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Information for: LoopbackSoundSource

Details on Loopback’s audio handling on MacOS 14 and higher

On MacOS 14.5 and higher, Loopback uses new technology to capture audio. This change means getting started with Loopback is now much simpler, with no need to adjust your Mac’s security settings.

Below, you’ll find additional notes about audio capture with Loopback.

Initial setup

When you launch Loopback, the Permissions window will guide you through the initial setup process. You’ll be up and running in under a minute.

Install the Audio Routing Kit (ARK) Plugin

First, you’ll be prompted to install the Audio Routing Kit (ARK) plugin. The ARK plugin provides audio handling functionality and must be installed to use Loopback.

Enable permissions for ARK

After the ARK plugin is installed, you’ll also need to enable both System Audio Access permission and Microphone Access permission for ARK. These permissions must be enabled to allow Loopback to operate.

MacOS’s system audio capture indicator

When using Loopback, you may notice a small purple dot in the menu bar, next to the menu bar icon for Control Center. This purple dot is displayed by MacOS to indicate that an application is capturing the system’s audio via software. Loopback must capture audio so that it can route it as you specify.

Clicking on the Control Center icon will reveal the full Mac Control Center. At the top of that window, you’ll see the application(s) currently accessing system audio.

For Loopback, audio capture is actually handled by a background application called Audio Routing Kit (ARK). This is the name which will be shown when system audio is being accessed by Loopback:

Apple provides additional details in the “Use Control Center on Mac” page of their MacOS User Guide.

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