Glossary
What is Tab audio?
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Tab audio is the audio playing inside a single browser tab, captured when you record the tab with the browser's Web Capture API. Tab audio includes any video or sound playing in that tab (a YouTube video, a Spotify web player, a Google Meet call) but does not include audio from other tabs, other apps, or system sounds. It is the standard way to record a virtual meeting, a video clip, or a music sample without recording your whole screen.
The 'Share tab audio' checkbox in Chrome's screen picker is the one setting that makes the difference between a useful recording and a silent one. When checked, the recording captures both the video of the tab and the audio of whatever is playing in that tab. When unchecked, the recording is video-only — the other person in a Google Meet will be silent. Tab audio is also the only way to record a virtual meeting for free: there is no system-level audio routing in the browser, no virtual audio cable, no second app required. The limit is real, though: tab audio does not capture audio from a non-Chrome app (Slack desktop, Spotify desktop, a system Zoom client). For multi-source audio, you need a desktop recorder (OBS, ScreenFlow) or to run every source in a Chrome tab. Pullsy's recorder surfaces tab audio automatically when you select a Chrome tab in the capture dialog. Related terms: screen recording, video transcript, screencast.