Whether you’re on Windows or Mac, there are several ways to capture recordings from either a computer or microphone.

How to Use Audacity with a Microphone

The steps for recording audio from a microphone—whether you’re using your computer’s built-in mic or an external one—is identical for both Windows and Mac.

Crack open Audacity and familiarize yourself with the Device Toolbar, located beneath the playback buttons. Here, you can change the Audio Host, as well as the Recording and Playback Devices—essential requirements for recording in Audacity.

To get started, create a new track by clicking on Tracks > Add New > Stereo Track or Mono Track.

Click on the Recording Device dropdown menu (the one with the microphone symbol beside it). Choose your microphone from the list, and press the Record button.

As you speak into the microphone, a soundwave appears along the track. Look to the top of the screen, where the Recording Level is displayed. This is useful to check if your mic is picking up sounds, and at what volume.

Press Stop to end the recording or Pause to temporarily halt it until you click Record again.

When making a subsequent recording, you can continue using the same track if you wish. However, creating a new track each time gives you greater control and makes it easier to overlay and edit later.

Highlight any section with the cursor, then press the Delete key to edit out any part of the recording on the fly. To delete everything you’ve just recorded, press Ctrl + A, then hit Delete. Or, remove the track entirely by clicking the X button.

How to Use Audacity to Record from Your Windows Computer

Unlike on Macs, Windows lets you easily record audio that’s playing from a video or media file on your computer. There are three main ways to do this.

1. Use MME as the Audio Host

To choose MME as your audio host, start by making a new track through Tracks > Add New > Stereo Track.

Switch the Audio Host (located to the left of Recording Device) to MME—this is the default, so you may not need to do this.

Open the Recording Device dropdown and select Stereo Mix. This may have another name depending on your setup, such as Wave Out or Loopback. Experiment if you’re unsure.

Press Record, then play your audio source to capture it.

2. Use WASAPI as the Audio Host

WASAPI offers better quality digital recordings. It should also be used when you’re recording audio played from an external device.

With a new Stereo Track created, change the Audio Host from the default MME to Windows WASAPI.

Change the Recording Device option to Speaker (loopback). You may need to drag the handles of the toolbar outward to see the full title.

Start recording, then play the audio source. Even if you mute your computer, Audacity will still record the sound.

3. Use a Loopback Cable

It’s possible to “trick” your Windows computer with a double-ended 3.5mm audio cable. But watch out, because the audio quality can be poor and distorted, as it’s converted from digital to analog to digital again.

Plug one end of the cable into your computer’s Input jack, where you usually plug in an external microphone. Then, take the other end and plug it into the Output or Headphone jack.

Congratulations, you’ve now created a loopback.

Open Audacity, and change the Recording Device to Line-in. Press Record, and then play the external audio.

How to Use Audacity to Record from Your Mac

There are two methods you can use to record audio from your Mac with Audacity. While one requires a loopback cable, the other requires you to download a third-party software.

1. Use a Loopback Cable

Loopback cables are a necessity for recording audio that’s being played from your Mac, as there’s no way to record streaming audio. Before you start, make sure you have muted all other sounds on your computer. Alerts from incoming emails or IMs will also be recorded using this method.

Plug each end of the loopback cable into the Input and Output jacks. From here, open Apple Menu > System Preferences > Sound Preferences.

Under Output, select Line Out, and under Input, select Line Input. With the audio playing, adjust the Input Volume slider so that the Input level slider lights up all but the top three bars.

After that, open Audacity. Choose Transport > Transport Options, then turn off Software Playthrough (click it so the tick isn’t visible).

In the Recording Device drop-down, choose Built-in Input. Hit Record, then fire up your audio.

2. Download a Third-Party Software

You can also use third-party software to capture audio that is being played on your Mac. If you don’t fancy wiring up a loopback cable (and reducing the quality of your recordings), try using iShowU Audio Capture or Soundflower instead.

To get started with iShowU Audio Capture, follow these steps:

Download iShowU Audio Capture. Make sure to set the Multi-Output Device on your Mac to iShowU Audio Capture and Audacity’s Recording Device to the same.

Soundflower requires extra setup, but it also ensures that you won’t have to worry about most email alerts and other notifications being recorded. Here’s how to use it:

Download Soundflower for OS X 10. 9+ or OS X 10. 6-10. 8. In your Mac’s Sound Preferences, change the Output and Input to Soundflower (2ch). Under Sound Effects, in the Play sound effects through dropdown menu, choose Line Out. Open Audacity, and turn off Software Playthrough via Transport > Transport Options. Change the Recording Device to Soundflower (2ch) and Playback Device to Built-in Output, and you’re good to go.

Export and Enjoy Your Audacity Recording

Once you’re finished recording, click on File > Export in Audacity, and export to your preferred file type. If you plan to return to your recorded tracks, remember to save the project as an .AUP file, too.

Using Audacity to record is as easy as that. You now have your first proper audio recording, ready to send, share, or edit into a podcast or video.