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Capture audio from an app

Press ⌘K, run Capture App Audio… and pick the app with Return; Gridshift brings it to the front. Play the sound there, then switch back and click Stop Capture, or press Return.

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Check that sound is arriving

Watch the status line under the timer while you record. Sound detected means the capture got something.

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Allow audio recording

If a capture records silence, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording and turn Gridshift on under System Audio Recording Only.

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Good to know

  • Use it to grab a sound from a browser, a video, a streaming app or a standalone synth without routing it through an audio interface.
  • Gridshift listens to the one app you pick, and nothing else. Other apps and Gridshift’s own playback stay out of the recording, so there is no feedback loop. You keep hearing the app while it records.
  • The result is a new sample track named Capture - [App Name] at the bottom of the track list, with the recording as one clip starting at bar 1.
  • If nothing at all arrived, no track is created and Gridshift shows No audio was captured.
  • Don’t change the output device during a capture. Plugging in headphones or unplugging an interface stops the recording at that point.
  • The recording is a stereo mix of everything that app plays, converted to the project’s sample rate when you stop.
  • The app list holds every running app, alphabetically, each with its icon. Type a few letters to narrow it.
  • A small window shows Capturing from [App Name]… and a running timer. Return stops the capture while the Gridshift window is in front.
  • Give the command a shortcut to start a capture with one key. Highlight Capture App Audio… in the palette and press ⌘S (Custom Shortcuts).
  • An app that starts its audio after you begin is picked up as soon as it starts, like a browser playing its first video.
  • The new track is selected, and the clip gets its waveform and slice markers like any imported sample.
  • Until you save, the recording is a WAV file in a temporary folder. Saving the project copies it into the project.
  • The first capture asks for macOS’s audio-recording permission. Gridshift asks only for audio, never for the screen. Without it, a capture records silence.
Last modified on October 22, 2026