AudioRoute — capture system audio in any DAW or recorder (Mac/Win)

[vyunikov86]

cheers! if that could be explained beside the download links it might be helpful, eg changing the link to 'start trial or download'

ive also realised that it does point out the versions are different in fairly small text, but the links are in the order 'download for windows download for mac' while the text indicating available version is actually in the order 'mac version windows version'.
I think what confused me, then, is seeing 0.1.12 under 'download for windows' as well as at the top under 'latest release'....

Live now - thanks again for the careful read. Three things changed on /download:
• Version line now follows the button order, so on Windows you'll see "Windows v0.1.11" first instead of "macOS v0.1.12".
• Page title is platform-aware: a Windows visitor sees "AudioRoute 0.1.11 for Windows" instead of "AudioRoute 0.1.12" floating above buttons that deliver an older build.
• All "Start free trial" CTAs across the site are now "Download free trial" — better matches what's actually happening (you're getting a file, no commitment).

Windows 0.1.12 with on-demand mode is still coming in the next few days. If anything still looks off when you reload, please call it out.

[whyterabbyt]

Looks good, definitely makes things clearer, cheers!

[vyunikov86]

Thanks! Happy to hear that!

[vyunikov86]

For any Reaper users in this thread — just published a step-by-step guide for the AudioRoute workflow in Reaper:
https://audio-route.com/guides/record-s ... -in-reaper

AudioRoute Capture loads as a regular VST3i on any track.

[vyunikov86]

Windows 0.1.12 shipped today. WinSparkle picks it up on next launch, or grab it manually at audio-route.com.
What's new:
- On-demand mode on Windows — at parity with the Mac 0.1.12 release. With on-demand selected, nothing AudioRoute-related auto-starts at login. The daemon only spawns when you load the VST in your DAW and click Start Daemon, or when you open the tray manually. Same trade-off as Mac: lower background footprint, but you have to remember to start AudioRoute before recording via the virtual device. Default stays Always-on.
- Daemon version stamp fix — small: the 0.1.11 Windows daemon was internally reporting the wrong version, which would have shown "update available" right after install. Fixed.

[whyterabbyt]

well, the automatic self-updater worked, and seems to have taken Windows version to 0.1.12 properly, so that's nice.

Trivial thing : it appeared a bit like the update needed to be re-licensed. The 'Enter License Key...' option on the right-click menu on the system tray icon was still present, and there's nothing I could see as an indication there, or in 'About' that it was properly authorised.
Removal of the menu item or some sort of 'Fully Licensed' indicator in About would be a handy confirmation.

[vyunikov86]

well, the automatic self-updater worked, and seems to have taken Windows version to 0.1.12 properly, so that's nice.

Trivial thing : it appeared a bit like the update needed to be re-licensed. The 'Enter License Key...' option on the right-click menu on the system tray icon was still present, and there's nothing I could see as an indication there, or in 'About' that it was properly authorised.
Removal of the menu item or some sort of 'Fully Licensed' indicator in About would be a handy confirmation.

Thanks for the note, and good that auto-update worked.
You're right - makes sense to remove "Enter License Key…" once activated, plus add a clear "Licensed" indicator in About. Both filed for the next build.

There IS already an activation indicator in the tray popup (left-click the menu bar icon -> bottom-left), but as you spotted, it's easy to miss. Screenshot attached.

[whyterabbyt]

Ah, so there is, totally missed that. :doh: Old age, eyesight, other feeble excuses...

[vyunikov86]

Yeah, that's fine, this is just probably not the most obvious place to put it. Anyway, I totally agree that upon activation "Enter License Key…" item shoun't apear in the menu

[vyunikov86]

Quick update for anyone using or referencing the AudioRoute guides - added three pieces this week. Full list:
https://audio-route.com/guides/

New:
• Record System Audio on Mac (no DAW required) — five clicks to a WAV file
• Record System Audio on Windows (no DAW required) — same workflow, no Stereo Mix,
no virtual cables, no VoiceMeeter
• Stereo Mix Not Working on Windows 11 — long-form explainer of why it's dead on modern Windows + three modern alternatives (WASAPI loopback, VoiceMeeter, AudioRoute)

[whyterabbyt]

Okay, finally got some time to test this in Live, and Im a little bit confused. Its working, but not quite as per the instructions...

Drop AudioRoute Capture on an audio track

Drag AudioRoute Capture from the browser onto an audio track in your Live Set, or onto the empty drop area to create a new audio track with the plugin pre-loaded. This is the source track — the one that hosts the plugin and produces the captured audio. In the screenshot below, it's the track labelled 2 AudioRoute Ca.

I cant drag the plugin onto an Audio Track at all, only a MIDI track. The plugin isnt registering as an effect in Live, its being seen as an instrument, and dragging into the drop area is not creating an Audio Track, its creating a MIDI Track.
As I say, its still working, and I was able to record audio from Firefox and Berna3 into Live as I can send the output of the MIDI Track its on to an Audio Track and record just fine, but Im not quite sure what Ive done wrong versus the documentation.

However it definitely works fine for recording directly to a file, and via the Wasapi loopback device into Audacity.

Still to test it into ProTools (via the wrappers Metaplugin and/or SigMod)

[whyterabbyt]

Oopsie; shoulda said, thats happening to me in Live 12.4.1 on Win11 25H2.

(and I definitely prefer having this work as a plugin to faffing about with loopback drivers!)

[vyunikov86]

Thanks for testing it! and you've hit a real bug we've got filed.

The AudioRoute Capture plugin currently declares only Instrument category in its VST3 manifest. It should declare both Instrument AND Audio Effect.
That's exactly why Live 12 (correctly) only offers it on MIDI tracks - it's a host-side category filter doing its job against an under-declared plugin.
Your MIDI-track-with-routed-output workaround is functionally identical to what the docs describe - same audio path under the hood, just an extra hop. So no harm done, you just had to discover the routing yourself.

Fix is in the queue. For the next plugin build I'll add the AudioEffect category to the VST3 declarations and the drag-onto-audio-track flow the guide describes will start working as written. Until then I'll update the Ableton guide to reflect the current reality: MIDI track in Live, route output to a recording-armed audio track.

Re: Pro Tools via MetaPlugin / SigMod - would be interested in how that goes if you get to it. We have the macOS Pro Tools-via-virtual-device path documented but the wrapper paths are unexplored. Worth a forum write-up either way given how many Pro Tools users are on KVR with no native AAX.

And yes - the plugin path is the entire point. The loopback-driver dance is what we exist to avoid.