Screen record on macOS: How to record computer screen from Mac

If you're wondering how to screen record on a Mac computer, you will probably be surprised at how many options you have for capturing everything from your Mac screen.

What to do for screen recording on a Mac computer:

• If you want to capture your computer screen on a Mac, you can use the Screenshot Toolbar by tapping the Shift + Command + 5 on your keyboard.
• To screen record on macOS, initiate the native app QuickTime Player and enable the New Screen Recording option to create a fresh recording file.
• All screen recordings can be done with the full-featured AppGeeker Screen Recorder on your Mac, which lets you capture all screen activities along with the source audio on computer.

There are several available tools that can help you to record computer screen from a Mac.

Taking a screenshot on Mac is easy, but what if you'd like to record everything on your Mac screen? Whether you want to record a Zoom meeting for future use or creating a funny video to share with your friends, there're actually various options you can take to record the computer screen from your Mac.

• How to record computer screen on Mac?
• How to record everything on your Mac screen?
• How to record your computer screen on Mac with audio?
• Bonus: How to record video and capture the screen at the same time on Mac?
• FAQs

How to record computer screen on Mac?

Use Screenshot Toolbar

Actually, Mac natively supports the screen recording on your computer. On macOS Mojave and later, the built-in feature Screenshot Toolbar is always available for recording your computer screen. This simple tool allows you to record either the full screen or a specific portion of the screen on your Mac, and you can also take screenshots with it. The best thing is that you can quickly open it using the keyboard shortcut so you won't miss anything on your Mac screen.

To take screen recordings from a Mac computer:

Step 1. Opening the Screenshot Toolbar

When you press CMD + Shift + 5 altogether on your keyboard, the Screenshot toolbar will appear on the Mac screen automatically.

Step 2. Select the recording options.

At the bottom of the screen, you will notice various options in the Screenshot toolbar. There will be two options in the middle with a square + a recording dot on the bottom right. One of them is Record Entire Screen and the other one is Record Selected Portion.

Choose to record the full screen or a selected area from the Mac screen.

Step 3. Record the full screen or a selected portion.

Record Entire Screen: After selecting the full screen recording option, you will be brought to the Record Entire Screen mode and your mouse cursor will appear as a camera. You can now click anywhere on the screen to start, or just simply hit the Record button.

Record Selected Portion: If you are looking to screen record specific portions on your Mac screen, use the cut square to select the area you want to record. Dragging the corner of the box will let you adjust the size of the area you're going to capture.

For more options:

• There are various options available when you click on Options on the toolbar. If you are looking to screen record on Mac with something different, you can look at the available options there.

More options available for recording computer screen from Mac.

Step 4. Stop and save the recording.

After you record everything you want, simply click on the Stop button to end the screen recording. By default, the screen recording you just created will be named according to the date and time. You can find and access them on your Mac desktop after that.

As you can see, the Screenshot Toolbar on macOS is one of the easiest methods you can go for when recording screen activities on your Mac computer. There is no need to install anything extra and it is quite easy to use as well.

Note:

• Keep in mind that the Screenshot shortcut is only available to macOS Mojave or the versions that come later. If you have an older macOS version, below we have other methods for you.
• The screen recordings created by Screenshot Toolbar will be exported as .mov files only. You can play and edit the saved videos with iMovie on your Mac.
• The Screenshot Toolbar doesn't come with the ability to record the internal audio from your macOS. If you're willing the capture the system sound, try the Screen Recorder tool below.

How to record everything on your Mac screen?

Popular Screen Recorder (audio record supported)

Mostly, the macOS option Screenshot can help you with easy recordings on your Mac screen, but sometimes it is not capable of capturing everything on your computer. If you are recording a meeting or making a tutorial video in which you have to show all your screen activities and system sound along with your camera and microphone audio, then you might have to go for a more powerful recorder like AppGeeker Screen Recorder.

It is an all-in-one solution that can capture everything on your Mac screen, including the file or folder you're working on, the video you're playing, the camera you're rolling, as well as the audio from your macOS or an external microphone. In just a couple of clicks, you can easily record all your computer activities along with the options of various recording settings that you can customize according to your preferences.

Step 1. Launch Screen Recorder on Mac.

