AirClip User Guide

Record short audio clips from what is playing on your Windows PC.

Quick Start

Monitoring

AirClip is listening to the selected audio source and ready to record.

Recording

A clip is being written to the output folder.

Error

Open the log file for details about audio device or config problems.

Start AirClip. It appears in the Windows system tray.
Play audio in your music app, browser, media player, or stream.
Left-click the tray icon to open the Mini Deck, then click Rec — or right-click the tray icon and choose Record Now, or press Ctrl+Shift+R.
Click Stop in the Mini Deck, choose Stop from the tray menu, or press Ctrl+Shift+R again.
AirClip saves the clip in the configured recordings folder and opens it.

By default, AirClip uses Driverless Loopback. That means it records the selected Windows playback device: if you can hear it through that device, AirClip can record it.

Manual Recording is available in Free mode. Snap-Back, One-Shot, Automatic Recording, Microphone Mixing, MP3 output, and DVR Scheduler require AirClip Pro. Use Help > Buy AirClip Pro to purchase, or Help > Import License after purchase to activate.

Recording Modes

Type	Mode	Default hotkey	What it does
Live	Manual Recording	`Ctrl+Shift+R`	Starts recording immediately. Press again or click Stop to finish.
Live	Snap-Back Recording Pro	`Ctrl+Shift+S`	Starts a clip that already includes the previous configured seconds of audio, then continues recording live until you stop it.
Auto	One-Shot Recording Pro	`Ctrl+Shift+O`	Arms AirClip once. It waits for audio above the start threshold, records one clip, stops after silence, then returns to Monitoring.
Auto	Automatic Recording Pro	`Ctrl+Shift+A`	Continuously watches for audio. Creates clips whenever audio starts and stops each clip after silence. Stays armed until you disable it.

Live Recording means the user starts and stops recording while listening. Live recordings can also be paused and resumed. Auto Recording means AirClip uses silence detection to decide when clips begin or end.

When any recording mode is active, other incompatible modes are disabled in the Mini Deck and tray menu until the active mode stops.

Snap-Back Recording Pro

Snap-Back is for moments you notice late. AirClip keeps a short listening window in memory while monitoring. When you trigger Snap-Back Recording, the saved clip starts with previously buffered audio and continues recording live until you stop it.

The default snap-back duration is 30 seconds. You can change it to 10, 15, 30, or 60 seconds from the snap-back submenu in the tray, or from Live Recording Settings. The maximum is 60 seconds.

If you trigger Snap-Back immediately after startup, before the buffer has had time to fill, AirClip records whatever audio is already in the buffer. If the buffer is completely empty, the snap-back is silently skipped and nothing is saved.

In Loopback mode, Snap-Back captures whatever was in the Windows playback mix during the listening window. If a system sound or notification played during that time, it may appear in the snap-back audio. VB-CABLE routing can provide cleaner source isolation for Pro workflows.

Microphone Mixing Pro

When a microphone is enabled in Audio Input Settings, the Mic button appears in the Mini Deck. The microphone signal is mixed into the recording alongside the system audio, making it useful for voiceover, commentary, karaoke, calls, and gaming narration.

Right-click Mic to open the Voice Level popup and adjust microphone gain from –24 to +24 dB without stopping any active recording.
Left-click Mic when idle to toggle the microphone source on or off. Changing the source while idle applies immediately.
Left-click Mic while recording to mute or unmute the microphone live. The clip continues uninterrupted — only the mic signal is silenced.
If the microphone is off when recording starts, the Mic button is disabled for the duration of that clip.

Use headphones for best results when including a microphone. Speakers can bleed back into the microphone and make the recorded audio sound doubled or echoey.

Mini Deck

Left-click the AirClip tray icon to open the Mini Deck. It is a small floating control window with all recording controls in one place. You can leave it open while you work or close it — it hides rather than exits.

Controls

Rec — starts Manual Recording.
Snap Pro — triggers Snap-Back Recording using the current snap-back duration.
Mic Pro — toggles the microphone on or off. Right-click to open a Voice Level slider (–24 to +24 dB). During a recording, left-click mutes or unmutes the mic live without stopping the clip.
Stop — stops whatever recording mode is currently active.
Pause / Resume — pauses or resumes a live Manual or Snap-Back recording.
One-Shot Pro — arms One-Shot Auto Recording.
Auto Pro — arms or disarms Automatic Recording.

