How to Record Google Meet with OBS

Short answer: yes, OBS can record a Google Meet call

OBS Studio is free, open-source recording and streaming software. It does not connect to Google Meet directly. Instead, it records what appears on your screen and what plays through your computer's audio. If the Meet call is visible in a browser window and its sound plays on your computer, OBS can save both to a video file.

This is different from Google Meet's built-in recording. Built-in recording is part of some Google Workspace plans. It saves recordings to Google Drive and tells participants that the meeting is being recorded. OBS works on any account, and the file stays on your computer. However, OBS does not alert other participants, so telling them is your responsibility.

Before you start: consent and permissions

Recording laws in the US differ by state. Some states require consent from everyone on the call, and some require consent from only one participant. Workplaces and schools may have their own rules as well. The simplest approach is to tell everyone at the start of the call that you are recording, and continue only if they agree.

Your operating system also has to allow OBS to capture the screen. On macOS, OBS needs Screen Recording permission and, for your own voice, Microphone permission. You grant these in System Settings under Privacy & Security, and you may need to restart OBS afterward. Windows usually does not block screen capture this way, but its microphone privacy settings must allow desktop apps to use the microphone.

Step-by-step: setting up OBS to record Meet

• 1. Join the Google Meet call, or open a test meeting, in your browser so the call window exists.
• 2. Open OBS Studio. In the Scenes panel, use the existing scene or add a new one.
• 3. In the Sources panel, click the plus button and choose Window Capture (on macOS, the macOS Screen Capture source in window mode). Select the browser window that shows Meet. To record the whole monitor, choose Display Capture instead.
• 4. Resize or crop the source in the preview so the call fills the frame the way you want.
• 5. Check the Audio Mixer. Desktop Audio records what you hear, including other participants. Mic/Aux records your microphone. If either is missing, add it under Settings, then Audio.
• 6. Under Settings, then Output, note the recording path, which is where the file will be saved. You can change it if you like.
• 7. Click Start Recording. When the call ends, click Stop Recording.

Check the recording before an important call

Make a short test recording first. Then check three separate things.

• Video: open the saved file and confirm it shows the Meet window rather than a black or frozen frame.
• Other participants' audio: confirm you can hear them. The Desktop Audio meter moving in OBS during the call shows that a signal is reaching OBS, but only playback confirms the sound is clear.
• Your own voice: confirm it was recorded and is not too quiet, distorted or echoing. Seeing the Mic/Aux meter move tells you the microphone is detected and active. It does not tell you how the result sounds.

Common problems and what they usually mean

Black screen with Window Capture: on Windows, browser hardware acceleration sometimes stops OBS from capturing the browser window. Try a different capture method in the source properties, switch to Display Capture, or turn off hardware acceleration in the browser's settings and restart it.

No sound from other participants: make sure Desktop Audio is set to the same output device the browser is playing through. On macOS, older setups could not capture system audio without an extra audio-routing tool. Recent versions of OBS can capture app audio through the macOS screen capture source. Check whether your version and system support this.

Your voice appears twice or echoes: this can happen if your microphone is recorded directly and also comes back through the call audio. Headphones usually help, because they stop the speakers from feeding the call sound back into your microphone.

Meet can't find your webcam: if you added the webcam to OBS as a Video Capture Device, OBS may be holding it so the browser can't use it, especially on Windows. Remove that source from OBS while you are in the call. Or, to use your OBS scene as your camera in Meet, start OBS Virtual Camera and select it as the camera in Meet's settings. OBS seeing the camera, Meet showing a live picture, and the picture looking clear to others are three separate things, so check each one.

What this guide cannot confirm

No specific test data was available for this guide. That includes OBS version details, recommended bitrates, file sizes, or how recording affects call performance on particular computers. Menu names and permission screens can change between OBS, browser and operating system updates. If something looks different, look for the closest matching option, and always make a short test recording before relying on the setup.