How to Capture Video of Your Screen on Mac

Recording your screen on a Mac is one of those tasks that sounds technical but is actually built right into the operating system — no extra software required for most use cases. Whether you're making a tutorial, saving a video call, troubleshooting something remotely, or archiving a live stream, macOS gives you several ways to capture exactly what's on your display. Understanding what each method does — and where it falls short — helps you choose the right approach for your situation.

The Built-In Option: Screenshot Toolbar

Since macOS Mojave (10.14), Apple has included a dedicated screen recording tool inside the native Screenshot app. You access it with the keyboard shortcut Shift + Command + 5.

This opens a floating toolbar at the bottom of your screen with five icons:

• Capture entire screen (photo)
• Capture selected window (photo)
• Capture selected portion (photo)
• Record entire screen (video)
• Record selected portion (video)

For video, you'll use one of the last two. Click the option you want, then hit Record. To stop, click the stop button in the menu bar or press Command + Control + Esc.

Audio Options Within the Toolbar

Before recording, click Options in the toolbar. This is where you control:

• Save location — Desktop, Documents, clipboard, or another folder
• Timer — 5 or 10 second delay before recording starts
• Microphone input — Off by default; you can select your Mac's built-in mic or an external one

One important limitation: the built-in tool does not record internal system audio (the sounds your Mac plays back). If you need to capture audio from a YouTube video, a game, or an app, you'll need a third-party solution or a virtual audio driver.

QuickTime Player: The Older but Still Useful Route 🎬

Before Mojave introduced the unified Screenshot toolbar, QuickTime Player was the standard way to record a screen on Mac. It still works on all current macOS versions.

Open QuickTime Player → go to File → select New Screen Recording.

You'll get a similar set of options: record the full screen or drag to select a region. Clicking the dropdown arrow next to the record button lets you choose a microphone source. The same limitation applies — no internal audio capture natively.

QuickTime is useful when you want a simple, lightweight recording experience without opening the full Screenshot toolbar, or when you need to quickly record and immediately edit or export via QuickTime's trimming tools.

What Affects Recording Quality

Not all screen recordings come out the same, even on Macs with identical settings. Several variables influence your output:

macOS records in .mov format using the H.264 codec by default on most systems. Newer Macs with Apple Silicon may leverage more efficient encoding, but the format remains broadly compatible.

Third-Party Apps: When the Built-In Tool Isn't Enough

The native tools work well for basic recording, but some use cases push past their limits:

• No internal audio capture — Apps like BlackHole (a free virtual audio driver) or screen recorders like OBS Studio solve this by routing system audio into the recording
• Webcam overlay — If you want a picture-in-picture camera feed alongside your screen recording, most dedicated tools support this natively
• Scheduled or automated recording — Built-in tools don't support this without scripting
• Output format control — Native tools export .mov; third-party apps often let you choose MP4, MKV, or others directly

OBS Studio is widely used for this purpose — it's free, handles system audio, supports multiple sources, and streams directly to platforms like YouTube or Twitch. The trade-off is a steeper learning curve compared to hitting Shift + Command + 5.

Other paid options offer more polished interfaces, built-in editing, annotation tools, and direct sharing integrations — depending on whether that complexity is worth it for your workflow.

Screen Recording and macOS Permissions

Starting with macOS Catalina (10.15), Apple introduced a privacy requirement: any app that records your screen must be explicitly granted Screen Recording permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording.

This applies to third-party apps and even some built-in tools in certain configurations. If a recording appears black or blank, a missing permission is usually the cause. You grant access once per app, and it persists unless you revoke it.

The Variables That Shape Your Decision 🖥️

How you ultimately record your screen depends on factors that only you can assess:

• Do you need system audio? The built-in tool won't capture it without workarounds
• How long and how often are you recording? Longer recordings on full Retina displays generate large files quickly
• Do you need to edit, annotate, or share immediately after? Some tools have this built in; others require a separate step
• Are you recording for professional or personal use? A casual walkthrough for a friend and a polished software demo have different requirements
• What macOS version are you running? Features vary meaningfully between Mojave, Catalina, Ventura, and beyond

The built-in tools cover a lot of ground for free, but the gap between "basic screen capture" and "polished screen recording with audio and overlays" widens quickly depending on what you actually need to produce.