Button states

The active recording mode button lights up with its mode color and stays highlighted while that mode is running. The Rec button also lights up during Snap-Back and One-Shot recording, because audio is actively being written. Disabled buttons are grayed out while an incompatible mode is active.

Status line

The status label below the title shows what AirClip is currently doing: Monitoring, Live recording, Snap-back recording, One-shot waiting, One-shot recording, Auto armed, Recording paused, or Error.

Top checkbox

Check Top to keep the Mini Deck above other windows. This setting is saved and restored across sessions. You can also set it from Settings > App > Mini Deck stay on top.

Position and state persistence

When you close the Mini Deck, its position and Top state are held in memory. They are written to the config file the next time AirClip returns to Monitoring (idle). This avoids triggering a config reload while a recording is in progress.

Tooltips

Hover over any Mini Deck button to see a tooltip showing the action and its current hotkey. Tooltips can be disabled from Settings > App > Disable Mini Deck tooltips.

Right-click the AirClip tray icon to open the tray menu. It is organized into sections:

Status header — shows the current AirClip state (Monitoring, Recording, Auto Armed, etc.).
Live recording section — Record Now and the Snap-Back submenu.
Stop / Pause / Resume — appears when a live recording is active.
Smart Capture section — One-Shot, Auto mode, and DVR Scheduler.
Mini Deck — opens the Mini Deck floating window.
Configuration — submenu with Open Settings and Open Log File.
Help — Buy AirClip Pro, Import License, Recover License, License Status, User Guide, and About.
Exit.

Snap-Back submenu

The Snap-Back entry in the tray menu has a submenu with duration choices: Last 10s, Last 15s, Last 30s (Default), and Last 60s. Choosing a duration immediately updates the INI setting, applies it to the buffer, and triggers a snap-back recording with the new duration. The currently active duration is shown with a check mark.

Help menu

Buy AirClip Pro — opens the AirClip website to purchase a Pro license.
Import License — opens a file dialog to select the airclip-license.json file received after purchase. AirClip verifies the license and activates Pro immediately.
Recover License — opens the license recovery page where you can re-request your license file by email if you have lost it.
License Status — shows whether Free or Pro is active, who the license is issued to, and the expiry date if applicable.
User Guide — opens this guide.
About — shows the AirClip version.

DVR Scheduler Pro

Set AirClip to record your morning show every day at 7 am. It just happens — like a DVR. Open Smart Capture > DVR Scheduler... from the tray menu to manage your scheduled recordings.

The DVR Scheduler uses Windows Task Scheduler under the hood so schedules fire reliably even if AirClip is not already running. Tasks are created in a dedicated Task Scheduler Library\AirClip\ folder and are visible in Windows Task Scheduler if you need to inspect them.

Schedule list

The scheduler window shows all your saved schedules with their mode, days, start time, next scheduled run, and enabled state. Double-click any schedule to edit it. Toolbar buttons let you create new schedules, edit, duplicate, enable/disable, or delete the selected schedule.

Creating a schedule

Click New and fill in the schedule dialog:

Name — a unique label for the schedule, such as "Morning Show" or "Tuesday Stream".
Recording mode — One-Shot or Auto.
- One-Shot: AirClip arms at the scheduled time, waits for audio above the silence threshold, records one clip, then stops automatically.
- Auto: AirClip arms Auto Recording at the start time and records continuously using silence detection until the scheduled stop time.
Days — Every day, Weekdays, Weekends, or Custom (individual day checkboxes).
Start time — the time of day the schedule fires.
Duration — Auto schedules only. How long to record (hours and minutes). Auto schedules cannot cross midnight in the current version.
Output override — optional folder to save recordings from this schedule instead of the global output folder. Leave blank to use the default.
Enabled — uncheck to keep the schedule saved but not active.
Run missed — if checked and the machine was off or AirClip could not run at the scheduled time, Windows Task Scheduler will attempt to run the schedule as soon as possible after the machine wakes.

DVR Scheduler requires AirClip Pro. Accessing it without a Pro license opens the purchase page.

If AirClip is already recording when a scheduled task fires, the scheduled task is skipped for that occurrence. Recordings you start manually always take precedence.

Runtime Status

The Runtime tab in Settings shows what AirClip is currently using, including the active capture device, capture format, monitor device, microphone device, config file path, and last measured signal level.

