Soundflower icon

Soundflower

Soundflower is a free, open source MacOS system extension that allows applications to pass audio to other applications. It's useful for routing audio between audio apps, recording system audio, and more. Soundflower creates a virtual audio interface with 2 channels that can be used to transmit audio in real-time.

What is Soundflower?

Soundflower is a free, open source MacOS system extension that creates a virtual audio interface to allow applications to transmit audio to other applications in real-time. Developed by Cycling '74, Soundflower functions as an intermediate step in an audio routing setup, enabling users to take audio output from one app and send it as an input to another app.

Some key features and uses of Soundflower include:

  • Route audio between applications like Spotify, Logic Pro, Audacity, Ableton Live, etc.
  • Record any audio from your Mac's system sounds or applications
  • Set up audio effects chains by sending audio from one effect app to another
  • Capture audio from streaming sites, videos, games, and more

Soundflower installs drivers to create a 2-channel virtual audio device on your Mac. Applications can then transmit audio to this virtual interface where it can be received as an input source by other apps in real-time. This makes it easy to grab audio from anywhere in your system and manipulate it however you like.

Though powerful, Soundflower can have a bit of a learning curve in setting up complex audio routing workflows. So while it's very versatile, it may be overkill for basic tasks. But for advanced audio routing it's an indispensable tool for macOS users and audio production.

The Best Soundflower Alternatives

Top Apps like Soundflower

VB-Audio VoiceMeeter, Virtual Audio Cable, Loopback, BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver, Dante Via, Wave Link, Synchronous Audio Router, JACK Audio Connection Kit, VB-Audio Virtual Cable, Sound Siphon, GroundControl, AudioBus, WireTap Studio, SoundDesk, SoundDesk Virtual Devices, PulseMeeter, Helvum are some alternatives to Soundflower.

VB-Audio VoiceMeeter

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Virtual Audio Cable

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Loopback

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BlackHole Audio Loopback Driver

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Dante Via

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Wave Link

Wave Link is an audio mixing software that was created by Elgato, a company known for making products for content creators and streamers. It integrates with other Elgato products but can also be used as a standalone audio mixer.The main purpose of Wave Link is to give streamers and...

Synchronous Audio Router

Synchronous Audio Router (SAR) is a feature-rich Windows application designed for advanced audio routing between different apps and devices. It provides an intuitive graphical interface that allows users to connect audio streams in a flexible and customizable manner.Some key features of SAR include:Ability to route audio between different...

JACK Audio Connection Kit

JACK Audio Connection Kit (or JACK) is an audio server designed for low latency audio performance and flexible routing of audio signals between applications and devices. It works by taking over the audio card and providing a common interface that audio applications can connect to in order to share audio...

VB-Audio Virtual Cable

VB-Audio Virtual Cable is a lightweight, free software application for Windows that enables you to transfer audio streams between applications in real-time. It works by installing virtual audio cables on your computer that can pass audio data between programs.Some key features of VB-Audio Virtual Cable include:Allows routing audio...

Sound Siphon

Sound Siphon is an audio capture and recording utility for macOS that allows you to record all system audio or audio from specific apps on your Mac. Developed by Static Z Software, Sound Siphon provides an easy way to capture any audio playing on your Mac, whether it's streaming music...

GroundControl

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AudioBus

AudioBus is an audio routing application designed specifically for Apple's iOS devices including iPhone and iPad. It allows audio apps running on iOS to communicate with each other directly by acting as a virtual audio cable to route audio between them.Some key features and uses of AudioBus include:Routing...

WireTap Studio

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SoundDesk

SoundDesk is an easy-to-use digital audio workstation (DAW) designed for Windows. It enables users to record, edit, and mix audio tracks with effects, similar to other DAW software like Audacity or Adobe Audition.Key features of SoundDesk include:Multi-track audio editing and mixingVST plugin support for adding effects and instrumentsAudio...

SoundDesk Virtual Devices

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PulseMeeter

PulseMeeter is a free, open-source audio mixer and router program for Windows. It is designed to route audio between different applications and devices on a Windows computer.Some key features of PulseMeeter include:Audio mixing capabilities to combine and adjust levels of multiple audio sourcesBuilt-in audio effects like compression, equalizer...

Helvum

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