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Allow the microphone and screen recording
recd needs macOS 26 and two permissions. Computer sound for calls comes with Screen Recording.
recd runs on macOS 26 or later. It uses Apple's on-device speech engine that arrived in macOS 26 for transcripts. To check your version, choose Apple menu › About This Mac.
The two permissions
| Permission | Why recd needs it |
|---|---|
| Microphone | To record your voice, on screen videos and in meetings. |
| Screen Recording | To record screens, windows and apps, and the computer's sound: the other side of a call. |
There's no separate switch for system audio. On macOS, an app records the computer's sound through the same screen capture system, so the Screen Recording permission covers it. In Settings you'll see Record system audio is always on: meetings need it.
Allow them
- Open recd the first time. macOS asks for the microphone straight away. Click Allow.
- For Screen Recording, click the menu bar dot and choose Allow Screen Recording… (or Allow in Settings › Needs permission). macOS asks, or opens System Settings: turn recd on in Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording.
- Quit recd and open it again. macOS only applies a new Screen Recording permission after the app restarts.
If you said no
recd shows what's missing in two places:
- The menu bar menu shows Allow Microphone… or Allow Screen Recording….
- Settings starts with a Needs permission section with an Allow button for each.
If macOS doesn't ask again, turn recd on yourself in System Settings › Privacy & Security, under Microphone and Screen & System Audio Recording, then restart recd.
Still stuck? See recd can't hear me or see my screen.
Something here not match what you see? Tell Nick and it gets fixed.