Last level shows No signal when AirClip is receiving digital silence from the selected source. When audio is present, it shows the current level in dB. Use this to confirm that audio is reaching AirClip before recording.

Audio Input Settings

Open Configuration > Open Settings > Audio Input to choose what AirClip records from.

Capture Mode

Loopback: records audio already playing through a Windows playback device. This is the normal driverless mode.
VBCable Pro: records from a VB-CABLE recording device. This is advanced routing for cleaner app-specific capture.

Recording Source

In Loopback mode, choose Default Playback Device for normal record-what-you-hear behavior. You can also choose a specific playback device such as speakers, headphones, or a Bluetooth speaker.

If Windows changes playback devices after AirClip starts, use Settings or restart AirClip if the wrong device is being recorded.

Microphone Pro

Include microphone records the selected microphone into the same final clip as the playback audio. This is useful for voiceover, commentary, karaoke, tutorials, calls, and gaming narration.

Microphone device: choose Default Microphone for the current Windows default input, or choose a specific microphone.
Microphone gain dB: adjusts microphone level before it is mixed into the recording. Start at 0. Use a lower value if your voice distorts, or a higher value if it is too quiet.

Use headphones for best results when including a microphone. Speakers can bleed back into the microphone and make the recorded audio sound doubled or echoey.

VB-CABLE Routing Pro

VB-CABLE is optional advanced routing. Apps send audio to CABLE Input, and AirClip records from CABLE Output.

VB-CABLE capture input: the recording endpoint AirClip captures from, usually CABLE Output.
Monitor output: the speakers or headphones AirClip plays monitored audio to.
Enable monitor: plays captured VB-CABLE audio through the monitor output.
Monitor volume: monitor playback level from 0 to 100.

Capture Format

Sample rate: capture sample rate in Hz. The default 48000 Hz is usually appropriate.
Channels: number of channels. Stereo is 2.
Buffer milliseconds: audio buffer size. Smaller values reduce latency but may be less forgiving on busy systems.

Audio Output Settings

Open Configuration > Open Settings > Audio Output to control where and how clips are saved.

Output folder: where recordings are saved. Use Browse to choose a folder.
Recording quality: chooses the saved file type and size. Standard music MP3 is the default and keeps files much smaller than WAV. MP3 output requires Pro.
Prefix: first part of each filename.
File name pattern: filename template. The default includes date, time, and {Ext} so the extension follows the selected quality preset.
Auto-create folder: creates the output folder if it does not exist.
Open folder after save: opens the recordings folder after a manual or one-shot recording finishes. Auto mode opens it once when auto mode is disabled.

AirClip writes temporary conversion files under the Windows temp folder and only places the finished MP3 or WAV in your recordings folder.

Live Recording Settings

Open Configuration > Open Settings > Live Recording to control modes that are manually started and stopped while listening.

Manual pre-roll milliseconds: includes a small amount of buffered audio at the moment you start manual recording. This helps the clip line up with the hotkey or button press rather than starting a fraction of a second late.
Cue resume pre-roll milliseconds: includes a small amount of buffered audio when a paused Cue recording resumes.
Default Snap-Back seconds: how far back AirClip reaches when Snap-Back Recording starts. Choose from 10, 15, 30, or 60 seconds. The maximum is 60 seconds. This value can also be changed from the snap-back submenu in the tray, and the two are kept in sync.

The snap-back listening buffer is sized to match the Default Snap-Back seconds setting. At 48 kHz stereo, 60 seconds uses approximately 11 MB of memory.

Pause and Resume

During a Manual or Snap-Back recording, press the pause/resume hotkey (default Space) to pause writing audio. Press it again to resume writing to the same file. The tray icon flashes while a live recording is paused.

Auto Recording Settings

Open Configuration > Open Settings > Auto Recording. AirClip uses these silence detector settings to decide when audio has started and when quiet has lasted long enough to stop the clip.

Setting	Meaning
Start threshold dB	Recording starts when audio rises to or above this level. Less negative values require louder audio before recording begins.
Stop threshold dB	Audio below this level is treated as silence for stopping purposes. Should be slightly lower than the start threshold.
Silence duration seconds	How long audio must stay below the stop threshold before AirClip stops the current clip.
Minimum clip seconds	Prevents very short false-trigger clips by requiring a minimum duration before an auto stop can finish a clip.
Auto pre-roll milliseconds	Includes audio just before the detector triggers, so the very beginning of a clip is not cut off.

