How to Screen Record on Mac
Three ways to record your screen on any Mac or MacBook, including MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, and Mac Mini. From the simplest built-in option to a full recording and editing workflow.
Which Method Should You Use?
- Want system sound, editing, and instant sharing? Use ShipClip. One app for the whole workflow.
- Just need a quick, no-frills clip? The built-in macOS recorder (Cmd+Shift+5) works out of the box. No download, but no system sound or editing either.
- Already use OBS for streaming? It records too, but you'll need a virtual audio driver and a separate editor.
Method 1: ShipClip (Record, Edit, Share)
The fastest path to a polished screen recording on Mac. ShipClip captures your display, system sound, microphone, and camera in one click, then lets you edit and share without switching apps.
- Download ShipClip (under 10 MB, macOS 14+)
- Pick your display, microphone, and camera
- Click Record. System sound is captured automatically, no extra drivers
- When done, edit in the timeline: trim, adjust volume per track, tweak zoom ranges
- Share a link (with viewer analytics) or export a local file
Every mouse click is tracked during capture and turned into automatic zoom effects on playback. Each input records to its own track, so you can mute your mic without touching the rest of the audio. The camera overlay includes real-time background removal, no green screen needed.
ShipClip also lets you style the final video with padding, rounded corners, and custom backgrounds. If you want something that looks great on its own, try our free mesh gradient background generator to create a wallpaper for your recording.
Price: $9.99/mo $4.99/mo (founder pricing). 7-day free trial, no credit card. See pricing.
Method 2: The Built-in macOS Recorder
Every Mac and MacBook ships with a screen recorder. You can access it two ways: the screenshot toolbar or QuickTime Player. Both give you the same thing, a .mov file saved to disk.
Option A: Screenshot Toolbar (Cmd+Shift+5)
- Press Cmd+Shift+5 to open the screenshot toolbar
- Choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion
- Click Options to select your microphone and choose where to save the file
- Click Record
- Click the Stop button in the menu bar, or press Cmd+Control+Esc
Option B: QuickTime Player
- Open QuickTime Player from Applications
- Go to File → New Screen Recording
- Select your microphone from the dropdown arrow
- Click the record button and choose full screen or a selected area
- Click the Stop button in the menu bar when done
Recordings land on your Desktop by default (changeable in Options). The format is always .mov with H.264, which produces large files. Five minutes of screen capture can easily hit 500 MB.
Where the Built-in Recorder Falls Short
Good enough for a quick capture. Less good once you need to actually do something with the footage.
- No system sound. Only your microphone is recorded. Demoing an app? Your viewer hears your voice but nothing from the app itself. This is a macOS limitation with no workaround.
- No editing. You get a raw file. Want to trim the awkward first ten seconds, or cut a pause in the middle? Open iMovie. Need to adjust audio levels or add a zoom effect? Find yet another tool. QuickTime can trim, but that's it.
- Sharing is a chore. A 500 MB .mov doesn't fit in a Slack message or email attachment. So you upload it to Google Drive or Dropbox, wait for processing, copy the link, and hope your recipient doesn't have to download the whole file just to watch. No view counts. No way to tell if anyone watched past the first ten seconds.
- No camera overlay. Want a facecam in the corner? You'll need to record your camera separately and stitch the two together in a video editor afterward.
For something you'll keep on your own machine, this works. But if anyone else needs to see the recording, the real work starts after you hit Stop. Compressing, uploading, sharing, hoping the link works. ShipClip skips all of that. Record, clean it up in the timeline, send a link. Done.
For a deeper look at the audio problem specifically, see our guide on how to screen record on Mac with audio.
Method 3: OBS Studio (Free, Open Source)
Free, open source, and wildly configurable. OBS was built for live streaming, but plenty of people use it to record. The trade-off is setup time.
- Download OBS Studio from obsproject.com
- Create a new Scene and add a Display Capture source
- For system audio on Mac, install a virtual audio driver (BlackHole or similar)
- Add an Audio Input Capture source for your microphone
- Click Start Recording
- Click Stop Recording when done
Limitations: Steep learning curve. No editing. No zoom effects. Capturing system sound on Mac requires installing a virtual audio driver like BlackHole. Best for people who already know OBS from streaming. ShipClip vs OBS.
Side-by-Side Comparison
| ShipClip | Built-in | OBS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| System audio | Built-in | No | With driver |
| Separate audio tracks | Yes | No | Yes |
| Zoom-to-click | Automatic | No | No |
| Editing | Timeline | None | None |
| Camera overlay | Built-in + BG removal | No | With setup |
| Sharing | Link or file | Local file | Local file |
| Price | Free | Free |
Related Guides
Frequently Asked Questions
The fastest way is Cmd+Shift+5, which opens the built-in macOS screen recorder on any Mac or MacBook. Choose to record the full screen or a selected area, then click Record. For more features like system audio, zoom effects, or editing, use a third-party app like ShipClip.
The built-in macOS recorder doesn't capture system audio. You need a third-party app. ShipClip captures system audio natively on macOS 14+, no virtual audio driver needed. OBS can capture system audio but requires a driver like BlackHole.
Yes. ShipClip records your webcam as a separate track and composites it as a picture-in-picture overlay with real-time background removal. Loom also shows your webcam. The built-in macOS recorder does not include a camera overlay.
Built-in recorder: Desktop by default (configurable on any MacBook or Mac). ShipClip: ~/Movies/ShipClip. OBS: configurable in settings.
With the built-in recorder: Cmd+Shift+5 → Record Selected Portion → drag to select the area. With ShipClip: choose Window capture mode to record a single window, or record the full display and crop in the editor.
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