTime Player to record audio from websites, you need to select the BlackHole audio driver to route audio from input to your output first.
Then follow these steps to use the QuickTime Player to capture audio from a website in any browser:
- Open QuickTime Player.
- Click File in the menu bar and select New Audio Recording.
- Press the Record button when you're ready to capture audio from a browser.
- Hit the Stop button when you're done.
You can see a timer and file size counter for the recording in QuickTime Player.
After you finish recording, you can preview it in QuickTime Player as well. If you want to trim the recording, go to Edit > Trim or press Cmd + T. Then drag the yellow handles on the trimming bar to highlight the portion you want to keep.
QuickTime Player lets you record audio for as long as you want. And you can save the final clip on your Mac or on an external drive.
2. Voice Memos
Voice Memos is the best native Mac app to record, play, and manage audio files in a single place. It's available for all Macs running macOS Mojave and later.
Before you begin, select the Blackhole audio driver as your sound input and output, as shown above. Then follow these steps to use the Voice Memo app to record audio:
- Open Voice Memos.
- Press the Record button when you want the app to start recording the browser's audio.
- Hit the Done button when you want to stop recording.
Once you record an audio clip, click on the recording to give it any name you want.
Voice Memos app also lets you pause and resume the recording whenever you like. To edit the audio file, click on the Edit button in the top-right corner of the app's window to launch the editing options. This allows you to trim the beginning or end of the recording.
You can also use the Enhance button in the top-right corner to suppress any background noise captured in the recording.
The Voice Memos app puts no limit on the recording time and saves the recorded audio in the app. After that, you can share those recordings with any other apps.
If you want to access and move the recorded files on your Mac, you need to launch Finder and press Shift + Cmd + G to open the Go to Folder window. Then type the following folder path:
~/Library/Application Support/com.apple.voicememos/RecordingsOnce the Finder opens the Recordings folder, you'll find your recordings arranged in date order.
Easily Record Audio From Browsers on Your Mac
Now you know how to record audio from websites using the QuickTime Player or the Voice Memos app on your Mac. You can test out both apps before recording any audio for real.
Both apps let you record audio from browsers and edit them. The Enhance option in the Voice Memos app is useful for cleaning up background noise. Meanwhile, QuickTime Player gives you the flexibility to save your clips directly to an external drive.
Since the edit feature in both the apps is pretty basic, you may want to check out the best audio editors for macOS to get more options.