There are two kinds of audio (this trips everyone up)
When people say “record with audio,” they usually mean one of two completely separate sources — and a good screen recorder lets you control each independently:
| Source | What it captures | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Microphone | Your voice | Narrating a demo, walking through a bug, leaving a video note |
| Tab / system audio | The sound your computer plays | Capturing a video, a meeting, music, or an app’s sounds |
For a narrated walkthrough over a silent app: mic on, tab audio off. To capture a videowith your commentary over it: both on. They mix into a single track — no editing required.
Step-by-step
- Open the recorder. Click the ClipCast icon in your toolbar (or press Alt+Shift+R). The setup overlay appears on the current page.
- Turn on your microphone. Toggle the mic on to narrate. Chrome asks for permission once — click Allow. Pick the right input if you have several.
- Turn on tab/system audio. Recording a tab? Enable tab audio to capture the sound the page plays (a video, a call, an app). This is separate from your mic.
- Record. Hit Start recording. Both audio sources are mixed into one track automatically.
- Stop and share. Click stop on the timer pill. The clip uploads and the share link is copied — viewers hear everything you captured.
“I recorded my screen but there’s no sound” — fixes
- Tab audio only works when recording a tab. If you picked Entire screen, the page’s sound may not be captured — switch to This tab to grab tab audio cleanly.
- Microphone permission was blocked. Click the camera/mic icon in Chrome’s address bar and set the mic to Allow, then reopen the recorder.
- Wrong input selected. Headset plugged in after Chrome started? Reselect your mic in the setup overlay.
- You’re muted at the OS level. Check system volume / input levels — the recorder can only capture what your computer can hear.
- Mac system audio. macOS doesn’t expose system audio to the browser as freely as Windows. Recording a tab (with tab audio) is the reliable way to capture page sound on a Mac.
Tips for clean audio
- Talk while you click — narration is what makes a screen recording worth watching.
- Quiet room, close mic. A cheap headset mic beats laptop speakers-distance every time.
- Mute notifications so a Slack ping doesn’t land in your recording.
- Need a transcript? Pro turns your audio into searchable text automatically.
Common questions
Is it free? Yes — ClipCast records screen + audio free for up to 5 minutes per clip, with unlimited share links. Pro ($5/mo) unlocks 2-hour recordings, 1080p, and AI transcripts.
Where to next? Add a facecam with screen + camera & mic, or see the full record your screen in Chrome walkthrough.