OneTaskBy Tim King · Updated
Tab Audio Recorder
Record Sound From a Browser Tab
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How the Tab Audio Recorder works
This tab audio recorder captures the sound playing in a browser tab and saves it as a WebM (Opus) audio file, or M4A in Safari. Press Record, pick the tab, switch on "Share tab audio" and press Stop when you are done. The sound is taken straight from the tab, not through a microphone, and it never leaves your computer.
Recording what a web page plays used to mean a loopback driver, a virtual audio cable or a browser extension with broad permissions. Chromium browsers now offer the same thing through the screen sharing dialog: when you share a tab, you can share its sound too. This tool asks for that share, keeps only the audio and records it.
How the tab audio recorder works
The tool calls the browser's screen capture API with audio switched on. The browser shows its own picker, so you choose exactly which tab is shared and can stop it at any time. The video part of the share is ignored; the audio track goes to MediaRecorder, which encodes it as Opus in a WebM file. When you press Stop, or end the share from the browser's bar, the file downloads.
Because the audio is taken digitally from the tab, there is no room noise, no keyboard clatter and no level to set. What you hear in the tab is what you get, at the tab's own volume.
Browser support
| Browser | Tab audio | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera (desktop) | Yes | Tick "Share tab audio" in the picker |
| Chrome on Windows | Yes, whole system too | Choosing "Entire screen" can share all sound |
| Firefox | No | Shares video only |
| Safari | No | Shares video only |
| Phones and tablets | No | No screen capture API |
Choosing the quality
| Setting | Bitrate | One hour | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| High | 192 kbps | about 86 MB | Music |
| Standard | 128 kbps | about 58 MB | Most content |
| Speech | 64 kbps | about 29 MB | Talks, webinars, podcasts |
Opus is efficient: 64 kbps speech sounds clean, and 128 kbps music is hard to tell from the source for most listeners.
Tips and pitfalls
No sound in the file? The "Share tab audio" switch in the picker is easy to miss. If it was off, the tool stops and says so, and you can try again.
Muting the tab mutes the recording. Chrome records what the tab outputs. Turn your speakers or system volume down instead if you do not want to listen along.
Keep the tab open. Closing the shared tab, or pressing "Stop sharing", ends the recording and saves what has been captured.
Respect the source. Recording a stream for personal notes is different from republishing it. Check the site's terms and the copyright on anything you plan to share.
How to read the result
The stats name the shared tab and show the sample rate, channel count, format and bitrate. When you stop, the status line gives the length and size of the saved file.
FAQ
Why is there no sound in my tab audio recording?
The "Share tab audio" option in the browser's sharing picker was probably switched off, or you chose a window instead of a tab. Press Record again, choose the Chrome Tab option, and make sure the audio switch is on before pressing Share.
Can I record tab audio in Firefox or Safari?
Not at the moment. Firefox and Safari let a page capture the screen but do not offer the tab's sound with it. Use Chrome, Edge, Brave or Opera on a desktop computer, where the option is built into the sharing dialog.
What format is the recording?
A WebM file with Opus audio, which plays in all modern browsers, VLC and most editors. If an app needs MP3 or WAV, convert it afterwards with an audio converter. Converting does not improve the quality, so record at the setting you need.
Is the tab audio uploaded anywhere?
No. The browser hands the tab's sound to this page, which records it on your device and downloads the file. Nothing is sent to a server, and the browser shows its sharing bar the whole time so you always know capture is running.
See also: all Video & Screen tools, Images, Audio, PDF, SVG, Simulations & Screensavers, Generative Art, Chart Makers, 3D Model Viewers, Drawing Pads, Mockups & 3D Making, Diagram Makers, 3D Science, Tracker Music.
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