Zackriya-Solutions/meetily · error · anyhow::Error

Failed to create Core Audio capture: {}

Error message

Failed to create Core Audio capture: {}

What it means

CoreAudioCapture::new() failed while creating the macOS capture object used by AudioStream::new for the system-audio path. This is the first step, before any device stream is opened, so the failure is about creating the Core Audio tap itself - typically a macOS TCC permission or Core Audio subsystem problem, not a specific device.

Source

Thrown at frontend/src-tauri/src/audio/stream.rs:158

        })
    }

    /// Create a Core Audio stream (macOS only)
    #[cfg(target_os = "macos")]
    async fn create_core_audio_stream(
        device: Arc<AudioDevice>,
        state: Arc<RecordingState>,
        device_type: DeviceType,
        recording_sender: Option<mpsc::UnboundedSender<super::recording_state::AudioChunk>>,
    ) -> Result<Self> {
        info!("🔊 Stream: Creating Core Audio stream for device: {}", device.name);

        // Create Core Audio capture
        info!("🔊 Stream: Calling CoreAudioCapture::new()...");
        let capture_impl = CoreAudioCapture::new()
            .map_err(|e| {
                error!("❌ Stream: CoreAudioCapture::new() failed: {}", e);
                anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to create Core Audio capture: {}", e)
            })?;

        info!("✅ Stream: CoreAudioCapture created, calling stream()...");
        let core_stream = capture_impl.stream()
            .map_err(|e| {
                error!("❌ Stream: capture_impl.stream() failed: {}", e);
                anyhow::anyhow!("Failed to create Core Audio stream: {}", e)
            })?;

        let sample_rate = core_stream.sample_rate();
        info!("✅ Stream: Core Audio stream created with sample rate: {} Hz", sample_rate);

        // Create audio capture processor for pipeline integration
        // CRITICAL: Core Audio tap is MONO (with_mono_global_tap_excluding_processes)
        let capture = AudioCapture::new(
            device.clone(),
            state.clone(),
            sample_rate,

View on GitHub (pinned to 0281737d87)

Solutions

1. Grant Microphone and Screen Recording permission in System Settings > Privacy & Security, then restart the app
2. Confirm a default output device exists in System Settings > Sound
3. Restart the Core Audio daemon: sudo killall coreaudiod
4. Run the app from a normal GUI session, not SSH/headless

// Cheap preflight: can this process create a Core Audio capture at all?
fn core_audio_available() -> bool {
    CoreAudioCapture::new().is_ok()
}

match AudioStream::new(device, state, DeviceType::System, None) {
    Ok(stream) => { /* attach system stream */ }
    Err(e) => {
        warn!("System audio unavailable: {e}"); // degrade to mic-only recording
    }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Constructing the Core Audio stream for the system device when the process lacks microphone/screen-recording permission, when coreaudiod is wedged, when no audio hardware exists (headless Mac, VM without audio), or when launched from a session without access to the audio server (SSH).

Common situations: First run after install where the user denied the TCC prompt; macOS permissions reset after app re-signing; running from SSH or CI; virtual machines with no audio device.

Related errors

• Failed to get default input config: {}
• Failed to open System Settings: {}
• Failed to create Core Audio stream: {}
• Failed to create temporary WAV file: {}
• Failed to spawn ffmpeg process: {}

AI-assisted analysis of Zackriya-Solutions/meetily@0281737d87 (2026-08-16). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7b24f80173d0db2f. Report an issue: GitHub.