Glossary
Loopback audio
Loopback audio is the sound a computer is playing back, captured as if it were a recording input.
What it means
A microphone only picks up sound in the room, which means your own voice. To record the people on the other end of a video call, software has to capture what the computer is sending to your speakers or headphones. That captured playback stream is loopback audio.
Operating systems expose loopback in different ways. Windows offers it through the WASAPI loopback API. On Linux, PulseAudio and PipeWire expose the playback as a monitor source. A full meeting recording mixes the microphone (you) with the loopback (everyone else).
How this relates to Autorec
Autorec records two audio streams at once: your microphone and the system loopback. It mixes them into a single track so the finished recording carries every voice on the call, not just yours. Nobody has to share their audio or invite a bot.
Related terms
Read more
Try Autorec
A local-first meeting recorder for Linux and Windows. It auto-detects your calls, records to your own disk, and transcribes on your machine. One-time €20, with a free tier to start.
Download Autorec