How to record a Zoom meeting without a bot

Transcript.audio records a Zoom meeting on your own computer, so no bot joins the call and nobody sees an extra participant. It notices Zoom using your microphone, records both sides of the call, and writes a transcript and meeting notes when the call ends.

How do I record a Zoom meeting?

1. Install the app from the download page and work through the setup guide: sign in, allow recording and choose where to save meetings.
2. Leave Settings > Recording > When a call starts on Automatic (countdown, recommended), the default. Or choose Ask first, and you are asked Record this call? each time.
3. Join your Zoom call as normal. Nothing is installed in Zoom and nothing is added to the call.
4. After 10 seconds of microphone use a countdown shows in the menu bar or tray, then recording starts. Start now begins sooner and Don't record this call skips it.
5. Zoom is one of the meeting apps the app knows by name, so it can also stop a few seconds after the Zoom call window closes.
6. When the call ends the recording stops by itself. A Recording saved notification appears, and a minute or two later Notes ready opens the meeting in Recent meetings.

Does it record the other people too?

Yes. Your microphone records your voice, and the sound coming out of your computer records everyone else, on a separate channel so the notes can tell your words from theirs. On a Mac that needs one permission, System Audio Recording Only. On Windows there is nothing to allow. See System audio: the other people on the call.

Where is the recording?

Each meeting gets its own folder inside your meetings folder (by default ~/Documents/Transcript Audio) with the audio, the transcript and the meeting record. See What's in a meeting folder.

More on how this works for any meeting app: Automatic detection for any meeting app. Nothing recorded? See Meeting not detected.