---
name: macos-screen-recorder
description: "macOS screen recorder that captures the main display PLUS system audio via ScreenCaptureKit — no BlackHole/loopback driver, no sudo, just the standard Screen Recording permission. CLI-driven; fills the headless-screen-recording-with-system-sound gap QuickTime and `screencapture -v` can't."
risk: safe
source: community
source_type: community
source_repo: connerkward/macos-screen-recorder-system-audio
date_added: "2026-06-16"
author: Conner K Ward
license: MIT
tags:
  - macos
  - screen-recording
  - system-audio
  - screencapturekit
  - cli
  - swift
tools:
  - claude-code
  - antigravity
  - cursor
  - gemini-cli
  - codex-cli
---
## When to Use

Use when you need to script a screen recording WITH system sound on macOS from the CLI (demos, captures, voice-demo recording) — the case QuickTime and `screencapture -v` can't cover without a virtual audio device.

_Source: [connerkward/macos-screen-recorder-system-audio](https://github.com/connerkward/macos-screen-recorder-system-audio) (MIT)._

# macos-screen-recorder (sck-record)

`sck-record.swift` → compiled `sck-record` (binary gitignored; built by `setup-machine`, or
`swiftc -O sck-record.swift -o sck-record`). Records the main display + system audio via
ScreenCaptureKit.

```
./sck-record <out.mp4> <seconds>
```

**The one true differentiator:** system audio from the CLI with **zero install** — no
BlackHole / loopback virtual device, no sudo; only the standard Screen Recording permission
(granted once to whatever app shells out). It is *not* a general "better than OBS/Screen
Studio" tool — it fills exactly the headless-CLI-with-system-audio gap.

`sck-record` is the raw capture primitive — it records, nothing more. To polish a
recording afterward (idle speed-up, auto-zoom, keystroke chips, smoothed cursor,
vertical export), pair it with
[screenstudio-alternative-skill](https://github.com/connerkward/screenstudio-alternative-skill):
record with `sck-record --no-cursor <out.mp4> <seconds>`, then run its post-production
pass on the resulting mp4. (Auto-zoom and keystroke overlays additionally need an
input-event log captured *during* recording, which that skill supplies; `sck-record`'s
pixels alone cover idle speed-up, cursor smoothing, and vertical export.)

## Limitations

- macOS only; it depends on ScreenCaptureKit and the user's Screen Recording permission.
- The recorder captures raw display and system audio but does not provide editing, auto-zoom, captions, or social-format polish by itself.
- Input-event overlays require a separate event log captured during recording; pixels alone cannot reconstruct keystrokes or precise click metadata.