Capture one Mac app’s audio in OBS

OBS documents its macOS Audio Capture source for OBS 30 or later on macOS 13 or later, with a choice of all desktop audio or a particular application. Older OBS versions use a different documented route. Check both version numbers before following instructions.

This guide uses the application-specific route, not a promise that every app exposes every kind of audio. Protected content, application behavior and permissions can still limit capture. Use a sound from your own demonstration app or another source you are allowed to record.

Add the supported audio source and choose the intended application in its properties. Give it a descriptive name rather than leaving several nearly identical default names. Keep a microphone source separate if narration is needed.

Inspect the rest of the scene and audio setup for broader capture paths. OBS’s Mac screen source can also capture audio, so adding a dedicated application source without examining the existing source can produce overlap. Do not assume the newest source automatically replaces the old one.

Choose the target app as A and a harmless second app as B. First play A alone, then B alone, then both. Keep the microphone quiet or muted during this part of the test so that speaker pickup does not confuse the result.

The intended result is A in the saved file and B absent. If B is present, check for an all-desktop source or another capture path. If A appears doubled, examine overlapping sources. A moving meter can help locate activity, but listen to the actual recording before deciding the setup is correct.

1. Confirm the OBS and macOS versions match the documented source route.
2. Select the target application and name its source clearly.
3. Review other sources for overlapping system or application audio.
4. Record A alone, B alone and both together.
5. Listen to the saved file and correct the source selection if necessary.
6. Enable the intended microphone, repeat a short combined test and check the balance.

A browser may contain several tabs with sound; selecting the browser is not the same promise as isolating one tab. An app may also open a helper or separate process. Treat a changed playback arrangement as a new test case rather than assuming the previous result applies.

Likewise, confirm the setup again after changing devices or updating software. Keep a simple note of the successful OBS version, macOS version and source choice. That makes troubleshooting more precise than reinstalling audio software on the basis of an old tutorial.

Reel’s separate app/system and microphone levels are not evidence of an arbitrary per-application audio picker. This guide describes OBS. Choose the recorder according to the isolation you actually need, and verify that its final file contains only the intended material before sharing it.