# Dolly

> Dolly is a screen recorder for Mac (Apple silicon, macOS 13 or later) that does the camera work for you: automatic zoom
> on clicks and typing, a smooth redrawn cursor, backgrounds, captions and a fast editor. Recording, editing and export run
> on the user's Mac. Dolly links (Get link) share one video on a watch page. Screen Studio quality. Free. No 5-minute limit.
> Pro €9.99 a month or €59 a year; Lifetime €99 once.
> Facts checked 15 October 2026 (Dolly 0.4.19).

## Key facts

- Free (€0): no time limit, full editor and Auto edit, camera and mic, export up to 1080p with a small "Made with Dolly" logo in the corner, Quick Share unlimited, up to 10 active Dolly links (archived after 90 days without views, restorable within 30 days).
- Pro (€9.99 a month or €59 a year): no logo, 4K at 60 fps, GIF, unlimited Dolly links with stats, password and expiry, own button and branding, Connect your AI (MCP).
- Lifetime (€99 once, €49 for the first 500 founders): everything local forever (no logo, 4K/60, GIF, Connect your AI, Quick Share); hosted links belong to Pro. Team: €11.99 per user a month, minimum 3.
- Launch: every account gets Pro free until 30 November 2026; after that, new users get 14 days of Pro, then Free. Refund within 30 days.
- Record: display, window (click it on screen), area (remembered); iPhone/iPad over a cable is coming soon. Teleprompter (⇧⌘1) and drawing on screen (⇧⌘D), never in the video.
- Edit: auto zoom, redrawn cursor, Transcript tab (select words + ⌫, "Remove ums and long pauses"), title/summary/chapters made on the Mac, cut a middle part (drag + ⌫, or I/O), title cards.
- Export: MP4 720p–4K, 24/30/60 fps, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 4:5, 3:4, 9:16; tall shapes follow the action ("Also export vertical" adds a 9:16 file); -16 LUFS loudness; GIF on Pro and Lifetime; interactive demo (Export › Interactive demo: a clickable step-by-step demo from the recording, a folder that opens offline or a demo link; every plan); ⌘E export, ⇧⌘E export to clipboard; Quick share puts the video on the clipboard.
- Privacy: nothing leaves the Mac unless the user chooses Get link, and then only that video (web copy, poster, captions).
- Not yet: Windows (in the works), Intel Macs, ChatGPT as an MCP client. iPhone/iPad recording is coming soon.

## Dolly links

- Get link (⇧⌘L or the editor Export panel, Dolly Home, or After recording = Get link so stopping is enough) → a short link on link.getdolly.app, on the clipboard in under a second; it plays as soon as the upload is done.
- Watch page: timestamped comments without login, replies, video replies ("Reply with a video": the viewer records their screen with an optional camera bubble, or the camera on a phone, up to 5 minutes; the owner can switch them off per link), six emoji reactions, transcript and captions, chapters from "0:00 Title" lines, a call-to-action button, password, expiry, downloads on/off, embed and oEmbed.
- Owner: Shared links in Dolly Home, a page per link with Insights (views, unique viewers, average watched, drop-off curve, without cookies), Comments (reply as the creator) and Settings; updating the video keeps the same link with its comments and views.
- Free: up to 10 active links (a link without views for 90 days is archived; restore it within 30 days); Free watch pages show a "Make your own video — free" button. Pro: unlimited links with stats, password, expiry, own button and branding. Up to 500 MB per video.

## Pages

- [Features](https://getdolly.app/features): everything Dolly does today.
- [Dolly links](https://getdolly.app/links): sharing a recording with one link.
- [Security](https://getdolly.app/security): what stays on the Mac, what Dolly links store (Cloudflare R2/D1), accounts, payments, signed updates, deletion.
- [Status](https://getdolly.app/status): a live check of Dolly links (raw: https://link.getdolly.app/status.json).
- [Pricing](https://getdolly.app/pricing): Free, Pro, Lifetime and Team.
- [Dolly Agents](https://getdolly.app/agents): your AI makes explainer videos with Dolly.
- [Docs](https://getdolly.app/docs): how to use Dolly; [Connect your AI](https://getdolly.app/docs/ai); [Dolly links](https://getdolly.app/docs/links); [Interactive demos](https://getdolly.app/docs/demos).
- [Quality, measured](https://getdolly.app/quality): Dolly vs Screen Studio on three recordings (text sharpness, VMAF, zoom motion), with method and limits.
- [Facts](https://getdolly.app/facts): this list, for people.
- [Changelog](https://getdolly.app/changelog)

## Comparisons

Honest comparisons with prices as listed by each vendor in October 2026, including what the others do better.