Suggested starting values: -40 dB start threshold, -45 dB stop threshold, 3 seconds silence duration, and 500 ms auto pre-roll.

Hotkeys

Open Configuration > Open Settings > Hotkeys to change hotkeys. Enter hotkeys as combinations like Ctrl+Shift+R or single keys like Space.

Manual record: default Ctrl+Shift+R.
Pause/resume recording: default Space. AirClip registers this hotkey only while a live Manual or Snap-Back recording is active, so it does not interfere with normal Space bar usage at other times.
Snap-back recording Pro: default Ctrl+Shift+S.
Automatic recording Pro: default Ctrl+Shift+A.
One-shot recording Pro: default Ctrl+Shift+O.

If a hotkey is already used by another application, AirClip logs a warning and the tray menu and Mini Deck can still be used for that action.

App Settings

Open Configuration > Open Settings > App for general application preferences.

Start minimized: AirClip starts in the tray without showing any window.
Show notifications: shows tray balloon notifications when recording starts or stops. On by default so new users get clear visual feedback.
Mini Deck stay on top: keeps the Mini Deck floating above other windows. This is the same as the Top checkbox inside the Mini Deck itself.
Disable Mini Deck tooltips: turns off the hover tooltips on Mini Deck buttons. Useful if the tooltips interfere with your workflow.
Log file: filename for the log. The full path is shown in the Runtime tab.
Log retention days: AirClip removes log files older than this many days on startup. Set to 0 to disable automatic pruning.

Notifications and System Sounds

Loopback mode records the Windows playback mix. That means Windows system sounds, notification sounds, volume slider sounds, and other apps can be captured if they play through the selected output device.

Show notifications defaults on for helpful visual feedback. Turn it off if tray balloons become distracting.
Suppress System sounds while recording temporarily sets Windows System sounds to 0% while AirClip is recording or armed, then restores the original level when done.
For the cleanest loopback clips, keep notification-heavy apps quiet or enable Windows Do Not Disturb while recording.

VB-CABLE routing can provide cleaner capture because selected apps can be routed into the cable instead of recording the entire speaker mix.

Settings and Config

Use Configuration > Open Settings for normal configuration. Settings are stored in AirClip.ini. AirClip writes this file next to the executable when that folder is writable, or in %LOCALAPPDATA%\AirClip\ as a fallback.

When settings are saved, AirClip detects the change and automatically reloads the INI. If a recording is actively being written, the reload waits until the active recording stops before applying changes.

You can also edit AirClip.ini directly in a text editor. AirClip watches the file and automatically reloads changes without restarting.

Troubleshooting

Snap-Back produces nothing

If you trigger Snap-Back immediately after starting AirClip, the buffer may not have accumulated any audio yet. Wait a few seconds after startup before using Snap-Back. The buffer fills as long as AirClip is monitoring.

Tiny or empty recordings

Confirm audio is actually playing through the selected recording source.
Use Audio Input > Recording source > Default Playback Device for basic Loopback testing.
Record for at least 5 to 10 seconds during testing.
Open Configuration > Open Log File and check the active capture device and recording size.

No audio recorded

Check that Windows is playing audio through the selected playback device.
If using Bluetooth or changing outputs, restart AirClip or reselect the recording source in Settings.
If using VB-CABLE, confirm the source app is routed to CABLE Input.

Pro license not activating

Use Help > Import License and select the airclip-license.json file received by email after purchase.
Check Help > License Status for details on what was detected.
If you have lost the file, use Help > Recover License to have it re-sent to your purchase email.

Windows blocks the app

Unsigned builds may be blocked by SmartScreen or Smart App Control. Code signing is planned for release builds.

DVR schedule does not fire

Open Windows Task Scheduler and look under Task Scheduler Library\AirClip\ to confirm the task exists and is enabled.
Check that Run missed is enabled if you need missed schedules to catch up after the machine was off.
Verify AirClip Pro is active — DVR Scheduler requires a Pro license.

Find the log file

Use Configuration > Open Log File. The full path is also shown in Settings > Runtime > Config file. Logs include startup details, selected audio devices, recording start/stop events, and errors.

Portable Install

AirClip can run from any folder containing AirClip.exe and this guide. The setup helper installs AirClip for the current user under:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\AirClip

Setup.cmd copies the EXE and guide, creates a Start Menu shortcut, and can optionally create a Startup shortcut so AirClip launches automatically when you log in.