---
title: "Record your first meeting"
description: "Start a recording, stop it, and find your meeting transcript."
updated: "2026-10-09"
canonical: https://docs.recordstead.app/getting-started/first-recording
---

# Record your first meeting

Record the sound from your meeting app and your microphone. You can start manually without turning on automatic call detection.

:::note[Before you start]
Tell the other participants you are recording and get any required consent. Recordstead does not notify them for you.
:::

## Make the recording

1. In Recordstead, choose **Recording** ▸ **Record App…** (⌘R).
2. Select the app you want to record, then start the recording. You can leave **Title** empty.
3. On your first recording, read **Before you record**, confirm your responsibility for recording, and click **Continue**. Allow microphone and System Audio Recording access when macOS asks.
4. When you are finished, open Recordstead in the menu bar and click **Stop Recording**.


## Find your transcript

Open Recordstead's main window and select **Meetings**. The meeting is listed
as **Recording now** while you record; open it when processing finishes to read
its transcript. The 30-day processing trial begins
when the first eligible job is ready; recording alone
does not start it. Connect to the internet for this first access check.

If Recordstead asks you to identify the speakers, [review their names](https://docs.recordstead.app/people/name-speakers) or choose **Continue Processing**. The summary can finish with the current labels, and you can review names later.

**Your result:** a saved meeting with a transcript, and a summary if summary processing is enabled and its model is available.

## If you get stuck

- **The recording is silent:** [check the microphone and app audio](https://docs.recordstead.app/troubleshooting/no-audio-was-captured).
- **A permission was refused:** [allow recording in System Settings](https://docs.recordstead.app/troubleshooting/permissions-were-refused).
- **Processing is waiting:** [check the processing hold](https://docs.recordstead.app/processing/on-battery).
- **The License pane reports an access problem:** [check how the trial starts](https://docs.recordstead.app/getting-started/start-trial).
- **There is no summary:** if the notification offers to download the summary model, follow it. You can also [check your summary provider](https://docs.recordstead.app/summaries/who-writes-your-summary).

## Next time

[Start recording automatically when a call begins](https://docs.recordstead.app/recording/call-detection),
or [read a live transcript during the call](https://docs.recordstead.app/recording/live-transcript).