- [Compare](https://getdolly.app/compare): every comparison.
- [Dolly vs Screen Studio](https://getdolly.app/vs/screen-studio) · [Screen Studio alternative](https://getdolly.app/alternatives/screen-studio)
- [Dolly vs Loom](https://getdolly.app/vs/loom) · [Free Loom alternative](https://getdolly.app/alternatives/loom)
- [Dolly vs Cap](https://getdolly.app/vs/cap): Cap is open source and cross-platform; Dolly is Mac-only, with a free plan that has no time limit.
- [Dolly vs Tella](https://getdolly.app/vs/tella): Tella edits in the browser per seat; Dolly works on the Mac, free to start.
- [Dolly vs Descript](https://getdolly.app/vs/descript): Descript edits by text with AI voices; Dolly does the camera work on screen recordings.
- [Dolly vs FocuSee](https://getdolly.app/vs/focusee): both auto zoom; FocuSee runs on Windows too.
- [Dolly vs QuickTime](https://getdolly.app/vs/quicktime): when the free built-in recorder is enough.
- [Dolly vs Camtasia](https://getdolly.app/vs/camtasia) · [CleanShot X vs Screen Studio](https://getdolly.app/vs/cleanshot)
- [Best screen recorder for Mac](https://getdolly.app/best-screen-recorder-mac)

## Dolly Agent (MCP)

Dolly Agent is Dolly's MCP server: your AI (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, any MCP app with local stdio servers)
records, edits and exports with Dolly (every feature except drawing with the pen during a take and deleting links or comments), and makes complete explainer video series of a product. Dolly itself calls no AI and
has no API costs; the connection runs on the user's Mac over 127.0.0.1.

## Connect

Connect your AI… is in Dolly's menu bar icon, the File menu and Dolly Home.

- Claude Desktop: Connect your AI… → Install in Claude (opens the Dolly extension, dolly.mcpb; it runs the server inside
  Dolly.app, so Dolly updates need no reinstall), or Add to config instead, or add the JSON below to
  ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude.
- Claude Code: `claude mcp add dolly --scope user -e ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1 -- /Applications/Dolly.app/Contents/MacOS/Dolly /Applications/Dolly.app/Contents/Resources/mcp/dolly-mcp.mjs`
  plus the skill (Connect your AI… → Install the skill, or
  `mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills/dolly-explainers && cp /Applications/Dolly.app/Contents/Resources/skills/dolly-explainers/SKILL.md ~/.claude/skills/dolly-explainers/`).
- Cursor: Connect your AI… → Add to Cursor (writes ~/.cursor/mcp.json) or Open in Cursor; restart Cursor.
- Any MCP app: command `/Applications/Dolly.app/Contents/MacOS/Dolly`, args `/Applications/Dolly.app/Contents/Resources/mcp/dolly-mcp.mjs`,
  env `ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE=1`, transport stdio.

```json
{ "mcpServers": { "dolly": { "command": "/Applications/Dolly.app/Contents/MacOS/Dolly",
  "args": ["/Applications/Dolly.app/Contents/Resources/mcp/dolly-mcp.mjs"], "env": { "ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE": "1" } } } }
```

## Put a video on your website

Ask: "Put my latest Dolly video as the first video on our website's home page." Prompt: `publish_to_website`.

