How to record a meeting on Linux
Linux has no shortage of screen recorders, but recording a video call well comes down to one thing most guides skip: capturing the call audio, not just your microphone. This guide covers recording any meeting on Linux, Zoom, Teams, or Google Meet, by hand and automatically.
Record it yourself with OBS
OBS Studio works for any meeting app, native or browser-based. The steps below are the same whether the call is Zoom, Teams, or Meet.
- 1
Install OBS Studio
Install OBS from your package manager (apt, dnf, pacman) or as a Flatpak. On Wayland the Flatpak includes the PipeWire screen-capture portal you need.
- 2
Add a capture source for the call
Add a Screen Capture source (PipeWire on Wayland, XSHM on X11) and pick the window of your meeting app or browser. Window capture keeps the rest of your desktop out of the recording.
- 3
Capture the call audio and your mic
Add an 'Audio Output Capture' source set to the '.monitor' device of your active output. That records everyone else on the call. Add an 'Audio Input Capture' source for your microphone. Both meters should move while someone speaks.
- 4
Set the output format and record
In Settings, Output, choose MP4 and a hardware encoder (VAAPI on AMD/Intel, NVENC on NVIDIA) so the encoding keeps up. Start recording before you join, stop when the call ends.
- 5
Transcribe the recording
OBS produces a video file. For a transcript, run the audio through a local Whisper build afterwards. It is a manual step you repeat after each call.
The audio trap on Linux
On Linux your microphone and the sound coming out of your speakers are separate streams. A recorder that captures only the microphone gets your voice but none of the other people on the call. This is the single most common mistake when recording meetings on Linux.
Both PulseAudio and PipeWire expose a '.monitor' device for every output. It is a loopback of whatever is playing, the incoming call audio included. You can see it on the Recording tab in pavucontrol, or list it with 'pactl list sources' on the command line. Point your recorder at that monitor source, mix it with the microphone, and the whole conversation lands in the file.
The faster route: let Autorec do it
Autorec runs natively on Linux and handles the capture, the monitor-source audio routing, and the transcript for you.
- 1
Install and launch Autorec
Install the .deb or .rpm package and start the app. It runs in the system tray and waits.
- 2
Join any meeting as usual
Autorec watches for Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet calls and starts recording by itself. It captures the call window and mixes your mic with the speaker monitor source, so both sides land in the file. No bot joins the call.
- 3
Get the video, transcript, and summary
When the call ends, Autorec transcribes the audio on your machine with whisper.cpp and writes an AI summary. The MP4, .txt, .srt, and summary stay on your disk. Nothing is uploaded.
Common problems
The recording only has my voice
You captured the microphone but not the output. Add an output-capture source pointed at the '.monitor' device for your active output so the other participants are recorded too.
The screen is black on Wayland
The PipeWire portal permission was denied or never requested. Remove the screen-capture source and add it again to bring back the picker, and grant the portal access when prompted. An X11 session avoids the portal entirely.
The recording is choppy or drops frames
Software encoding cannot keep up alongside the call. Switch the encoder to VAAPI or NVENC, record at 30 fps, and on a laptop stay plugged in so the CPU governor does not throttle.
Questions people ask
What is the best way to record a meeting on Linux?
For a one-off, OBS Studio works well once you add the monitor source for the call audio. If you record meetings regularly, an automatic recorder like Autorec removes the per-call setup and adds a transcript. Both keep the file on your own disk.
Does this work for Zoom, Teams, and Google Meet?
Yes. Desktop capture records the call window whether it is a native client or a browser tab. The audio routing through the monitor source is the same for all three.
Do I need to record the whole screen?
No. Window capture records just the meeting window, which keeps notifications and other apps out of the recording. Use full-screen capture only if you need to show your whole desktop.
Will the recording stay on my computer?
With OBS the video is written locally. With Autorec the video, transcript, and AI summary all stay on your disk. There is no cloud account and nothing is uploaded.
Keep reading
For the longer story behind local recording, see our guide: the complete local meeting recording guide
Skip the setup
Autorec detects the call, records it to your disk, and transcribes it on your machine. No bot joins the meeting and nothing is uploaded. The free tier covers 3 recordings every 24 hours, up to 40 minutes each.