Audio Hijack has been a central component of my podcasting setup for years. Today, Rogue Amoeba has launched version 4 of the application, and it is full of great features.
The UI has gotten a nice overhaul, complete with a new light theme, a powerful new sidebar and an always-accessible menu bar application that makes starting a new recording session easier than ever.
Here’s the session I use to record all of my podcasts:
Sessions in Audio Hijack are built with blocks, and version 4 brings several new blocks. These add the ability to mix multiple inputs into one stream, increase audio that is too quiet and even run a simple compressor in-line. In addition to these new blocks, a bunch of existing ones have been updated with additional options and features.
The most exciting part of the update to me is the scripting and Shortcuts support. Session can now be started and stopped via Shortcuts, and much of the app is now scriptable via Javascript. Example scripts are included in the new Scripts section of the Session sidebar. For example, when a recording is stopped, any of these actions can be automatically triggered:
- Add Recording to Music app
- Discard small files
- Open Session window
- Quit Audio Hijack
- Reveal recording in Finder
I haven’t had the chance to fully explore what is possible with this system, but any time I use an app multiple times a week, the chance to automate parts of my workflow are welcome. Don’t miss Jason Snell’s post diving into the app’s automation possibilities.
Audio Hijack is the best audio recording tool available for macOS, and I am pumped that it just keeps getting better. The app is $64, with a discounted $29 price available to owners of version 3. If you record audio with a Mac, Audio Hijack should be in your Dock.
Editor’s Note: Rogue Amoeba is an on-going sponsor of 512 Pixels. In fact, they have the sponsorship spot next week. However, they did not pay or even ask me to link to the release of Audio Hijack 4. I asked them to consider sponsoring 512 because I use their applications every single day, which is why I wanted to share my excitement of this new version of Audio Hijack.