How to Grant Audacity Microphone Access on macOS

If Audacity records flatlines or silence on your Mac, macOS is likely blocking the application from accessing your audio input. Apple requires explicit user permission for any application to capture audio through built-in or external microphones. This guide provides the exact steps to enable microphone permissions for Audacity in modern macOS versions (Ventura, Sonoma, and newer), legacy macOS versions (Monterey and earlier), and how to fix the issue if Audacity does not appear in your privacy list.

Enable Microphone Access on macOS Ventura, Sonoma, and Newer

Recent versions of macOS use the redesigned System Settings menu to manage app permissions:

  1. Click the Apple menu () in the top-left corner of the screen and select System Settings.
  2. In the left sidebar, scroll down and click Privacy & Security.
  3. In the right pane, click Microphone.
  4. Find Audacity in the list of applications.
  5. Toggle the switch next to Audacity to the On position (it will turn blue/green).
  6. If Audacity is currently running, macOS will prompt you to Quit & Reopen for the changes to take effect. Click to confirm.

Enable Microphone Access on macOS Monterey and Older

Older versions of macOS manage security settings via System Preferences:

  1. Click the Apple menu () and select System Preferences.
  2. Click Security & Privacy.
  3. Select the Privacy tab at the top of the window.
  4. In the left column, click Microphone.
  5. Click the lock icon in the bottom-left corner and enter your Mac's administrator password to allow changes.
  6. Check the box next to Audacity in the application list.
  7. Restart Audacity to apply the updated settings.

What to Do If Audacity Is Not in the Microphone List

macOS only displays an application in the Microphone list after the app has triggered a system permission request. If Audacity is missing from the list entirely:

  1. Open Audacity.
  2. Select your desired recording device in the Audio Setup toolbar (set it to your actual microphone rather than an internal aggregate device).
  3. Click the red Record button.
  4. macOS should display a system prompt stating: "Audacity would like to access the microphone."
  5. Click OK to immediately grant access.

Resetting Permissions via Terminal

If the prompt does not appear and Audacity remains missing from your privacy settings, reset the macOS microphone permission database using Terminal:

  1. Quit Audacity completely (Command + Q).
  2. Open Terminal (located in /Applications/Utilities/ or via Spotlight).
  3. Type the following command and press Enter: 
    tccutil reset Microphone org.audacityteam.Audacity
  4. If that does not resolve the issue, reset all microphone permissions by running: 
    tccutil reset Microphone
  5. Relaunch Audacity and press Record to trigger the permission prompt again.