< help / Audio Routing: macOS
macOS 14.2 added a new feature to Core Audio that allows for capturing the output of a particular audio device.
Open MiniMeters and click Settings from the bottom right.
Under the Audio Device panel and choose "MiniMeters Plugin" from the Audio Device section.
A window will pop up requesting System Audio permissions. MiniMeters needs this to monitor your desktop audio. You can revoke this permission at any time from System Settings.
From macOS 13.0 to 14.1 the only way to capture desktop audio is to start a screen capture session using ScreenCaptureKit. MiniMeters throws away any screen capture data and only implements the audio portion of the capture.
Open MiniMeters and click Settings from the bottom right.
Under the Audio Device panel and choose "Desktop Audio" from the Audio Device section.
A window will pop up requesting Screen Capture permissions. MiniMeters needs these to set up the session to record. You can revoke this permission at any time from System Settings.
Desktop Audio Capture is not supported on macOS 12 Monterey and prior.
Here are some 3rd party tools that may help you get your system audio into MiniMeters:
Product Name Setup Guide Difficulty Paid Rogue Amoeba SoundSource Setup Guide Easy Paid Rogue Amoeba Audio Hijack Setup Guide Moderate Paid Static Z Sound Siphon Setup Guide Moderate Paid eqMac None Moderate Free/Paid Advanced: Existential Audio BlackHole Guide Advanced Free Rogue Amoeba Loopback None Advanced Paid
Some audio interfaces support a creation of a loopback device.
UAD Interfaces:
Follow the instructions in this tutorial.