OBS cannot find a Mac window to capture

Check permission and the selected capture method

Keep streaming stopped while you select the window. Capturing a whole display as a workaround can expose notifications, other documents, or a private browser tab. Use an unimportant sample window for the first recording.

Give OBS the permission it needs

OBS's macOS permissions guide provides the in-app review route. Enable Screen Recording through the macOS prompt for OBS, then follow any instruction to reopen the app.

Camera, Microphone, and Accessibility are separate permissions. The guide associates them with camera input, audio devices, and background hotkeys respectively. Enabling them all is not a substitute for the screen-capture permission.

After returning to OBS, open the intended app and leave a normal window visible. Revisit the capture source and inspect its Window list.

Match the source to what you want to show

The macOS Screen Capture reference distinguishes three methods:

If you want one document, selecting the application's other window will still produce a working capture of the wrong content. Read the window name and verify the preview before recording.

For a window missing from the list, inspect Show windows with empty names and Show fullscreen and hidden windows / applications in the source properties. These list filters are off by default in OBS's reference. Enable the relevant filter only if it matches the window you need, then check the selection again.

Verify the recording, not just the selection

Record a short sample while making a harmless visible change in the selected window. Play the saved file and confirm that the intended window updates and no neighboring content appears. A populated Window list alone does not prove the recording is right.

If the source has the correct preview but disappears in the scene, use OBS visibility and layer-order checks. If it is still absent from the capture list after permission and filter checks, use the Help Portal linked from OBS's reference and provide the macOS version, OBS version, application name, and whether a normal visible window also fails.