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Troubleshooting

“Screen Recording permission is required”

  1. Open System Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security → Screen Recording (called Screen & System Audio Recording on macOS 15 and later).
  3. Enable Vida.
  4. Quit and reopen Vida if macOS asks.

If Vida isn't in that list, go back to Vida and choose Allow Screen Recording — that adds it.

Vida is switched on in Screen Recording but still can't record

This is the "permission loop": Vida keeps asking, System Settings already shows it enabled, and switching it off and on changes nothing.

macOS ties a Screen Recording approval to the exact way an app is signed, not to its name. If an earlier or differently signed copy of Vida was approved, macOS keeps that old approval — shown as switched on — and refuses the copy you are running. Toggling doesn't replace it; removing it does.

  1. If you opened Vida from a disk image or your Downloads folder, quit it, move it to Applications, and open it from there.
  2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording (or Screen & System Audio Recording).
  3. Select Vida and remove it with the − button. Switching it off is not enough.
  4. Click the + button, choose Vida in your Applications folder, and make sure its switch is on.
  5. When macOS asks, choose Quit & Reopen. If it doesn't ask, quit Vida and open it again.

Adding Vida back with + records the approval for the copy you actually have installed, which is what fixes it — no Terminal and no restart needed. Vida shows these steps itself when it detects the problem: the Record tab says Screen Recording is on, but macOS isn't applying it to this copy of Vida with a Show Me How button.

Vida can't reopen itself — macOS doesn't allow App Store apps to relaunch themselves — so where it needs a reopen it offers Quit Vida, and you open it again from the Dock or Applications. macOS's own Quit & Reopen does both for you.

Still not working? Reset Vida's Screen Recording approval from Terminal, then restart your Mac — after an approval is removed, macOS won't ask for Screen Recording again until it restarts. Then open Vida and choose Allow Screen Recording:

tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.vidapro.recorder; tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.vidapro.recorder.appstore; tccutil reset ScreenCapture com.vida.recorder

All three are Vida: the App Store version and two names earlier versions used. Vida shows the same command under Still not working? Reset with Terminal in the permission guide.

“Microphone access is off”

  1. Open System Settings.
  2. Go to Privacy & Security → Microphone.
  3. Enable Vida.
  4. In Vida, open Audio and enable Microphone.

You can still record without microphone audio.

Microphone appears silent

  1. Confirm the microphone is not muted.
  2. Speak and watch the meter in the Audio section.
  3. Check macOS input settings.
  4. Select another microphone source if available.
  5. Reconnect external microphones if needed.

No system audio

  1. Confirm System Audio is enabled.
  2. Confirm Screen Recording permission is enabled.
  3. Start a short test recording and play audio from the Mac.
  4. Confirm the speaker icon in the REC health badge turns green.
  5. Try restarting Vida.
  6. If unavailable on your Mac configuration, record microphone audio instead.

The header audio meter is not moving

  • For System, start a recording and play real audio from the Mac. Vida does not show fake system-audio movement before recording starts.
  • For Mic, speak into the selected microphone and confirm microphone permission is enabled.
  • If the matching REC badge icon is red, stop and fix that source before continuing.

A REC badge icon is orange

Orange means Vida is still waiting to confirm that selected source. Wait a few seconds and actively use the source: play Mac audio for System Audio, or speak for Microphone. Do not rely on the recording until the icon turns green.

A REC badge icon is red

Red means that selected source is not being recorded, or Vida can no longer save that source to the file. Stop the recording, fix the input or save location, and make a short test recording before continuing.

Not enough disk space

  1. Free up space on the selected drive.
  2. Use Small size or Medium size quality.
  3. Choose a different save folder on a drive with more space.
  4. Try again.

Selected display is missing

  1. Reconnect the display.
  2. Return to Record.
  3. Choose an available display.
  4. Start again.

Export failed or file could not be saved

  1. Check that the save folder still exists.
  2. Choose another save location.
  3. Confirm the drive is writable.
  4. Free disk space if needed.
  5. Try a shorter test recording.

Recent recording will not open

The file may have been moved or deleted outside Vida.

  1. Go to Recent.
  2. Click refresh to remove stale entries.
  3. Check Finder if you moved the file manually.