How to Record Internal Audio on Windows 10 and 11

To record internal audio on Windows 10 or 11, record a loopback of your output device. In Audacity, set the host to Windows WASAPI and choose your speakers or headset marked (loopback). Stereo Mix works if your driver has it, and Game Bar records the sound with video. For meetings, Reline records it plus your mic and transcribes live.

Microsoft calls it loopback: a recorder captures the stream an output device is playing, the mix of every app’s sound. Record a loopback and you get the system audio, including the other people on a call, but not your microphone, which is a separate input. Record the microphone and you get only your side. To get both in one file, you need a tool that records two sources at once, such as OBS Studio or Reline.

Windows offers loopback in two forms. Every PC has the software one, WASAPI loopback, which Microsoft says works whether or not your sound hardware has a loopback device. Some sound cards also add a hardware loopback input such as Stereo Mix. Audacity’s Windows WASAPI host uses the first, so you do not need Stereo Mix to record what your PC plays.

Sound Recorder comes with Windows 11, so most people try it first. Microsoft’s FAQ describes microphone access, up to three hours per recording file, and recordings stored within the app, which are deleted if you uninstall it. It says nothing about recording the sound your PC plays. Keep it for voice memos; for internal audio, use one of the routes below.

Audacity is a free audio editor, and its Windows WASAPI host is the most direct way to get the PC’s sound into an audio file. Audacity’s manual says the loopback input records computer playback even if your sound device has no Stereo Mix or similar input.

1. Install Audacity and open it.
2. Click Audio Setup and set the Host to Windows WASAPI.
3. As the recording device, choose the output you listen on, such as your headset or speakers. It is marked (loopback) after its name.
4. Start playing the sound first. Audacity’s manual says WASAPI only records loopback while there is an active signal: in silence the recording pauses, and it restarts when sound returns.
5. Press Record, and Stop when you are done.

• Keep audible input monitoring off (Transport menu, Transport Options): with it on, Audacity’s manual says you hear and record echoes or distorted sound.
• The recording holds what your PC plays, not your microphone.
• Everything on that output is recorded, notification sounds included, so silence them first.

Stereo Mix is a hardware loopback input that some sound card makers add. Microsoft’s documentation says not all audio adapters have one, the name varies by vendor (its examples are Stereo Mix, Waveout Mix, Mixed Output and What You Hear), and you have to find and enable it before an app can record from it.

1. Open the classic Sound window: in Windows 11, go to Settings, System, Sound, then More sound settings. On Windows 10, or on any version, you can also run control mmsys.cpl in a Command Prompt.
2. Select the Recording tab.
3. Right-click an empty part of the list and make sure Show Disabled Devices is checked. Audacity’s manual also suggests Show Disconnected Devices.
4. If Stereo Mix (or a similar name) appears, right-click it and choose Enable.
5. Pick it as the recording device in the app you record with. Microsoft’s steps also let you make it the default with Set as Default Device; if you do, set your microphone back as the default afterwards.

• Not in the list at all? Your driver does not offer it. Audacity’s manual suggests the latest correct audio drivers for your version of Windows; otherwise use WASAPI loopback (Method 1), which needs no Stereo Mix.
• It only hears its own sound card. Audacity’s manual says the sound must play through the same device that has the Stereo Mix input, so audio sent to HDMI, a USB headset or wireless headphones is not in it.
• Microsoft notes that a trusted audio driver does not let a loopback device capture streams with protected (DRM) content.

Game Bar records the app in front of you as an MP4 video. Microsoft’s guide tells you to make sure all computer sounds are included, and that is the setting that puts the internal audio in the recording.

1. If Game Bar does not open, search for Xbox in Settings and turn on Xbox Game Bar.
2. Press Windows key + G, open Settings, go to Capturing and select All for the audio, so all computer sounds are recorded, not only the game.
3. Click into the app whose sound you want, so it is the app in front.
4. Press Windows key + Alt + R to start recording. Windows key + Alt + M turns your microphone on or off during the recording.
5. Press Windows key + Alt + R again to stop. Microsoft saves the MP4 in the Captures folder inside your Videos folder.

Open Snipping Tool, select Record, then New (or press Windows key + Shift + R), select the area to record and select Start; select Stop when you are done. Microsoft’s Snipping Tool help page does not mention recording sound, but a Windows Insider Blog post (August 2023) announced optional PC audio and microphone recording for Windows Insiders in version 11.2307.44.0, with default audio options in the app’s settings. Update the app from the Microsoft Store and, if your version shows the audio options, check them before you start.

