Screen recording on Mac: the complete 2026 guide

Every Mac can record its screen without installing anything. For a quick clip of a bug or a short how-to, the built-in tools are enough. For polished product demos, tutorials or anything with zooms and styled backgrounds, a third-party app is usually worth it. This guide covers both: the shortcuts, the settings that trip people up (system audio and permissions in particular), what happens under the hood, how big the files get, and how to choose a tool.

The fastest way: Shift-Command-5

Press Shift-Command-5 to open the Screenshot toolbar. According to Apple's guide to recording the screen, it has three video options next to the still-image ones:

Record Entire Screen
Record Selected Window (requires macOS Tahoe 26 or later)
Record Selected Portion

Choose one, then click Record. To stop, click the Stop button in the menu bar, or press Command-Control-Esc.

Click Options in the toolbar before recording. Apple lists these settings:

Microphone: choose a mic to record your voice with the screen.
Include System Audio: records the sound your Mac plays. Apple lists this for macOS 27 Golden Gate or later.
Show Mouse Clicks: draws a black circle around the pointer when you click.
Timer: a delay before recording starts.
Save to: recordings go to the desktop by default.
Capture format: on supported Macs with macOS Tahoe 26 or later, choose SDR (H.264) or HDR (HEVC).

The toolbar remembers your choices, so you only set them once.

Where the file goes

Recordings are saved as .mov files named like "Screen Recording [date] at [time].mov" (Apple). A thumbnail appears in the bottom-right corner for a few seconds after you stop; click it to trim or share before it saves, or swipe it away to save immediately.

QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player can also start a recording: choose File > New Screen Recording, or press Control-Command-N. On current macOS versions, this opens the same Screenshot toolbar, so the options are identical (Apple; QuickTime Player guide). When you stop, QuickTime opens the recording so you can play it, trim it or share it.

QuickTime is still useful after recording. Its Edit menu has Trim, Split Clip and rotate commands, which are enough for quick fixes without opening a full editor.

System audio: the most common problem

For years, the built-in tools could record your microphone but not the sound your Mac was playing. That's why so many people installed audio routing utilities just to capture a video's soundtrack or a notification sound.

The situation is better now, but it depends on your macOS version:

Built-in Screenshot toolbar: Apple lists Include System Audio for macOS 27 Golden Gate or later. On older versions you'll only see microphone options.
Third-party apps: apps built on Apple's ScreenCaptureKit framework can capture system or app audio along with the screen. Apple's WWDC22 session Meet ScreenCaptureKit describes audio capture at up to 48 kHz stereo, filtered per application.

If you're on an older macOS and need system audio, a third-party recorder is the simplest route. If you do use an audio routing utility, remember to switch your output back afterwards, or your Mac will seem silent.

Permissions in System Settings

The first time an app tries to record your screen, macOS asks for permission. If you clicked "Don't Allow", or the app records only your wallpaper and empty windows, fix it here:

Open Apple menu > System Settings.
Click Privacy & Security in the sidebar (you may need to scroll).
Click Screen & System Audio Recording.
Turn the app on. Apps can be allowed to record both screen and audio, or audio only (Apple).

Quit and reopen the app after changing the setting; most apps only pick up the new permission on launch.

Other permissions that recording apps may ask for:

Microphone, under Privacy & Security > Microphone, if you record your voice.
Accessibility or Input Monitoring, if the app tracks clicks or shows keystrokes on screen.

The recurring permission prompt

Since macOS Sequoia, the system periodically asks you to confirm that apps may keep recording your screen. During the Sequoia beta, Apple changed this from weekly to monthly, and TidBITS reported that the shipping version remembers the choice across restarts. Developers can't turn the prompt off. It's a privacy feature, so the honest advice is to click "Allow" when the prompt names an app you trust.

