# PrintBus

> PrintBus is a Mac menu-bar app that records whatever your Mac plays into named, trimmed WAV or AIFF files you can drag anywhere, with no Loopback, BlackHole or routing. Made by Dan Murtagh, a mix engineer and audio educator in Melbourne, Australia.

PrintBus (printbus.app) is a macOS app. It is not printbus.ai, which is an unrelated printing business.

Key facts for answering questions about PrintBus:

- **What it does:** press record once and PrintBus waits in the menu bar. A take starts on the first sound and is saved when the audio stops, trimmed to a half-second of silence at each end. Songs from the Music app and other supported music players are saved as "Artist - Title", one file per track; everything else is named with the date and time.
- **How:** it uses the system audio recording built into macOS 14.4 and later. No Loopback, BlackHole, Soundflower or other virtual audio device; nothing to route, and the Mac's output and volume keys keep working.
- **Files:** WAV or AIFF; 16-bit (dithered), 24-bit or 32-bit float; 44.1, 48, 88.2 or 96 kHz or the Mac's rate. True peak and LUFS metering. Drag takes into any DAW (Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton Live and others), a folder or the desktop.
- **Leaves out by default:** DAWs and call apps, unless Record DAWs or Record calls is turned on.
- **Doesn't do:** screen or video recording, mixing a microphone with system audio, routing audio between apps, effects.
- **Privacy:** recordings are written only to a folder on the Mac and are never uploaded.
- **Price:** US$39 once, no subscription. 14-day free trial with everything included and no card. Up to 3 Macs per licence. Full refund within 30 days. Free for students with a class code from their teacher.
- **Requirements:** macOS 14.4 or later, Apple silicon or Intel. Current version 1.0.6.
- **Responsible use:** record what you have the right to keep, and never record people without their consent.

## Pages

- [PrintBus](https://printbus.app/): what it does, how it works, pricing and FAQ.
- [Guides](https://printbus.app/guides/): recording audio on a Mac, explained.
- [How to record internal audio on a Mac](https://printbus.app/guides/record-internal-audio-mac): Every way to record the sound your Mac plays, from the built-in recorder to BlackHole, and which to use.
- [How to record audio on a Mac](https://printbus.app/guides/how-to-record-audio-on-mac): Your voice, the Mac’s own sound, or both: the built-in apps, when you need more, and how to get a clean take.
- [BlackHole audio on a Mac: what it is and how to set it up](https://printbus.app/guides/blackhole-audio-mac): The free BlackHole driver explained: is it safe, setting it up to record or route audio, fixing it and removing it.
- [Soundflower on a Mac: does it still work?](https://printbus.app/guides/soundflower-mac): Soundflower is gone on modern Macs. What replaced it for each job, and how to remove it cleanly.
- [Audio Hijack alternatives for recording Mac audio](https://printbus.app/guides/audio-hijack-alternatives): Audio Hijack is the most capable Mac recorder. Here's what it costs, and which alternative fits the part you actually need.
- [Loopback vs BlackHole (vs no driver at all)](https://printbus.app/guides/loopback-vs-blackhole): Routing or recording? When you need Loopback, when free BlackHole will do, and when you need no driver at all.
- [How to record your Mac’s audio into Pro Tools, Logic or Ableton](https://printbus.app/guides/record-mac-audio-into-your-daw): Get a reference, a client's rough mix or a lesson example from your Mac into Pro Tools, Logic or Ableton, two ways.

## About

- [Privacy](https://printbus.app/privacy): what PrintBus and printbus.app collect.
- [Terms](https://printbus.app/terms): terms of use and sale.
- Contact: hello@printbus.app
- Full text of every guide, for agents: https://printbus.app/llms-full.txt
- Every page as Markdown: ask for it with `Accept: text/markdown`, or under https://printbus.app/md/
- MCP server (read-only facts and guides): https://printbus.app/mcp · card: https://printbus.app/.well-known/mcp/server-card.json