How to Record Google Meet with OBS

The short answer

OBS Studio has no direct connection to Google Meet. It records what your computer shows and plays. To record a Meet call, add a capture source for the browser window or screen that shows the call. Then make sure OBS is picking up two audio paths: your microphone (your voice) and your computer's audio output (everyone else's voices). Make a short test recording and play it back before the real call.

There are two separate ways to record a Meet call. Google Meet's own recording feature is available only on some account types, saves the file to Google Drive and tells participants that recording has started. Recording with OBS works on your computer whatever your account type, but Meet sends nobody a notice. This guide covers the OBS method.

Before you start: consent

OBS gives participants no recording notice, so you need to tell them yourself. In the US, some states require every party to agree before a conversation is recorded, and calls that cross state lines can be covered by more than one state's rules. Workplaces and schools may also have their own policies. Announce the recording at the start of the call and get agreement. If you're unsure what applies to you, check the rules for your situation. This guide does not give legal advice.

What you need

• OBS Studio installed and opened at least once.
• A Google Meet call or test meeting open in your browser, with camera and microphone access granted to the browser.
• The microphone and speaker or headset you plan to use, already selected in Meet's audio settings.
• Enough free disk space for the recording. Size depends on length, resolution and quality settings, so a short test recording is the most reliable way to estimate it.
• Headphones, if you can use them. They stop other participants' voices from leaking out of your speakers into your microphone, which otherwise records them twice and can cause echo.

Step 1: Capture the Meet video

In the Sources panel, click the plus button and choose one of these:

• Window Capture: records only the browser window running Meet. Other windows and notifications stay out of the recording. Give Meet its own browser window, because the source records whichever tab is visible in that window.
• Display Capture (called macOS Screen Capture on recent Mac versions): records the whole monitor. This is useful if window capture shows a black screen. Note that anything else on that screen will be recorded too.

Success check: the preview in the main OBS window shows the live Meet call and updates as people move or speak. If the preview stays black, try these fixes in order:

• On Windows, open the Window Capture properties and change the capture method. The option labeled for Windows 10 (1903 and up) often fixes browser windows.
• Switch to Display Capture.
• Turn off hardware acceleration in the browser's settings and restart the browser. This can lower browser performance, so turn it back on afterward if you don't need it.
• On macOS, give OBS Screen Recording permission in System Settings under Privacy & Security, then restart OBS.

To fit the capture to the canvas, right-click the source and choose Transform, then Fit to Screen. You don't need to add your webcam as a separate OBS source, because Meet already shows your video in the call. On some systems only one app can use a camera at a time, so adding the webcam to OBS could take it away from Meet.

Step 2: Capture the call audio

Open Settings, then Audio. Set Desktop Audio to the output device Meet is using. This is how other participants' voices get into the recording. Set Mic/Auxiliary Audio to the microphone you selected in Meet. This records your own voice. If you leave either one on Default, it follows your operating system's default device. That only works if Meet uses that same device.

Platform notes:

• Windows: Desktop Audio usually works without extra setup. Recent OBS versions also offer an Application Audio Capture source, which records sound from the browser only and leaves out other system sounds.
• macOS: Older setups often can't capture system audio without extra software. Recent OBS versions on newer macOS releases can capture audio through the macOS Screen Capture source. Check that source's properties for an audio option.
• Linux: Desktop audio capture depends on your audio system. Check that OBS lists your output device under Desktop Audio.

Success check: the Audio Mixer panel shows two meters. The Mic/Aux meter should move when you speak. The Desktop Audio meter should move when someone else speaks or when you play a sound through the same output. A moving meter only shows that OBS is receiving a signal. It does not prove the sound will be clear, so the playback test below is still needed.

Levels: the meters should move clearly when people talk but should not stay in the red zone at the right end, which means clipping (distortion). No verified target figures were available for this guide, so it gives no specific decibel numbers. Judge the levels by listening to your test recording. If your own voice comes back quieter or louder than the other participants, adjust the Mic/Aux fader. If you hear your own voice twice, open Advanced Audio Properties and check that microphone monitoring isn't sending your mic to the same output that Desktop Audio records.

Step 3: Set where and how OBS saves the file

Open Settings, then Output, and find the Recording section. Choose a recording path you'll remember. For the recording format, choose MKV, or Hybrid MP4 if your OBS version offers it. Both are less likely than standard MP4 to leave you with an unplayable file if OBS or the computer crashes mid-call. If you need a regular MP4 afterward, use File, then Remux Recordings, to convert an MKV without re-encoding it.

Step 4: Make a test recording

• Join a test meeting, or open the Meet call before others arrive.
• Click Start Recording.
• Speak for a few seconds.
• Get someone to talk in the call. If no one else is available, play a short audio clip through the same output device Meet uses.
• Click Stop Recording.
• Open File, then Show Recordings, and play the file.

When you play the file back, check for four things: the Meet window is visible rather than black, your voice is audible, the other audio is audible, and voices line up with the video.

What the test proves: your video source, both audio paths and your save settings work together on this computer. What it doesn't prove: how the other participants' audio will sound unless someone actually spoke in the call, whether your connection will hold up during the meeting, and whether a long session will fit on your disk or run smoothly without dropped frames. The OBS status bar shows dropped or skipped frames during recording. Keep an eye on it during a longer trial if the real call will run long.

Step 5: Record the real call

Join the meeting, announce that you are recording, and click Start Recording in OBS. The recording timer in the status bar shows the recording is running. When the call ends, click Stop Recording before closing the browser window. Then open the file to confirm it saved and plays.

Common problems at a glance

• Black video: change the capture method, switch to Display Capture, or turn off browser hardware acceleration (see Step 1).
• Your voice is missing: Mic/Aux points to a different microphone than the one Meet uses.
• Other participants are silent: Desktop Audio points to a different output than the one Meet uses, or macOS system audio isn't being captured.
• Echo or doubled voices: use headphones and check microphone monitoring settings.
• OBS can't open the webcam: remove the webcam source from OBS and let Meet keep the camera.