1. `dolly_list_projects`: "latest" is the newest recording (say which one you picked).
2. Find the site's public folder in the repo you work in (Next.js/Vite/Astro: `public/`, SvelteKit/Hugo: `static/`,
   plain HTML: next to index.html). Create `videos/` in it if needed.
3. `dolly_publish_web` with `out_dir` = that folder: writes `<name>.mp4` (H.264, fast start, 1080p 30 fps web bitrate),
   `<name>-muted.mp4` (no sound track: autoplays everywhere), `<name>.jpg` + `<name>.webp` (poster), `<name>.<lang>.vtt`
   (captions) and `<name>.chapters.vtt`, and returns width, height, duration, URLs and snippets: `html`, `react` (Next.js)
   and `vue`, each as `hero` (autoplay, muted, loop, playsInline) and `player` (controls, captions, chapters), all with
   poster, `preload="metadata"` and an aspect-ratio box (no layout shift); `embed` when the project has a Dolly link.
   It writes only directly inside `out_dir` (which must exist) and never replaces files unless `overwrite: true`.
4. Paste the snippet into the page with your own code tools (first in the hero/main section for "the first video").
5. Show the user: run or reload the site, or show the diff. Nothing is uploaded; committing and deploying stay theirs.

## Example prompts (each works end to end; tested in mcp/test/web.mjs and test/series.mjs)

- "Put my latest Dolly video as the first video on our website's home page." → `dolly_list_projects` →
  `dolly_publish_web` (out_dir = the site's public/videos) → paste `snippets.html.hero` (or `react.hero`, `vue.hero`) as the
  first element of the home page → show it.
- "Replace the demo video in our README with a GIF of my last recording." → `dolly_export` `{ format: "gif", path:
  "<repo>/docs/demo.gif" }` → point the README's image at it.
- "Turn my last recording into a clickable demo and put it on our pricing page." → `dolly_edit` op `demo` (title, step
  captions) → `dolly_export` `{ format: "demo", path: "<site>/public/demo/<name>" }` → an `<iframe src="/demo/<name>/index.html">`
  on the pricing page.
- "Add my latest video to the changelog post for v2.3, with chapters." → `dolly_describe` → `dolly_edit` op `describe`
  (title, chapters) → `dolly_publish_web` → `snippets.html.player` (captions + chapters tracks) and the chapter list in the post.
- "Cut the ums and long pauses from my last video, add a title and chapters, and give me a link." → `dolly_transcript`
  `clean` (`dry_run` first) → `dolly_describe` → `dolly_edit` op `describe` → `dolly_get_link`.
- "Make a vertical version of my last video with captions, ready for Reels and TikTok." → `dolly_edit` op `captions`
  `{ show: true }` → `dolly_export` `{ also_vertical: true }` → "<name> (vertical).mp4".
- "Use the 'Midnight' look for every video I record from now on." → `dolly_looks` `apply` `{ id: "midnight", default: true }`.
- "Give me a link to my last recording with the password 'launch' that expires in 7 days." → `dolly_get_link`
  `{ settings: { password: "launch", expires_days: 7 } }`.
- "Which videos got the most views this week, and what are people asking in the comments?" → `dolly_link` `list` → `get`
  per link: count `insights.sessions` with `at` in the last 7 days (viewers who watched), read `comments`.
- "Re-record our onboarding explainer videos — the app changed." → `dolly_check_explainers` → fix the plan →
  `dolly_make_series` `{ only_changed: true }`.
- "Write a help article from my last recording with the steps I took." → `dolly_get_project` (clicks, typing) +
  `dolly_transcript` `read` → `dolly_export` `{ format: "demo", path: "<docs>/<name>" }` (a still and caption per step) →
  write the article with numbered steps and those images.

Not yet through MCP: translating captions (one translation at a time, in Dolly's Captions tab) and title cards on a
recording (in the editor; `dolly_make_video` adds them to explainers).

## Explainer videos (the main job)

Ask: "Make explainer videos of my app with Dolly. It runs at http://localhost:3000." Prompts: `make_explainers`, `update_explainers`
(Claude Code: /mcp__dolly__make_explainers).

1. `dolly_explainer_guide`: the flow, the director's rules and the plan format. Read first.
2. Learn the product (code, docs, the running app via `dolly_browser`).
3. `dolly_plan`: write/validate dolly-explainers.md (Markdown; one `## Task` per video; `say:` lines are the narration).
4. `dolly_browser` action "do": try steps unrecorded; "login": the user signs in once.
5. `dolly_make_series`: every video, same look, into ~/Movies/Dolly/Explainers/<series>/ with index.html + index.md.
   `dolly_make_video`: one video. Both return contact sheets to review; retake what's off.
6. Updates: `dolly_check_explainers` → fix the plan → `dolly_make_series` with `only_changed: true` (same file names).

