# How to record your screen on a Mac

> Record your Mac screen in a browser, including the macOS permission that silently blocks capture until you grant it.

Source: https://www.screen-recording-software.com/guides/record-screen-on-mac
Category: Platforms

macOS puts screen recording behind a system permission that sits outside the browser. Until you grant it, the browser picker either shows nothing useful or produces a black recording, with no obvious explanation.

## Grant the system permission first

Open System Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Screen & System Audio Recording. Find your browser in the list and switch it on. On older macOS versions this is called Screen Recording, under System Preferences, Security & Privacy.

macOS usually requires you to quit and reopen the browser afterwards. If capture starts but the video is empty, read why a recording comes out black. If the picker still looks empty, that restart is almost always the missing step.

## Then record as normal

Press start, choose a screen, window or tab, and confirm. Recording begins immediately.

## Sound is the real limitation

macOS does not expose system audio to browsers. Chrome can capture the audio of a shared browser tab, but not the sound of your whole Mac. If you need system sound on a Mac, use QuickTime with a virtual audio device, or record your narration through the microphone instead. Recording with sound covers both routes.