How to Record Discord Calls on Mac

Discord does not have a built-in call recording feature. There is no "Record" button in voice channels, no automatic cloud save, no local file export. If you want a copy of a Discord call — voice or video — you need an external tool to capture it.

That constraint exists by design. Discord's Terms of Service require all-party consent before recording, and the platform chose not to ship a feature that makes covert recording trivially easy. The result: you need to set up your own recording pipeline on your Mac, route the audio correctly, and tell everyone on the call that you are recording.

This guide covers four methods that work on macOS in 2026, each with different trade-offs between audio quality, ease of setup, and where the file ends up.

Quick comparison

Consent: tell everyone first

Discord's Terms of Service and Community Guidelines require that all participants in a voice or video call consent before any recording begins. Many jurisdictions reinforce this legally — California, Illinois, and most of the EU require all-party consent for private conversations.

The simplest approach: type a message in the channel text chat ("Recording this call for [reason], let me know if that's not okay") and wait for acknowledgment before you press record. If someone objects, don't record. If you are in a large server voice channel, a pinned message or bot announcement at join works as disclosure.

Violating this can get your Discord account terminated and, depending on where you and the other participants live, can carry legal consequences.

Method 1: Screenify Studio

Screenify Studio captures system audio natively on macOS — no virtual audio driver, no Audio MIDI Setup, no BlackHole installation. That eliminates the most annoying part of recording Discord on a Mac.

Step-by-step

1. Open Discord and join the voice or video call. Confirm your audio input and output are working (Settings > Voice & Video > check Input Device and Output Device).

2. Launch Screenify Studio. In the capture toolbar, choose your recording mode:

   • Full Screen if you want the entire desktop (Discord window plus anything else visible).
   • Window if you want only the Discord window. This keeps other apps out of the frame.
   • Custom Area if you want to crop to the video grid inside Discord and exclude the sidebar and channel list.

3. Enable system audio. Toggle the system audio switch to ON in the recording toolbar. This routes whatever Discord is playing through your speakers or headphones directly into the recording. Your microphone is captured separately by default, so both sides of the conversation end up in the file.

4. Check your mic input. If you want your own voice in the recording (you usually do), confirm the correct microphone is selected in Screenify's audio settings. If you are using AirPods or a USB mic, select that device explicitly — don't rely on "Default."

5. Start recording. Click the record button or use the keyboard shortcut. A brief countdown gives you time to switch focus back to Discord.

6. During the call, the recording runs in the background. Screenify captures everything on screen and all system audio continuously. Minimize Screenify's toolbar if it distracts you.

7. Stop recording when the call ends. Click the stop button in the menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut again.

8. Review and edit. Screenify opens a preview where you can trim dead air from the beginning and end, cut sections, and — if you are on the Pro plan — add AI-generated captions. Captions are especially useful for Discord calls where audio quality varies per participant and some speakers are harder to understand.

9. Export or share. Export as MP4 locally, or generate a Screenify share link with viewer analytics if you need to distribute the recording to people who weren't on the call.

Why this works well for Discord

Discord's audio comes through as system audio on macOS. Most screen recorders on Mac cannot capture system audio without a virtual audio device (like BlackHole or Loopback). Screenify handles system audio capture at the framework level using macOS ScreenCaptureKit, so the setup is: open the app, toggle audio on, record. No third-party audio drivers to install, no aggregate device configuration, no risk of routing loops.

If you are recording a Discord video call and want to share a polished version afterward, the built-in trim and caption tools save a round-trip to a separate editor.

Method 2: OBS Studio

OBS is free, open-source, and handles complex audio routing better than almost anything else. The trade-off is setup time. OBS does not capture macOS system audio on its own — you need a virtual audio device.

Prerequisites

• OBS Studio (free, obsproject.com)
• BlackHole 2ch (free, existential.audio) — a virtual audio driver that creates a loopback device on macOS

Install BlackHole

1. Download BlackHole 2ch from the official site. The 2-channel version is sufficient for stereo Discord audio.
2. Run the installer. It adds a new audio device called "BlackHole 2ch" to your system.
3. Open Audio MIDI Setup (Applications > Utilities > Audio MIDI Setup).
4. Click the + button in the bottom left, choose Create Multi-Output Device.
5. Check both your real output (e.g., "MacBook Pro Speakers" or "AirPods Pro") and "BlackHole 2ch." This sends audio to both your ears and the virtual device simultaneously.
6. Right-click the new Multi-Output Device and select Use This Device for Sound Output, or set it as your output in System Settings > Sound > Output.

You should still hear Discord through your headphones or speakers. BlackHole is now silently duplicating that audio stream for OBS to pick up.

Configure OBS

1. Open OBS. Create a new Scene (call it "Discord Recording" or similar).

2. Add a Display Capture or Window Capture source:

   • Display Capture grabs the full screen.
   • Window Capture targets just the Discord window. On macOS, Window Capture in OBS can sometimes miss Discord if the app uses hardware acceleration. If the preview is black, switch to Display Capture.