Under the hood: ScreenCaptureKit

ScreenCaptureKit is the framework Apple introduced in macOS 12.3 for screen capture. In Apple's words, it can capture "screen content from any combination of displays, applications, and windows as well as the audio that goes with it" (WWDC22). Apple also says it delivers video "up to your display's native resolution and frame rate" with "lower CPU overhead than existing capture methods".

Why this matters to you:

Performance. Modern recorders built on it run with less overhead, so recording a demo doesn't slow down the app you're demoing.
Window capture. Apps can record one window cleanly, even when other windows overlap it.
Cursor control. Apps can leave the cursor out of the video (showsCursor) and redraw it later, which is how recorders smooth the cursor and add zoom effects.
Consent. Capture always goes through the Screen & System Audio Recording permission described above.

File sizes and formats

Screen recordings can get big, especially from Retina and 5K displays. File size depends mainly on three things:

Resolution. A full Retina display records far more pixels than a 1080p export.
Frame rate. 60 fps holds roughly twice the frames of 30 fps. Screen content that barely changes compresses well either way.
Codec and bitrate. H.264 plays everywhere. HEVC (H.265) usually gives smaller files at similar quality, but older devices and some web tools handle it less well.

A useful rule of thumb is to work from bitrate: file size equals bitrate times duration. At an average of 10 megabits per second, one minute is about 75 MB (10 × 60 ÷ 8). Screen content with little motion often averages far lower; fast scrolling and video playback push it higher.

Practical tips:

Record the window or area you need, not the whole 5K display.
Export to MP4 with H.264 for sharing on the web, in docs or with people on other platforms. Keep .mov or HEVC for your own archive if you like.
Use 30 fps for static walkthroughs and 60 fps when there's a lot of scrolling or animation.
Export at 1080p for most uses. 4K only helps if viewers watch full screen on large displays.

Third-party tools

The built-in tools record, but they don't edit much. Third-party apps add some or all of the following:

Automatic zoom on clicks, so small UI details are readable.
A smoothed, redrawn cursor with click effects.
Backgrounds, padding, rounded corners and shadow around the recording.
Webcam overlays and layouts.
Captions and transcript editing.
Share links with comments and view counts.

Common options as of October 2026:

Tool	Focus	Pricing model
Screen Studio	Polished demos, very complete	Subscription
CleanShot X	Screenshots plus recording, Studio Mode	One-time plus optional updates
Cap	Open source, links plus editor, cross-platform	Free personal use, paid license or plan
Loom	Quick async video at work	Free tier, subscription
Dolly	Polished demos on Mac, local only	Free tier; Pro subscription or one-time Lifetime

We compare these and others in more detail in Best Screen Studio alternatives in 2026. Dolly is our own app: it records a display or window, redraws the cursor smoothly, zooms on clicks and exports MP4, all locally with no account. It needs an Apple silicon Mac with macOS 13 or later, and you can download it to try the free version, or read what the free screen recorder includes.

Tips for better recordings

Turn on Do Not Disturb before recording. Notifications in a demo look sloppy and can leak private messages.
Hide desktop clutter. Use a plain wallpaper and close unrelated windows.
Increase text size in the app you're recording, or record a smaller window, so text stays readable after export.
Use a real microphone if your voice matters. A headset mic beats the built-in mic in most rooms.
Do a 10-second test first to check the mic, system audio and permissions.
Move the mouse slowly and pause before clicking. Viewers follow the pointer.
Keep an eye on disk space. Long Retina recordings can fill a nearly full drive.
Learn the stop shortcut (Command-Control-Esc for the built-in tools), so you don't have to hunt for the menu bar button on camera.

Quick reference

Task	How
Open recording toolbar	Shift-Command-5
Start from QuickTime	File > New Screen Recording, or Control-Command-N
Stop recording	Stop button in menu bar, or Command-Control-Esc
Record system audio (built-in)	Options > Include System Audio, macOS 27 or later
Fix permissions	System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording
Default save location	Desktop, as a .mov file