System audio capture
System audio capture records the sound your computer plays — the other participants' voices in a video call — rather than only your microphone. Combined with mic capture, it lets a recorder reconstruct the full conversation locally on your device, without a bot joining the call to collect the remote audio.
We're aligned on the rollout date — what's the gating risk on the auth flow?
The refresh-token edge case. Once that's covered we can ship to the pilot cohort.
Send me the failure modes before EOD and I'll bake them into the test matrix.
Will do — pairing with the platform team tomorrow morning to align on the schema...
In depth
System audio capture records the sound your computer is playing, everything you would hear through your speakers or headphones, rather than only your microphone. It is the key to recording a call without a bot: the meeting's audio already plays on your machine, so a tool can record it there. On macOS 14.2 and later this uses a Core Audio tap (ScreenCaptureKit on macOS 13 to 14.1); on Windows it uses WASAPI loopback; on Linux (beta) it reads the PulseAudio or PipeWire output monitor. The Reline desktop app records system audio alongside your microphone on your computer, which is how it captures Zoom, Teams, Meet, Webex or a Slack huddle without joining. Transcription and AI then run in the cloud.
In practice
In a normal working week, system audio capture decides whether your notes include the other side of the call. Your microphone hears you. The client, candidate or team on the call reaches your computer only as sound it plays. Failures are quiet. A permission that was never granted leaves a recording with only your voice. On Windows, a headset that is not the default output can be missed. On Linux (beta), a muted output records silence. Capture also takes everything the computer plays, so a notification or a video in another tab can end up in the transcript. When you choose a tool, check how it shows that both sides are arriving, what it does when system audio fails, and which systems it supports.
How Reline does it
The Reline desktop app captures system audio on your computer alongside your microphone, so it hears both sides of a Zoom, Teams, Meet or Webex call without a bot joining. On a Mac it needs macOS 13 or later and asks for permission once. On Windows it records whatever the default output device plays. Linux (beta) needs a PulseAudio or PipeWire sound server; without one, Reline records your microphone only. In a browser, Reline hears the call only while you share audio. Capture is local. Transcription, AI summaries and recording storage run in the cloud.
Install the Reline desktop app for macOS, Windows or Linux (beta) and sign in.
On a Mac, if Reline shows Let Reline hear your meetings, click Allow microphone, then Allow system audio, then Continue.
If the button under the list reads Open System Settings, click it, turn on Reline in the list that opens, then come back.
Open a note and click Start. Reline records your microphone and the sound your computer plays.
If the transcript says System audio is off, click Turn on. If Reline lost the call audio, click Try again.
Questions
- How do I record system audio on a Mac?
- Use an app that supports macOS system audio and grant its permission when asked. From macOS 13, apps can capture it directly, and from 14.2 through a Core Audio tap that needs only the system audio permission. Before that, people routed sound through a virtual driver such as BlackHole with a Multi-Output Device.
- Why is the other person's voice missing from my recording?
- Usually the app captured only your microphone. Check that it has system audio permission, that the call plays through your default output device (Windows loopback records only that device), and on Linux (beta) that the output is not muted, which records silence. Headphones are fine, because the sound is captured digitally before it reaches them.
- Do I need consent to record a call's audio from my computer?
- Usually yes. Recording from your own computer does not change which laws apply. Some places accept the consent of one participant; others, such as several US states, require everyone's, and EU data protection rules expect people to be informed. Tell everyone at the start and check the rules where each person is.
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