Microsoft lists video snips in its Windows 11 instructions only. To keep just the sound, Microsoft’s page points to Edit in Clipchamp, where the Detach audio button downloads the audio separately.

OBS Studio’s quick start guide says it captures your desktop audio and your microphone by default, which makes it the simple way to get both sides of a call into one file.

1. Install OBS Studio and open it.
2. Watch the meters in the Audio Mixer. If one does not move, or the wrong device is captured, open Settings > Audio and pick the devices yourself.
3. Check Settings > Output, then click Start Recording in the Controls dock.

Want one app’s sound and nothing else? OBS’s guide describes an Application Audio Capture (BETA) source, available from OBS Studio 28 on Windows 10 (version 2004 or later) and Windows 11. Add it in the Sources dock, pick the app’s window, and disable the global Desktop Audio source in Settings > Audio to avoid echo. OBS warns that some apps’ audio may not work with it.

You get a recording file, with no transcript.

• Nothing was playing when you pressed Record. WASAPI loopback only records while there is sound, so start the audio first.
• You picked the wrong output. A loopback records one output device: if your headset is plugged in but you picked the speakers, you record silence. Pick the device you actually hear the sound on.
• Stereo Mix belongs to the built-in sound card. Sound going to HDMI, USB or wireless headphones does not reach it; use WASAPI loopback instead.
• Game Bar was set to record only the game. Set the Capturing audio to All.
• You hear echoes. Turn off audible input monitoring in Audacity, and in OBS do not leave Desktop Audio on next to an Application Audio Capture of the same app.
• The content is protected. Microsoft says a trusted audio driver does not let a loopback device capture protected content, and Audacity reminds you that copyright or a website’s rules may stop you recording.

The routes above leave you with a file. If what you are playing is a meeting or a call, you probably want words, not a WAV. Reline is the tool we make, so weigh our view accordingly. Its desktop app for Windows 10 and 11 records your microphone and everything your default output device plays, through the same kind of WASAPI loopback Audacity uses, and transcribes the call live as people talk, in 60+ languages. No bot joins the call.

1. Download the Reline app for Windows and sign in. The Free plan includes 10 hours of transcription.
2. Allow the microphone: in Windows 11, open Settings, Privacy & security, Microphone, and turn on "Let desktop apps access your microphone".
3. Make your headset the Windows default output and keep the meeting app on that same device (see the note below).
4. Tell everyone you are recording for notes, and record only if they agree.
5. Press Record in Reline. The transcript appears as people talk.
6. Stop when the call ends. You get the transcript, an AI summary next to it and the kept audio, with a play button on every transcript line.

Know the limits before you count on it. Reline transcribes live while it records: it cannot transcribe a file you already made with Audacity, Game Bar, Snipping Tool or OBS, and there is no file upload. It records audio, not video. Your voice and the call are labeled Me and Other by which stream the sound came in on; the beta Separate speakers option numbers the voices on the call side, and you name them yourself. Capture happens on your PC, but transcription, AI summaries and storage run in the cloud. Cannot install anything on a work PC? Reline also runs in Chrome, where you share a browser tab with its audio to capture the other side.

A recorder on your PC adds nothing to the call. Audacity, Stereo Mix, Game Bar, Snipping Tool, OBS and Reline play no announcement and show no notice, so the notice is on you. Several US states, California among them, require every party to agree before a call is recorded, and in the EU you need a lawful basis under the GDPR and should say why you record. Rules differ by country and state, so check the rules where everyone on the call is. The simple habit: say at the start of the call that you are recording for notes, and stop if someone objects. For music and video, Audacity’s manual adds that copyright or a website’s rules may stop you recording or sharing it.

• Microsoft Learn, "Loopback Recording" (Core Audio, WASAPI): learn.microsoft.com
• Microsoft Support, "Sound Recorder app for Windows: FAQ": support.microsoft.com
• Microsoft Support, "Use a screen reader to record your screen with Xbox Game Bar": support.microsoft.com
• Microsoft Support, "Use Snipping Tool to capture screenshots": support.microsoft.com
• Windows Insider Blog, "New Updates for Snipping Tool and Notepad for Windows Insiders" (31 August 2023): blogs.windows.com
• Microsoft Support, "Surface sound, volume, and audio accessories": support.microsoft.com
• Microsoft Support, "Turn on app permissions for your microphone in Windows": support.microsoft.com
• Audacity Support, "Recording desktop audio": support.audacityteam.org
• Audacity Manual, "Tutorial - Recording Computer Playback on Windows": manual.audacityteam.org
• OBS Studio, "Quick Start Guide" and "Application Audio Capture Guide": obsproject.com