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Soundflower on a new Mac: what to use instead

Soundflower hasn't been updated since 2014 and doesn't support Apple silicon Macs. To send sound from one app into another, use BlackHole (free) or Loopback. To simply record what your Mac plays, you don't need a driver at all on macOS 14.4 or later.

By Plastic · Updated 11 October 2026 · 4 min read

In this guide
  1. Why everyone used Soundflower
  2. What happened to it
  3. What to use instead
  4. Coming from Soundflower: set up BlackHole
  5. If you only wanted to record: skip the driver
  6. Questions

Why everyone used Soundflower

For years, Soundflower was the standard answer to "how do I record what my Mac is playing?" It was free, it made the Mac's sound show up as an input, and every forum thread pointed to it.

“I wanted to save chords I heard in YouTube videos, so I tried Soundflower, then Loopback. It was a hell of an experience: installers, drivers, a restart in the middle of an Ableton session. And every time I wanted to record, I had to pick it as my input again. So I made an app that does this one simple thing, and does it well.”

Kai Williams, who made DOT

A songwriter we know had the same routine: install Soundflower, set it as an output in Logic, all just to grab a sample on the fly.

What happened to it

  • It's a kernel extension, a kind of system add-on that Apple has been phasing out. Cycling '74 made it; in 2014 Rogue Amoeba took it over, and at the end of 2015 it passed back to its original author.
  • The last release is 2.0b2, from December 2014.
  • Its own page now begins "DEPRECATED. Silicon Macs are not supported." Homebrew stopped offering it in November 2025 as unmaintained.
  • Rogue Amoeba's old Soundflower page now says "Looking for Soundflower? Consider Loopback."

So on an M1, M2, M3, M4 or M5 Mac, don't go looking for an installer. Third-party download sites still offer one, but it won't work, and it isn't worth lowering your Mac's security to try.

  1. 2014Soundflower
  2. TodayBlackHole
  3. macOS 14.4 and laterNothing to install

What to use instead

  • Record what your Mac plays

    A recorder that captures it directly: DOT or Audio Hijack (macOS 14.4 or later), or the Screenshot toolbar's Include System Audio (macOS 27)

    DOT: 10 recordings free, then $49 once. Audio Hijack: $69. Screenshot toolbar: free

  • Send one app's sound into another, live

    BlackHole

    Free

  • Mix several apps and microphones into one input, with a visual router

    Loopback

    $99

Coming from Soundflower: set up BlackHole

BlackHole works the way Soundflower did: a virtual device your Mac plays into, which other apps can record from. The setup is the same idea too.

  1. Install BlackHole 2ch (from Existential Audio, or brew install blackhole-2ch) and restart.
  2. In Audio MIDI Setup, create a Multi-Output Device with your speakers on top and BlackHole 2ch below, with Drift Correction on for BlackHole.
  3. Use it as your sound output, and set your DAW's input to BlackHole 2ch.

The full walkthrough, the catches (your volume keys stop working) and how to remove it are in our BlackHole guide.

If you only wanted to record: skip the driver

Most people who installed Soundflower wanted one thing: to record what their Mac was playing. Since macOS 14.2, Apple lets apps do that directly, with one permission and nothing to install or reroute.

That's what DOT is for:

  1. Open DOT and leave the source on All Mac audio, or pick the app that's playing.
  2. Press ⌘R, let the part play, and press ⌘R again.
  3. The clip lands in your library trimmed, with its key, tempo and chords. Drag it into Logic, Ableton or any DAW as a normal audio file.

Questions

Does Soundflower work on M1, M2 or M3 Macs?

No. Soundflower doesn't support Apple silicon, and it hasn't been updated since 2014.

What replaced Soundflower?

BlackHole (free) and Loopback ($99) for routing audio between apps. For recording your Mac's sound, recorders such as DOT and Audio Hijack capture it directly on macOS 14.4 or later.

Is BlackHole the same as Soundflower?

It does the same job: a virtual audio device that apps can play into and record from. Unlike Soundflower, it's maintained, supports Apple silicon, and doesn't need a kernel extension.

Can I still use Soundflower on an old Intel Mac?

It may still run on old Intel Macs with older macOS versions, but it's unmaintained and needs a kernel extension approved in Privacy & Security. BlackHole is the safer choice even there.

Sources

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