ScreenCaptureKit
Apple's modern macOS API for capturing screen video and system audio without a kernel extension or a virtual audio cable.
ScreenCaptureKit is the framework Apple shipped in macOS 13 to replace older screen-capture pathways (CGDisplayStream and various third-party kexts). For audio specifically, ScreenCaptureKit can tap the system audio output of any application that plays sound through Core Audio - Zoom, Meet, Teams, FaceTime, browser tabs - without that application needing to cooperate.
Mac Note Taker uses ScreenCaptureKit (alongside Core Audio's process tap API on macOS 14.2+) to capture the other side of a call. This replaces the BlackHole / Loopback / SoundFlower virtual-cable workflow that was standard before 2023. No kernel extension is installed and the user only grants the standard Screen Recording permission.
Related terms
- Core Audio process tap ↗The macOS 14.2+ API that lets an app subscribe to another running app's audio output stream, with user permission.
- BlackHole ↗An open-source virtual audio driver that routes Mac audio between apps. The old answer to capturing system audio, largely replaced by ScreenCaptureKit.
- Loopback ↗Rogue Amoeba's paid virtual audio routing app. Powerful, but for meeting transcription it is overkill compared to ScreenCaptureKit.