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macos-screen-recorder-system-audio

macos-screen-recorder (sck-record) — a macOS screen recorder with system audio via ScreenCaptureKit: CLI, no driver, no sudo. Plus a Claude Code skill.

connerkward/macos-screen-recorder-system-audiocommunitylistedunreviewed
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The download comes from github.com/connerkward/macos-screen-recorder-system-audio itself, not from our server, so what you get is exactly what its author published.

Install instructions come from the README

Skills do not use an MCP config. Follow the steps in the README below.

README

synced Oct 17, 2026

macos-screen-recorder (sck-record)

Sponsored by Recall.ai - API for desktop recording.

If you’re looking for a desktop recording SDK that works across macOS and Windows, consider checking out Recall.ai's Desktop Recording SDK, an SDK that records Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack Huddles, in-person meetings, and more.

macos-screen-recorder (sck-record) is a macOS screen recorder that captures the screen with system audio via ScreenCaptureKit — CLI, no driver, no sudo — plus a Claude Code skill.

License: MIT Claude Code skill macOS Swift · ScreenCaptureKit

Record your macOS screen with the sound your Mac is playing — headless, from the CLI — with no virtual audio driver, no BlackHole, no Loopback, no sudo. One Swift file built on ScreenCaptureKit, Apple's native capture framework.

The whole gap, closed: ffprobe confirms the muxed file has both a video stream and a system-audio stream — captured with only the standard Screen Recording permission, no driver, no sudo.

🤔 Why

macOS's built-in screencapture -v records video only — its -g flag captures the microphone, not what your speakers are playing. The usual fix is installing a virtual audio device (BlackHole, Loopback, Soundflower) and rerouting your output through it, which changes what you hear and may need a security-approval reboot. ScreenCaptureKit makes that unnecessary: since macOS 13 it can tap system audio directly under nothing but the standard Screen Recording grant. This is the smallest possible wrapper around that capability — one file, one binary, one command.

The one true differentiator: system audio from a headless CLI with zero install. This is not a "better than OBS / Screen Studio" tool — it fills exactly the gap those don't: scriptable capture-with-sound, no driver.

✨ What it does

  • 🔊 Main display + system audio — every app sound, browser tab, say voice, and music track your Mac outputs, muxed with the screen. What you hear is untouched while recording.
  • 🎞️ Standard H.264 / AAC .mp4 you can share immediately (8 Mbps video, 48 kHz stereo 160 kbps AAC).
  • 🖥️ Retina capture, capped at 2560 px wide to keep files sane, up to 30 fps; cursor included (or --no-cursor).
  • 🪶 No daemons, no kernel extensions, no audio rerouting — ~90 lines of Swift around SCStream + AVAssetWriter.

📦 Install (Claude Code plugin)

It ships as a skill — an AI agent (Claude Code) can drive it for you:

/plugin marketplace add connerkward/ckw-skills
/plugin install macos-screen-recorder@connerkward

Standalone (this repo only):

/plugin marketplace add connerkward/macos-screen-recorder-system-audio
/plugin install macos-screen-recorder@macos-screen-recorder

See docs/agents.md for the agent-driven workflow.

🛠️ Run it by hand (CLI)

Requirements: macOS 13 (Ventura)+ (the SCStreamConfiguration.capturesAudio API), and Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install).

swiftc -O sck-record.swift -o sck-record     # build once
./sck-record demo.mp4 5                       # or skip the build: swift sck-record.swift demo.mp4 5

sck-record [output.mp4] [seconds] [--no-cursor]
ArgumentDefaultDescription
output.mp4~/Desktop/sck.mp4Output file path. Overwritten if it exists.
seconds20Duration in seconds (fractional allowed).
--no-cursoroffOmit the system cursor (for tools that overlay a smoothed synthetic one).

The tool prints the output path and stops automatically after the requested duration.

🔐 Permissions

First run triggers macOS's Screen Recording permission prompt for the launching app (your terminal). Grant it under System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, then re-run. Same permission screencapture uses — no separate audio permission, because ScreenCaptureKit delivers system audio under the screen-recording grant. The microphone is never touched.

⚖️ How it compares

ApproachSystem audioSetupNotes
sck-record✅ nativenoneOne binary, one permission.
screencapture -v (built-in)❌none-g records the mic, not system output.
BlackHole / Loopback / Soundflower✅ via rerouteinstall driver, multi-output device, switch outputRerouting changes what you hear; installs may need security approval.
OBS✅ via plugin/driverinstall app, configure scenes + audioPowerful, but heavyweight for "give me an mp4 of the next 10 seconds".
QuickTime screen recording❌ (mic only)noneNeeds a virtual driver for system audio.

🔬 How it works

SCStream is configured with capturesAudio = true, yielding system-audio sample buffers alongside the screen frames. Both are muxed in real time into an .mp4 by AVAssetWriter (H.264 video + AAC audio). They stay in sync because both inputs share the stream's presentation timestamps; writing starts on the first complete video frame. Read sck-record.swift — it's ~90 lines.

🚧 Limitations

  • Main display only — no window or region selection.
  • Fixed duration set up front; no interactive stop key (Ctrl-C aborts without finalizing).
  • Output codec/bitrate hardcoded (H.264 8 Mbps / AAC 160 kbps) — it's one dictionary in the source to change to HEVC or other rates.

🗂️ Part of ckw-skills

The capture primitive behind the record→polish workflow: the screencast skill calls this, and screenstudio-alt does the post-production (auto-zoom, idle speed-up, vertical export).

License

MIT © Conner K Ward

🧭 ckw-skills — part of Conner K. Ward's collection of Claude Code skills & MCP servers.

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