3. Add an Audio Input Capture source for BlackHole 2ch. This captures the Discord call audio that's being routed through the virtual device.

4. Add a second Audio Input Capture source for your microphone (USB mic, AirPods, built-in mic — whichever you're using for the Discord call). This captures your side of the conversation.

5. Test levels. Have someone talk in the Discord call while you watch the OBS audio meters. The BlackHole source should show activity when others speak. Your mic source should show activity when you speak. If the BlackHole source is silent, your system output is not set to the Multi-Output Device — go back and fix that.

6. Set output format. Go to Settings > Output. Choose MKV or MP4 container, x264 or Apple VT H264 encoder. For call recordings, CRF 18–23 at your display resolution is fine. Recording to MKV is safer — if OBS crashes, MKV files are recoverable while MP4 files may be corrupted.

7. Start recording. Click "Start Recording" in OBS. Switch to Discord and proceed with the call.

8. Stop recording when done. The file saves to whatever directory you configured in Settings > Output > Recording Path.

OBS advantage: multi-track audio

If you set OBS to record multiple audio tracks (Settings > Output > Recording > Audio Track checkboxes), you can put BlackHole on track 1 and your mic on track 2. In post-production, you can adjust volumes independently — useful if one speaker was much louder than the others or if you need to remove your own commentary and keep only the Discord audio.

Method 3: macOS Screenshot Toolbar + BlackHole

If you don't want to install OBS and only need a quick recording, the built-in macOS screen recorder can work — but you still need BlackHole for Discord's audio.

Setup

1. Install BlackHole 2ch and create a Multi-Output Device exactly as described in Method 2, steps 1–6.

2. Set your system output to the Multi-Output Device so Discord audio routes through BlackHole.

3. Press Cmd + Shift + 5 to open the Screenshot Toolbar.

4. Choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion (drag to select the Discord window area).

5. Click Options in the toolbar. Under Microphone, select "BlackHole 2ch." This tells the macOS recorder to capture the BlackHole audio stream, which contains the Discord call audio.

6. Click Record.

7. When finished, click the Stop button in the menu bar, or press Cmd + Control + Esc.

Limitations

• No mic audio by default. When you select BlackHole as the microphone source, you lose your own voice from the recording. The Screenshot Toolbar only accepts one audio input. To get both sides, you would need to create an Aggregate Device in Audio MIDI Setup that combines BlackHole and your physical mic — which adds more configuration.
• No multi-track. Everything merges into one audio stream.
• No editing. The file saves as a .mov. You'll need to use QuickTime, a trim tool, or another editor to clean it up.
• Recording quality is fixed at your display's native resolution with Apple's default encoder settings. No control over bitrate or codec.

This method is best as a fallback when you can't install anything beyond BlackHole and need a fast, one-time capture.

Method 4: Craig Bot (server voice channels)

Craig is a Discord bot that joins a voice channel and records each participant on a separate audio track, server-side. No screen recording, no audio routing, no local setup beyond inviting the bot.

How it works

1. Invite Craig to your Discord server from craig.chat. You need "Manage Server" permission on the server to add the bot.

2. Join a voice channel on your server.

3. Type /join in any text channel. Craig joins your current voice channel and begins recording immediately. A message confirms the recording has started, with a link to manage it.

4. Everyone in the channel is recorded. Craig announces itself in the voice channel with a short audio cue, which serves as disclosure to participants. Each person's audio is captured on a separate track.

5. Type /stop when you're done. Craig leaves the voice channel and sends you a private link to download the recording.

6. Download options include:

   • A single mixed-down audio file (all speakers combined)
   • Individual audio tracks per participant (FLAC or WAV)
   • An AAC version for smaller file size

Craig advantages

• Per-user audio tracks are invaluable for podcasts or interviews. If one person had a noisy background, you can reduce their track without affecting others.
• No local CPU load. Craig records server-side, so your Mac isn't encoding anything.
• No screen capture — this is audio-only. If you need video of screen shares or webcam feeds in the Discord call, Craig won't help. Use Method 1 or 2 instead.

Craig limitations

• Voice channels only. Craig cannot join DM calls or Group DM calls — it only works in server voice channels.
• Audio only. No video, no screen content.
• Free tier limits. Free recordings are limited to 6 hours. The Patreon tier ($1.50/month) extends this and adds lossless FLAC download.
• Bot must be invited by a server admin. If you're recording a call in someone else's server, you need them to add Craig first.

Troubleshooting

Discord audio not captured in the recording

This is the most common problem on Mac. The cause is almost always the audio output route.

• Check your system output. If you're using Method 2 or 3, your Mac's sound output must be set to the Multi-Output Device that includes BlackHole. If it's set to your regular speakers or headphones directly, BlackHole gets no signal and the recording is silent.
• Restart Discord after changing audio output devices. Discord's audio engine sometimes caches the device it connected to at launch. Quitting and reopening Discord forces it to re-acquire the current output device.
• Check Discord's output device. In Discord > Settings > Voice & Video > Output Device, make sure it's set to "Default" (which follows the system setting) or explicitly to the Multi-Output Device. If Discord is hardcoded to "MacBook Pro Speakers," it bypasses BlackHole entirely.

