Describe the bug
On macOS 26.5, when macOS denies OpenScreen's system-audio capture request at take start, the app silently records a digital-silence audio track and surfaces no warning anywhere in the recording flow. The user only discovers the recording has no sound at playback.
Observed concretely:
- Take recorded with System audio On (Apple's screen picker flow, v2.0.0-rc.1).
- During the take, a 440 Hz tone was played through the speakers for 14 s (
afplay).
- At take start macOS denied the
SystemAudioRecordingOnly request (it was auto-denied while another TCC prompt already held the screen).
- The saved take carries an AAC 48 kHz stereo track that is pure digital silence:
ebur128 integrated ≈ −70 LUFS, sample peak −inf dBFS — the 440 Hz tone is absent.
- No toast, no badge, no indicator on the HUD or in the editor. The only signal is the permissions window's System-audio row flipping to the refused state ("Open Settings" / "If you said no, turn on OpenScreen under 'System Audio Recording Only'…") — which the user has no reason to re-open after a take that appeared to record normally.
Expected behavior
Either:
- system audio is captured (permission granted), or
- the denial is surfaced at take time — a toast/banner on the HUD ("macOS refused system-audio capture — this recording will have no sound") and ideally the editor opening with an audible warning on the asset, and/or no silent audio track muxed at all.
The permissions-window row state is correct behavior; the gap is that a take recorded under denial is indistinguishable from a normal one until played back.
To Reproduce
- Deny OpenScreen "System Audio Recording Only" in System Settings (or have another TCC prompt up at take start so the request is auto-denied).
- Record a screen take with System audio On while playing any audio.
- Stop and inspect the recording: video fine, audio track present but silent.
Environment
- Build: CI artifact
openscreen-mac-arm64, build run 36336647912, 2.0.0-rc.1 (dmg)
- OS: macOS 26.5 (25F71), Apple M1 Mac mini
- System-audio TCC state: denied (the row's refused state was confirmed)
Additional context
Found during the v2.0.0-rc.1 release-candidate manual pass. This also blocks verifying #740's "system audio really recorded, checked in the exported file" on this machine without an owner-granted permission. Related UX hazard: a user who records a meeting this way loses the audio permanently.
Describe the bug
On macOS 26.5, when macOS denies OpenScreen's system-audio capture request at take start, the app silently records a digital-silence audio track and surfaces no warning anywhere in the recording flow. The user only discovers the recording has no sound at playback.
Observed concretely:
afplay).SystemAudioRecordingOnlyrequest (it was auto-denied while another TCC prompt already held the screen).ebur128integrated ≈ −70 LUFS, sample peak −inf dBFS — the 440 Hz tone is absent.Expected behavior
Either:
The permissions-window row state is correct behavior; the gap is that a take recorded under denial is indistinguishable from a normal one until played back.
To Reproduce
Environment
openscreen-mac-arm64, build run 36336647912,2.0.0-rc.1 (dmg)Additional context
Found during the v2.0.0-rc.1 release-candidate manual pass. This also blocks verifying #740's "system audio really recorded, checked in the exported file" on this machine without an owner-granted permission. Related UX hazard: a user who records a meeting this way loses the audio permanently.