Mac Note Taker
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Zoom on macOS Sequoia 15

How to record Zoom on Mac without a bot.

macOS Sequoia tightened screen recording prompts but also stabilized the ScreenCaptureKit audio path. Mac Note Taker rides on it: a signed Mac app that taps Zoom system audio at the OS mixer, mixes it with your mic, and transcribes everything on the Neural Engine. No bot. No cloud.

Get lifetime - $149Jump to the 3 steps

The recipe

Three steps, about three minutes.

  1. 01

    Install Mac Note Taker

    Download Mac Note Taker from macnotetaker.com, drag it into Applications, and grant Microphone + Screen Recording permission. macOS Sequoia 15 ships with the strongest version of ScreenCaptureKit yet - the audio-only path is now first-class.

  2. 02

    Start your Zoom meeting

    Join Zoom normally. You do not need to be the host, you do not need Zoom cloud recording enabled, and you do not need to invite a bot. Zoom only sees one participant: you.

  3. 03

    Click record in the menubar

    Click the Mac Note Taker menubar icon and press Record. macOS Sequoia may show the new weekly screen-recording reminder the first time - tap Allow once and it remembers. The transcript appears the moment the call ends.

Why not a bot?

Cloud notetakers cost you trust.

A third name in the Zoom roster.

Bot recorders show up as a participant. Sales prospects ask what it is. Candidates feel surveilled. The recorder becomes the loudest signal in the room.

Audio in their cloud, forever.

Bot vendors upload every minute of every call. You are paying a subscription so a third party can store your private conversations.

Sequoia's weekly reminder is a feature.

Sequoia's weekly screen-recording reminder applies once to a signed, notarized app like Mac Note Taker. Click Allow and you are set until the next major macOS release.

ScreenCaptureKit is the supported API.

Apple has been pushing ScreenCaptureKit since macOS 13. By Sequoia it is the only path Apple actively maintains. No BlackHole. No Loopback. No legacy AudioHAL plugin.

Permissions you will see

Two prompts, both expected.

  • Microphone for Mac Note Taker. AVAudioEngine taps the active input device.
  • Screen Recording for Mac Note Taker. This entitlement gates ScreenCaptureKit, even when the app is asking for audio only. macOS Sequoia bundles the audio-only entitlement under the same control as full screen recording.
  • Zoom needs its usual Microphone + Camera grants. Mac Note Taker does not touch them.

What you get

A finished transcript, locally.

Diarized transcript

Parakeet TDT v3 transcribes. pyannote-segmentation + CAM++ split speakers. Real time on M1 and newer.

AI summary, your choice

Local Ollama or your own OpenAI key. Mac Note Taker never proxies your audio.

Action items + decisions

Owners, due dates, follow-ups extracted from the transcript.

Markdown, JSON, SRT, TXT

Drop into Notion, Obsidian, Linear, Drive - whatever you already use.

$149 lifetime. Three Macs.

First 100 buyers pay $79 with code FOUNDER. No subscription. Free updates for the lifetime of the Mac.

FAQ

  • Will Sequoia's weekly screen-recording reminder pop up every Monday?

    No. For signed, notarized apps like Mac Note Taker, the prompt appears once per major macOS version. Click Allow and Sequoia stops nagging.

  • Does this work on Apple Silicon only?

    Yes. Mac Note Taker requires Apple Silicon (M1 or newer). On-device ASR + diarization is what makes the no-cloud promise work.

  • What about Zoom on iPad relayed via Continuity?

    If the audio lands on the Mac, ScreenCaptureKit can see it. If you take the call on the iPad directly, the Mac has nothing to capture.

How to record Zoom on macOS Sequoia without a bot (both sides) · Mac Note Taker