A short guide to
technical difficulties.
Get the devices connected first. Then you can worry about making them look broken.
Get connected
GlitchKit needs macOS 14 or newer. The app supports Apple silicon and Intel Macs, and the distribution is signed and notarized.
- Put GlitchKit in Applications. Open the app, then choose Device Setup.
- Enable GlitchKit Camera. Click Enable Extension if it isn’t already enabled. Approve it in System Settings under General → Login Items & Extensions → Camera Extensions, then connect the output.
- Set up the microphone. Open the included GlitchKit Microphone installer if the virtual microphone is not installed. macOS may ask for administrator approval.
- Choose your inputs. Pick your camera and microphone, then start them. The test signal is there if you want to try video effects without opening a real camera.
- Choose GlitchKit in your other app. Select GlitchKit Camera and GlitchKit Microphone as that app’s inputs. Now GlitchKit’s effects are in the feed.
Apps handle virtual devices differently. If GlitchKit doesn’t appear, reopen the other app after enabling the devices and check its input settings. Compatibility has not yet been verified in every meeting or streaming app.
Meet the usual suspects
Scenarios combine existing effects. You can also adjust any of the 30 individual video and audio controls, or press Surprise Me to pick a different scenario at random.
You’re Frozen
Hold the picture while the audio carries on.
Can You Hear Me?
Drop words and syllables at irregular intervals.
Hotel Wi-Fi
Blocky video, stutters, and a microphone running a little late.
Mobile Hotspot
Mostly usable, with the occasional wobble.
Bad ISP Moment
Video and audio slowly deteriorate while latency builds.
Barely Connected
Low frame rate, heavy compression, robotic audio, and dropouts.
Connection Lost
Things get worse for 15 seconds, then the picture goes black and the audio goes silent.
Laptop Struggling
Few frames, delayed video, and little jumps as the picture catches up.
Absolute Disaster
A thoroughly unhelpful combination of picture and sound problems.
Dial-up Flashback
Blocky video and bandwidth-starved audio. Somewhere, a modem is smiling.
Robot Takeover
Robotic, distorted speech with small audio stutters. The camera stays normal.
Déjà Vu
Short audio fragments repeat and echo. You may have heard this one before.
Potato Camera
Big pixels, low resolution, and heavy compression. Your microphone gets a pass.
Dubbed Movie
Push the picture behind the sound and occasionally let it catch up.
Camera Shy
Brief black frames, stutters, and flicker. It keeps making little exits.
Make a longer bit of it
Natural Mode introduces faults at random intervals, with normal stretches in between. Choose Mild, Bad, or Terrible, then set the interval and duration ranges in Automation.
A timeline lets you choose the order. Each step waits, applies its scenario for a duration from your chosen range, and optionally recovers. Save the effects and timeline together in My Presets.
Auto-recovery applies to scenarios and network conditions. Manual effect adjustments are held until you restore them. The control room tells you whether recovery is scheduled.
The important one is Restore
Press ⌥ ⌘ R to cancel all effects and automation and clear delayed media. The same action is in the toolbar and menu bar.
The default global shortcuts are Option-Command-F for freeze, Option-Command-A for an audio dropout, Option-Command-L for a lag spike, and Option-Command-D for a simulated disconnect. Change the bindings in Settings → Shortcuts.
Closing the control panel leaves the menu bar utility running. Quitting the app stops capture; the virtual output becomes black and silent.
Your media stays on your Mac
GlitchKit processes camera and microphone input locally. It doesn’t record your calls or upload your media. Real capture begins when you press Start and grant the relevant macOS permission.
This website’s demo uses a landscape image, not your camera or microphone. It doesn’t request either permission, and this preview site has no analytics or tracking cookies.
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