Wave for Web
Record, review, and manage everything in your Wave library from any browser at app.wave.co — nothing to install.
Wave for Web is the full Wave app in your browser. Go to app.wave.co, sign in with the same account you use on your phone, and everything is there — recordings, transcripts, summaries, folders, and search. Anything you record on the web appears on your other devices, and anything you record elsewhere appears here.
Record from your browser microphone
Web recording captures your computer's microphone — good for in-person meetings, dictation, or any conversation happening near your laptop.
On your sessions dashboard, click New Session. The Add Audio to Wave dialog opens.
Choose Record (From microphone).
Set your Microphone, Language, and Summary style.
Click Start Recording. Use Pause and Resume whenever you need a break — the timer stops while paused.
Click Stop & Save. The recording uploads, and Wave transcribes and summarizes it automatically.
Click Cancel mid-recording and Wave asks to confirm under Cancel Recording — Keep Recording goes back, Discard throws the audio away.
Keep the Wave tab open and awake while you record. The recording runs in that browser tab, so closing it or navigating away ends the session.
What you can set
- Microphone — pick which mic to use if you have more than one. Choose before you start; the picker is hidden once recording begins.
- Language — the transcription language for this recording.
- Summary style — Default Wave Summary, one of Wave's built-in templates, or anything under Your saved styles that you built with Customize Summary.
- Title — optional, and it only appears once recording starts. Type your own, or leave Add a title (or let Wave name it) empty and Wave writes a title from the conversation. If Wave sees a meeting happening now on your connected calendar, it shows the event and a Use calendar name checkbox.
Title, language, and summary style can all be changed while the recording is still running. The change applies to the finished session.
Web recordings run up to 3 hours. A countdown appears in the last ten minutes, and at the limit Wave stops and saves for you — nothing is lost. For recordings with no length limit, use Wave Desktop.
Allowing microphone access
The first time you open the Record screen, your browser asks permission to use your microphone. Allow it — Wave can't hear anything without it.
If access was denied earlier, Wave shows "Microphone access denied. Please allow microphone access and try again." Re-enable the mic for app.wave.co, then reload the page:
Click the icon at the left of the address bar, set Microphone to allow, and reload app.wave.co.
Browser recording is a laptop and desktop feature. On a phone or tablet browser the microphone picker stays empty and Start Recording is disabled — use the Wave mobile app there instead.
Web or desktop?
Both record on your computer, so it comes down to what you're capturing:
- Wave for Web needs no install and works in any desktop browser, but it records your microphone only and caps sessions at 3 hours.
- Wave Desktop captures the audio playing on your computer — Zoom, Meet, Teams, a podcast, anything — with no bot in the call and no length limit. It runs on macOS 12+ and Windows 10+, and needs a one-time audio setup.
If most of what you record is an online meeting or something playing through your speakers, install the desktop app. For everything else, the web app is enough.
Recording minutes are shared across every platform. The free plan includes 30 minutes per period, and any active paid subscription is unlimited — see plans and pricing. If your subscription has lapsed, the Record screen blocks recording until you upgrade.
Everything else you can do on the web
Recording is one of four modes in the Add Audio to Wave dialog, and the web app goes well beyond it:
- Upload an existing audio, video, or PDF file — see importing audio files.
- YouTube — paste a link to import a YouTube video.
- Meeting — send a Wave bot into a Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams call. See the ultimate guide to recording meetings.
- Connect your calendar so your recordings pick up meeting titles and speaker names — and Wave can record scheduled meetings for you.
- Browse, search, edit, and organize your whole library — see getting started with the Wave web app.
- Capture audio from a browser tab with the Wave Chrome extension.
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