OBS Desktop Audio Not Working on Mac? Fix It With BlackHole

If you’ve set up OBS on a Mac and discovered your recordings or streams have your microphone but no game or desktop audio, you haven’t done anything wrong — macOS simply doesn’t provide a way to capture “whatever’s playing through the speakers” the way Windows does. Here’s the actual fix.

Why this happens on Mac specifically

Windows has a built-in loopback input (commonly labeled “Stereo Mix” in sound settings) that lets any application, including OBS, capture system audio directly. macOS has no equivalent built into the operating system. Apple’s audio architecture doesn’t expose a default loopback path for privacy and security reasons, so anything that needs to capture desktop audio — OBS included — needs a separate virtual audio driver to create that path.

The fix: BlackHole

BlackHole is a free, open-source virtual audio driver built specifically for macOS loopback routing. It creates a virtual audio device that other applications can send audio to and receive audio from — which is exactly the missing piece.

The setup has three parts:

1. Install BlackHole (the 2ch version is enough for standard stereo capture).
2. Create a Multi-Output Device in the built-in Audio MIDI Setup app (Applications → Utilities), combining BlackHole with your actual output device (speakers or headphones). Set this Multi-Output Device as your Mac’s system output.
3. Add BlackHole as an audio input source in OBS (Sources → Add → Audio Input Capture, then select BlackHole as the device).

Practical tip: Skipping step 2 is the single most common mistake — without a Multi-Output Device, audio routed to BlackHole plays only into OBS, and you’ll hear silence yourself while your recording captures everything correctly. If you can’t hear your own game, this is almost always why.

Common problems after setup

Setup checklist

Key mistakes to avoid

1. Installing BlackHole but never creating a Multi-Output Device — you’ll capture audio but hear silence yourself.
2. Forgetting to switch system output to the Multi-Output Device after creating it.
3. Mismatched sample rates between BlackHole and your physical output, causing crackling.
4. Not re-checking driver approval or device selection after macOS updates.

Conclusion

macOS’s lack of built-in loopback audio isn’t a bug in your setup — it’s a platform difference from Windows that a free virtual audio driver solves cleanly once you understand the two-device routing involved. Once desktop audio is sorted, see our Apple Silicon OBS setup guide for the rest of a clean Mac streaming setup.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is BlackHole free?

Yes. BlackHole is free and open-source. Paid alternatives like Loopback (by Rogue Amoeba) exist and add a friendlier interface plus per-application audio routing, but they aren't required to get basic desktop-audio capture working in OBS.

Why can't I hear my own game audio after installing BlackHole?

Because BlackHole is a virtual output with no physical speaker attached to it — routing audio to BlackHole alone sends it to OBS but nowhere else. The fix is creating a Multi-Output Device in Audio MIDI Setup that includes both BlackHole and your actual speakers/headphones, so the same audio goes to both places simultaneously.