Application Audio Capture Guide

2023-07-12

As of OBS Studio 28, per-application audio sources are available for users running Windows 10 (Version 2004 or later) and Windows 11. These Application Audio Capture (BETA) sources allow you to add each application you would like to capture as its own audio source. With the release of OBS Studio 30.1, you are able to include audio with a Window Capture or Game Capture source.

Having separate audio sources can be useful when you want to stream to Twitch and have a separate VOD audio track. This is also useful when splitting your audio into multiple tracks while recording. For more information about these different use-cases, see the Related Articles on the side of this page.

Include Audio With Game/Window Capture

In OBS Studio's source dock, click the + to add a new source and choose a Window Capture or Game Capture source from the list
Tick the Capture Audio (BETA) box to include audio from the application you are capturing

Application Audio Capture Sources

In OBS Studio's source dock, click the + to add a new source and choose the Application Audio Capture (BETA) source from the list
Assign a name for your source, usually something that will help you quickly identify what audio the source is capturing
Select the window containing the audio you would like to capture from the drop down menu
Choose your window match priority For most applications, matching by type is recommended For applications with window titles that change like Google Chrome or Spotify, matching by executable name will allow you to keep capturing audio regardless of what the window title changes to
Repeat this process for any other applications you would like to capture audio from Note: if you are using Application Audio Capture sources you may want to set your global Desktop Audio source to disabled in the Settings → Audio menu to avoid echo

Virtual Audio Cables

Due to how some games output their voice chat audio, it may be incompatible with the Application Audio Capture (BETA) source. For these games, there are separate steps required to isolate their voice chat audio as it's own source in OBS Studio. You may also assign any application to output through a virtual cable in the Windows Volume Mixer.

Download VB-Cable from their website, extract the files once downloaded, and run the installer as administrator
Right click the speaker icon in your System Tray and click the Sound settings option Note: this is just called Sounds on Windows 10
2a. Scroll down to the bottom of the window that opens up and select the More sound settings button Note: this step is for Windows 11 only
Select the Recording tab at the top of the window that opens, then click on CABLE Output and click the properties button
Select the Listen tab at the top of the window that opens, then tick the Listen to this device box
Open OBS Studio and add a new Audio Input Capture source
Select CABLE Output from the list of audio devices
Set the audio that is not working with the Application Audio Capture (BETA) source to output through VB-cable Note: screenshots are provided to the right for Valorant and Call of Duty in-game voice chat	Valorant Call of Duty
7a. Alternatively, you can assign any application to output audio to VB-cable in the Windows Volume Mixer	Right click the speaker icon in your System Tray and click the Open volume mixer option Select the application you would like to output to VB-cable and set the Output device to CABLE Input