Recording has your voice but not other participants

Your microphone is being captured, but system audio (where Discord outputs the other participants' voices) is not routed to the recorder.

• In Screenify Studio, confirm the system audio toggle is ON.
• In OBS, confirm you have an Audio Input Capture source set to BlackHole 2ch, and that the source is not muted in the mixer.
• In Screenshot Toolbar, confirm the Microphone option is set to BlackHole, not your physical mic.

Echo or feedback loop during the call

If other participants hear themselves echoed back, you've created a feedback loop. This happens when:

1. Your microphone picks up the speaker output.
2. The recording software routes the mic back to the audio stream that Discord is transmitting.

Fix: Use headphones while recording. This prevents your mic from picking up the speaker output. If you must use speakers, reduce the speaker volume and increase the mic noise gate in Discord (Settings > Voice & Video > Advanced > Noise Suppression set to high).

OBS shows a black screen for Discord Window Capture

Discord uses hardware-accelerated rendering. On some macOS versions, OBS's Window Capture cannot hook into hardware-accelerated windows.

Fix options:

• Switch to Display Capture instead of Window Capture in OBS.
• In Discord, go to Settings > Advanced > disable "Hardware Acceleration." Discord will use software rendering, which OBS can capture. This may increase Discord's CPU usage slightly.

Recording file is enormous

A 1-hour call recorded at Retina resolution with uncompressed settings can easily produce a 10–20 GB file.

• In OBS, lower the recording resolution to 1920x1080 instead of your Retina native resolution. Go to Settings > Video > Output (Scaled) Resolution.
• Use H.265/HEVC encoding if your Mac supports it (Apple Silicon or T2 chip). It produces files roughly half the size of H.264 at the same quality.
• In Screenify Studio, the default export settings already optimize for file size with hardware-accelerated encoding. No manual tuning needed.

Craig bot doesn't respond to /join

• Make sure Craig has permission to join voice channels and read messages in the text channel where you typed the command.
• Check that you're in a voice channel before running /join. Craig joins whatever voice channel you're currently in.
• If the bot is offline (rare), check craig.chat for status updates.

FAQ

Q: Can I record Discord DM calls on Mac?

Yes, but only with a local screen/audio recorder like Screenify Studio, OBS, or the Screenshot Toolbar. Craig Bot cannot join DM calls — it only works in server voice channels. For DM calls, use Method 1, 2, or 3.

Q: Does Discord notify other people when I record?

No. Discord has no built-in recording detection or notification system. Unlike FaceTime on iOS (which alerts on screenshots), Discord provides no signal to other participants. This is exactly why you should disclose it yourself before pressing record.

Q: What audio format does Craig Bot produce?

Craig offers downloads in FLAC (lossless), WAV, AAC, and Ogg Vorbis. The default mixed-down file is typically Ogg. For per-user separate tracks, FLAC is the best option if you plan to edit in a DAW like Audacity, Logic, or GarageBand.

Q: Can I record Discord screen shares specifically?

If someone is sharing their screen in a Discord call, that content appears in the Discord window. A full-window or full-screen capture (Methods 1–3) will record whatever is visible, including the shared screen. Craig Bot does not capture screen shares — it records audio only.

Q: How do I record Discord on Mac without BlackHole?

Use Screenify Studio (Method 1). It captures system audio natively through macOS ScreenCaptureKit, so no virtual audio driver is needed. Alternatively, use Craig Bot (Method 4) for audio-only server recordings with no local audio routing setup required.

Q: Will recording Discord affect call quality?

Screen recording adds minor CPU and memory load. On Apple Silicon Macs (M1 and later), the impact is negligible — the hardware encoder handles recording efficiently. On older Intel Macs, running OBS at high settings while in a Discord video call with multiple participants can cause frame drops. Lower OBS's output resolution or recording framerate if you notice lag.

Q: Is recording Discord calls against Discord's Terms of Service?

Recording itself is not banned. Discord's Terms of Service require that you comply with applicable laws, which in most jurisdictions means obtaining consent from everyone being recorded. Discord will not automatically ban you for recording, but if another user reports that you recorded them without consent, Discord may take action on your account.

Q: Can I record a Discord Stage channel?

Yes. Stage channels are server voice channels with a speaker/audience structure. Craig Bot can join Stage channels if it has the right permissions. Screen recorders (Methods 1–3) capture whatever is visible and audible on your Mac, including Stage channel audio routed through your speakers.

Related guides

• How to Record Internal Audio on Mac — deep dive on system audio capture with and without BlackHole
• How to Trim a Video on Mac — clean up your Discord call recordings before sharing
• How to Record a Zoom Meeting on Mac — similar setup for Zoom instead of Discord