# ExistentialAudio/BlackHole

BlackHole is a modern macOS audio loopback driver that allows applications to pass audio to other applications with zero additional latency.

Repository: https://github.com/ExistentialAudio/BlackHole
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/blackhole
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: audio, driver, macos, loopback, virtual-audio-cable
Last push: 2026-08-11T23:33:14+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 84/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 97, release rhythm 59, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2532, "days_push": 22, "days_rel": 61, "gap_med": 254.5, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 19632, forks 833 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:29.029979+00:00)

## What it is
BlackHole is a modern macOS virtual audio loopback driver that lets applications pass audio to other applications with zero additional latency. It is built as a userspace Core Audio driver requiring no kernel extensions, with configurable channel counts and sample rates.

## Use cases
- route audio from one mac app to another
- record system audio on macOS
- capture Zoom or Meet audio for transcription
- send DAW output to streaming software like OBS
- create a virtual audio cable between apps
- screen recording with internal audio

## When to choose
- you need app-to-app audio routing on macOS with no added latency
- you want a driver without kernel extension or security changes
- you need high channel counts or high sample rates for professional audio

## When to avoid
- you are on Linux or Windows
- you need audio mixing or effects, not just pass-through
- you need a graphical routing interface

## Facets
- artifact type: plugin
- maturity: stable
- function: audio-processing, sdk
- domain: developer-tools
- platform: -
- tags: virtual-audio-driver, loopback, coreaudio, audio-routing, no-kext, audio, macos-audio, macos

## Member repositories
- ExistentialAudio/BlackHole (main) score 84

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:29.029979+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T16:59:53.746736+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/ExistentialAudio/BlackHole (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:29.029979+00:00, sha 3a94dd796e5b)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.