Important: The best way to record meetings in Zoom, or Microsoft Teams, is with auto-recording.
If you want to manually start recording your Zoom, or MS Teams meetings, you can do so with the tl;dv desktop app. And now you can also record audio-only, or bot-free, on any platform of your choosing! See more about this here.
Installing the desktop app
After downloading the installer, double click it to start the installation process. Follow the steps as you're prompted to do so. On Mac, you'll need to drag tl;dv to your Applications folder:
Then open the app, and you'll see the tl;dv icon added to your system tray on Windows, or your menu bar on MacOS:
Clicking this icon opens tl;dv so you can start recording a meeting in Zoom, MS Teams, or any other platform you want if you want to record without having a notetaker in the room.
Microphone & system audio permissions on macOS (important)
When setting up the desktop app, you’ll be asked to allow access to your microphone and system audio.
⚠️ If you click “Don’t Allow,” macOS won’t show the permission popup again.
To fix this, you’ll need to enable each permission manually:
Open the tl;dv app and click Start recording
A new screen will appear with two options: Enable microphone and Enable system audio
🎤 Step 1: Enable microphone
Click Enable microphone
macOS System Settings will open → turn the tl;dv toggle ON
Restart the app when prompted
🔊 Step 2: Enable system audio
Open the app again and click Start recording
Click Enable system audio
Turn the toggle ON in System Settings
Restart the app again
Once both permissions are enabled, you’ll be able to start recording normally.
This is a macOS limitation, so these steps are required if permissions were denied the first time.
Updating the desktop app
The tl;dv desktop app will download new updates automatically. If a new version is available, you'll see this icon. Click it to trigger an update:
If you need to force an update, right-click the icon and choose "Check for updates":
Pro tip: If you're having trouble with the app and need support, it's a good idea to check for updates before reaching out, as we often release improvements and bug fixes 👌
If you're not sure which version you have, just click the tl;dv icon and you'll see it here:
Desktop App Notifications
The tl;dv desktop app can automatically detect when you’re in a meeting or speaking in a call and prompt you to start recording.
You’ll see a short notification in situations like:
Joining a scheduled meeting
Starting an audio-only call
Entering a Slack huddle or browser-based meeting
These prompts help you capture conversations even when the bot isn’t present or when a meeting wasn’t scheduled in advance.
You can enable or disable these notifications anytime in Settings → Desktop App → Live meeting notifications.
Removing the desktop app
To uninstall the tl;dv desktop app, right-click and quit it first:
After quitting the app...
on MacOS simply drag tl;dv from your Applications folder to the trash.
on Windows go to Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features, right-click tl;dv and select Uninstall/Change. Then follow the directions on the screen.
Important: If you have auto-recording enabled, tl;dv will still attempt to send bots to your meetings. Learn how to adjust your recording and sharing preferences here.