Setup asks for exactly two permissions. Both are about sound.
| Permission | Without it |
|---|---|
| Microphone | The app cannot hear you |
| System audio | The app cannot hear anyone else |
You need both. Microphone alone gives you a recording of your own half of the conversation.
The one that catches people out
macOS does not have a “system audio” switch of its own. It puts that capability under Screen & System Audio Recording, which sounds like it is about screenshots.
It gets worse: the app cannot pop a normal permission dialog for it. To trigger the macOS prompt it has to play a moment of silence through your speakers. So when you select “Allow system audio access”, you may see nothing happen at all.
If nothing appears to happen, grant it by hand:
- Open System Settings.
- Go to Privacy & Security, then Screen & System Audio Recording.
- Find Ghosty Notes and switch it on.
- Quit Ghosty Notes completely and reopen it. macOS does not apply this permission to an already-running app.
That last step is not optional. Skipping it is the usual reason someone grants the permission and still records silence.
Granting them during setup
The permissions screen shows two blocks side by side. Select each one.
- If the permission has never been asked for, macOS shows its dialog. Choose Allow.
- If you previously said no, the button opens System Settings instead, because macOS only ever asks once.
Checking or changing them later
Settings, General, Permissions. Four rows:
Audio
- Microphone - to record your voice.
- System audio - to record everyone else’s.
Accessibility
Used to detect which meeting app you are in and to follow your mute state. Never asked for during setup. Grant it only if you want that; recording works without it.
Others
- Calendar - to read Apple Calendar events on this Mac. Asked for at the calendar step, not the permissions step. See calendar.
Each row has a button that opens the exact System Settings pane for that permission, so you do not have to hunt.
After changing anything
Quit and reopen Ghosty Notes. macOS hands new audio permissions to an app when it starts, not while it is running.
Still recording silence
Go to no audio in the recording.