What Dolly does for every video: on-device narration (`Voice: auto`, macOS voices; `dolly_voices`), captions in sync, music
ducked under the voice, a calm human cursor, readable typing, zooms planned from the steps, waiting cut out, a 2.2 s title card,
an end card with a call to action, one automatic retake when a step fails, clear errors with the closest matching targets.
Web apps run in Dolly's own browser window (user's mouse stays free; selectors and visible text as targets; waits for network
and animations). Mac apps use the real mouse and keyboard with elements found by name through Accessibility.

## Recording, editing, sharing

- `dolly_record_demo` (start → perform → finish: auto edit + export), `dolly_start_recording` (a display, one window by
  app name, title or id, or an area; iPhone/iPad over a cable is coming soon), `dolly_stop_recording`,
  `dolly_pause_recording`, `dolly_list_sources`.
- `dolly_list_projects`, `dolly_get_project` (clicks, typing, clips, zooms, annotations and drawings with timeline
  times), `dolly_add_zoom`, `dolly_auto_edit` (cut dead time, speed up typing, redo zooms; no AI model).
- `dolly_edit` ops: cut (a range, like the timeline's range cut), trim, split, speed, mute, clip ops, zoom ops, style
  (background, padding, corners, shadow, aspect, reframe = Follow the action for vertical shapes), cursor, transcribe
  (on-device), captions (from the voice, or `from: "script"`), describe (title, summary, chapters), shortcuts,
  animation, audio, rename, add/update/remove_annotation (text, arrow, box, numbered step), update/remove/restore_drawing
  (pen drawings made while recording), script (the project's script), demo (the interactive demo's steps), undo, redo.
- `dolly_transcript`: edit by the text, like the Transcript tab: read it, cut or restore words by what was said, hide
  words from the captions, "Remove ums and long pauses" (dry_run counts first).
- `dolly_script`: the teleprompter (Script, ⇧⌘1): text, pace, show/hide. `dolly_looks`: the built-in looks, apply
  one (or a look link; `default: true` = every new recording starts with it), read and share a project's look.
- `dolly_describe`: Dolly's suggestion for title, summary and "0:00" chapters plus the timed transcript, to rewrite and
  save with `dolly_edit` op describe.
- `dolly_publish_web`: web-ready files for the user's own site in a folder they name (MP4, silent copy, poster, captions,
  chapters) plus HTML, React/Next.js, Vue and embed snippets; see "Put a video on your website".
- `dolly_export`: MP4 (or GIF) 720p–4K, 24/30/60 fps, auto, 16:9, 4:3, 1:1, 9:16, 3:4, 4:5; `also_vertical` adds a
  9:16 copy that follows the action; format "demo" = an interactive click-through demo (a folder with index.html, or a
  demo link with `demo_link`). `dolly_open_project`, `dolly_review_video`, `dolly_status`.
- `dolly_get_link`: a Dolly link (watch page with comments, reactions, captions, chapters), with optional settings; a
  project keeps its link when it is shared again. `dolly_link`: list links, read insights and comments, change
  password, expiry, downloads, comments, the button, title and description, reply to a comment as the creator, pick the
  poster frame, replace the video under the same link. Uploading only when the user asks.
- Not through MCP: drawing on screen during a recording (the pen is the user's; its drawings are editable afterwards),
  deleting links or comments, and anything outside the user's Mac and their own Dolly links.

## Plans

- Free: status, sources, projects, reading a project (transcript, look, demo steps, links, script), the explainer
  guide, the plan, voices, Auto edit.
- Pro (€9.99 a month or €59 a year) and Lifetime (€99 once): everything that records, changes, exports or uploads through your AI.
- Free exports go up to 1080p with a small "Made with Dolly" logo in the corner; no logo, 4K and GIF need Pro or Lifetime.

## Rules for agents

- Use demo data; never record real customer data, payments or messages to real people.
- Mac-app takes move the user's real mouse: tell the user before one starts. Browser takes don't.
- Uploading (`dolly_get_link`, `share_links`) only when the user asks. Everything else stays on the Mac.
- Every edit is undoable in Dolly's editor (⌘Z); the plan is plain Markdown the user can edit.

## More

- Docs: https://getdolly.app/docs/ai
- Agents page: https://getdolly.app/agents