process-audio-capture

process-audio-capture

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Node.js and Electron native plugin for capturing audio from specific processes

Quick Start

System Requirements

• macOS 14.4+
• Windows 10+
• Linux not supported

Installation

npm install process-audio-capture

Usage Examples

Basic Electron Application Usage

1. Main Process Setup

import { setupAudioCaptureIpc } from "process-audio-capture/dist/main";
// Setup IPC handlers
setupAudioCaptureIpc();

2. Preload Script

import { exposeAudioCaptureApi } from "process-audio-capture/dist/preload";
// Expose API to renderer process
exposeAudioCaptureApi();

3. Renderer Process Usage

// Use window.processAudioCapture to access all APIs

// Get process list
const processes = await window.processAudioCapture.getProcessList();

// Listen to audio data
window.processAudioCapture.onAudioData((audioData) => {
  console.log("Audio data:", audioData);
});

// Start capturing audio from specified process
const pid = processes[0].pid; // Example: capture from first process
await window.processAudioCapture.startCapture(pid);

Custom Electron Application Implementation

// Import audioCapture object or AudioCapture class in main process
// Implement custom IPC handling logic
import { audioCapture, AudioCapture } from "process-audio-capture";

Node.js Application

const { audioCapture } = require("process-audio-capture");

// Check platform support
if (audioCapture.isPlatformSupported()) {
  // Request permission
  const permission = await audioCapture.requestPermission();

  if (permission.status === "authorized") {
    // Get process list
    const processes = audioCapture.getProcessList();

    // Start capturing audio
    audioCapture.startCapture(processes[0].pid, (audioData) => {
      console.log("Audio data:", audioData);
    });
  }
}

Complete Examples

• Node.js Example - Command line audio capture tool
• Electron Example - GUI audio capture application

API Reference

Core Methods

Method	Description	Return Value
isPlatformSupported()	Check if current platform is supported	boolean
checkPermission()	Check audio capture permission	PermissionStatus
requestPermission()	Request audio capture permission	Promise<PermissionStatus>
getProcessList()	Get list of processes with audio	ProcessInfo[]
startCapture(pid, callback)	Start capturing audio from process	boolean
stopCapture()	Stop audio capture	boolean

Permission Setup

Windows

No special permission configuration required

macOS

Requires NSAudioCaptureUsageDescription permission

⚠️ Development Notes

• Only packaged apps will show permission dialog when calling requestPermission()
• In development, add your IDE or Electron.app to system permissions: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording → System Audio Only

Acknowledgments

Thanks to the following projects for inspiration and reference:

• AudioCap - macOS process audio capture tool
• Windows ApplicationLoopback - Microsoft official example

Related Resources

• electron-audio-loopback - System audio loopback capture plugin
• Reddit: Recording System Audio on macOS

License

MIT License