Recording readiness test

Recording Readiness Test

QUICK ANSWER

Run every check before you start a screen recording: does your browser support screen capture and MediaRecorder, is your microphone working, does your camera preview, do your speakers play sound, can you actually start a screen share (and does it come with audio), and does a real 3-second record-and-playback round trip work end to end. Each check runs independently and reports pass, warning, or fail, with an honest note about what's detected versus guaranteed for system/tab audio on your OS.

6 independent checks
Real 3-second record + playback test
OS-aware system/tab audio guidance
Nothing uploaded
No signup
Links to deeper device tests

Browser support

Microphone

Click to test your microphone.

Camera

Click to test your camera.

Speakers

Click to play a test tone.

Screen share

Click to test screen-share capability.

Record → playback smoke test

Runs after the microphone test.

Run each check above.

Detected: your browser on your OS. System/tab audio support is detected from what your browser reports, not guaranteed — always verify with the screen-share test above.

Full mic test →Full webcam test →Full speaker test →Start recording →

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Mic works. Camera works. Now what?

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How it works

1
Let the browser support check run automatically
This runs the moment the page loads, with no permission prompt: it checks for getDisplayMedia (screen capture), MediaRecorder, and which video/audio formats your browser can actually record.
2
Test microphone, camera, and speakers
Each button requests the matching permission, then confirms the device is live — a moving level meter for the mic, a preview for the camera, and a tone you confirm hearing for speakers.
3
Test screen-share capability
Requests getDisplayMedia and reports whether you shared a tab, window, or full screen, and — critically — whether an audio track came with it. The tracks are stopped immediately after the check.
4
Run the record → playback smoke test
Records 3 seconds of real audio with MediaRecorder and plays it back immediately, confirming the whole pipeline (permission → capture → encode → playback) works end to end, not just that permissions were granted.

What does a recording readiness test check?

Six things, in order: browser API support (getDisplayMedia, MediaRecorder, supported codecs), microphone access and signal, camera access and preview, speaker output, screen-share capability (including whether audio comes with it), and a real 3-second record-and-playback round trip. Each reports pass, warning, or fail independently, so you know exactly which layer to fix if something's wrong.

Ready? Start recording

Once every check passes, record with Clipy: free, no watermark, instant share link. On macOS, remember that system audio needs the Mac app rather than a browser tab — the screen-share check above will confirm whether your specific setup returned audio.

Why system/tab audio guidance says 'detected,' not 'guaranteed'

Browsers don't expose a direct API to ask "will system audio work here" — the only way to know is to actually try a screen share and check whether an audio track came back. What this tool CAN tell you reliably: your OS and browser (from user-agent data), and whether the specific screen-share attempt you just ran returned an audio track. What it can't promise in advance: macOS does not support system audio from an entire-screen or window share inside a browser tab, full stop — the Clipy Mac app is the correct answer there. Windows and ChromeOS support system audio from a full-screen (and often window) share when 'Share system audio' is checked in the browser's share dialog, but that checkbox state isn't something a page can read before you click it.

Why a 3-second record test matters more than permission checks alone

Permission being granted doesn't guarantee a working pipeline — a MediaRecorder can start and immediately stop producing zero-byte output if the browser picked an unsupported codec, or a device can disconnect mid-session. The smoke test actually records, actually stops, and actually plays back the result, so a pass here means the full chain works, not just that a permission dialog was clicked through.

Common questions

Do I need to run this before every recording?

No — once your setup is confirmed working, it stays working until something changes: a new OS update, a different browser, a newly connected headset, or a permission accidentally revoked. Run it again after any of those, or whenever a recording comes out with no audio or video unexpectedly.

Why does the screen-share test say no audio track came back?

Three common reasons. On macOS, an entire-screen or window share never includes system audio in a browser — this is a macOS/browser-security limitation, not a bug, and the Clipy Mac app is the correct workaround. On Windows or ChromeOS, the 'Share system audio' (or 'Share audio') checkbox in the share dialog must be ticked. And sharing a browser tab (rather than a window or screen) only carries audio if you also check 'Share tab audio' in that same dialog.

The browser support check shows a warning about screen capture. What does that mean?

It means your browser doesn't expose getDisplayMedia at all — common on some mobile browsers and older browser versions. Microphone and camera recording will still work, but screen sharing/recording will not, in this browser, on this device.

Does this tool record or upload anything?

The smoke test records 3 seconds of local audio into an in-memory blob purely to prove the recording pipeline works, and plays it back in the same page. Nothing is uploaded anywhere — you can verify this in your browser's Network tab. All other checks (mic level, camera preview, screen-share detection) never persist or transmit anything either.

My mic test passed here but Clipy still isn't picking up audio. Why?

This test confirms the browser CAN access your microphone. If a specific recorder app still isn't getting audio, check that app's own input-device selection — it may be pointed at a different device than the one the OS defaults to for browser permissions. The full mic test page has a device picker to compare specific inputs.

Is this the same as Clipy's actual recorder?

It exercises the same underlying browser APIs (getUserMedia, getDisplayMedia, MediaRecorder) that Clipy's web recorder uses, but as an independent diagnostic — passing every check here is a strong signal your setup will work, though it isn't literally running Clipy's own recording code.

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