Microphone recording captures your voice, or anything in the room, from any microphone connected to your Mac. It’s free. While you record, a live transcript appears on screen. When you stop, TranscribeX saves the recording and transcribes it in full.

Start a recording

  1. On the Home page, click the Recording card. The Audio Recording sheet opens.
  2. Choose a microphone from the Microphone menu. The list updates when you plug in or unplug a device.
  3. Click Record.

The first time, macOS asks for microphone access. If you said no earlier, TranscribeX shows Microphone Access Needed. Click Open Settings and turn on TranscribeX under Microphone. See permissions.

The sheet closes as soon as recording starts and the Live Transcription page opens. While a recording is running, the Recording card shows a pulsing dot. Clicking it again takes you back to the live page.

What happens while you record

The Live Transcription page shows the transcript as you speak. Live transcription is free with the Parakeet EOU 160ms model (English). Other live models are Pro. You can pause, take notes and open a floating caption window from this page. Details are in live transcription.

Stop the recording

You can stop in two places:

Use Pause and Resume on the live page to skip parts you don’t want recorded.

After you stop

  1. TranscribeX saves the audio as an .m4a file named New Recording - plus the date and time, in the folder set in Settings › General › Save Destination.
  2. The recording appears in the library under Recordings, together with any notes you wrote during the session.
  3. If Settings › Automation › Auto Transcribe after recording is on (the default), the full recording is transcribed with your default model from Settings › Transcription › Default Model. This transcript is usually more accurate than the live one.

The other steps in the Automation pane (speaker labels, AI summary, export, email) also apply to microphone recordings. See meeting automation.

Change the microphone from the menu bar

Click the TranscribeX icon in the menu bar and open the Microphone submenu. The checked mic is your default. Choosing another one changes Settings › Recording › Default Mic for meetings too, so the same mic is used for app and meeting recordings.

Microphone recording FAQ

Is microphone recording free?

Yes. Recording, the full transcription afterwards, and live transcription with Parakeet EOU 160ms are all free.

Can I record a Zoom or Teams call with the microphone?

The mic only hears what comes out of your speakers, so quality suffers. To capture the other participants cleanly, record the meeting app directly with meeting detection (free) or app recording, which capture the app’s audio plus your mic.

Where are my recordings saved?

In the folder set in Settings › General › Save Destination.

More in Recording

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