Download, install and run the Screen Recorder tool on your Mac.

Once open, there will be various options in front of you. For screen recording on a Mac computer, choose Video Recorder to proceed.

To record computer screen on Mac, select Video Recorder from the interface.

Step 2. Customize the recording settings.

Amazingly, you can customize almost everything of the recording before you start. Select the ones you need for the screen record on your Mac computer:

Select the recording options you need and hit REC to start.

• Click on Full to record your entire Mac screen. Or check the Custom option to select and adjust a certain area you want to capture.
• Toggle on the Camera if you'd like to show yourself in the recording.
• Enable the System sound and Microphone options so it can capture and mix the source audio from both your macOS and your microphone.
• Also, the icons above the microphone allow you to adjust more recording settings as you like.

Customize the screen recording through the settings in Recording, Mouse, Hotkeys, Output and Others.

Step 3. Recording the computer screen on your Mac.

After the basic settings, click on REC button. Let it record the screen from your Mac accordingly.

While capturing the screen activities, you're able to pause and stop the recording whenever you want. Additionally, the handy editing option built in this recorder tool allows you to add drawings, texts, shapes, arrows and even the callouts if you need.

Click on the Edit option to add drawings or texts while recording the screen.

Step 4. Preview and export the recordings on Mac.

A click on the Stop icon will end the screen recording immediately. Then you can preview the video file you just created. In case you're not satisfied with the recording, you can either use the Clip option to keep part of the video, or click Re-Record to do the recording from the beginning.

To export the screen recordings on your Mac, simply select Save and the video file will be placed into the Recording history as default. It's also possible to save the recordings anywhere you want on your computer if you change the location in the Output settings in Step 2.

Clip the recording or export it directly. If not, click on Re-Record to record Mac screen once again.

Advanced features you can take when using AppGeeker Screen Recorder:

• Screen recordings can include video audio as well as external narration.
• It tracks mouse movement that shows the mouse cursor and records mouse clicks.
• Hotkeys can be customized according to your need.
• The sound is automatically optimized while you record. No worries about the noise cancellation or sound enhancement.
• Available to preview and clip the recordings before export.
• A range of popular formats are supported for output files.

Related article: Screen recording in Windows 10

How to record the computer screen from your Mac with audio?

QuickTime Player on macOS

The pre-installed tool QuickTime Player on Mac is designed to capture the screenshots, audio, movie, as well as the screen recordings. In fact, whenever you use the screen recording from QuickTime Player, you'll be brought to the Screenshot Toolbar. But this, to some extent, benefits the users whose Mac is running an older version than macOS Mojave.

Note:

• QuickTime Player is widely available on Mac. It helps you to create Mac screen recordings with the audio from an internal or external microphone. But unfortunately, it has no ability to capture the system sound or internal audio while you record.
• The recording from QuickTime Player is always saved in the format of .mov. You can simply view the saved recordings using iMovie or QuickTime Player on your Mac.
• If you're willing to record the sound coming from your Mac, simply try the Screen Recorder above to get the system sound captured.

1. Search QuickTime Player from the applications and open it on your Mac.

2. From the upper left corner, select File on the menu bar and then choose New Screen Recording. Then a tool bar shows up with various options including screen capture and record.

3. Just the same as the Screenshot that you can access on macOS Mojave and above, this option bar lets you take screenshots and capture screen recordings depending on what you need.

4. Choose to record the entire screen or a selected region. Else, you can check the Options to change the default settings. You can set up new location for the saved videos, use a timer before recording, select source audio, show your mouse clicks, etc.

5. To stop recording, click on Stop in the menu bar from the right side at the top. You can also use the Command + Control + Esc shortcut on your keyboard. After the recording stops, QuickTime Player will open the new recording automatically. You can play it to check whether everything you want is captured, and edit or share it.

Bonus: How to record video and capture the screen at the same time on Mac?

In case you're making a how-to video and need to record yourself and capture your Mac screen simultaneously, you can simply run the preset tool Photo Booth on your Mac, and select the Video Record mode to record yourself using Mac's camera or an external webcam. Then run the Screenshot Toolbar or QuickTime Player to capture the computer screen at the same time. This way, you're able to record both yourself and your Mac screen.

This is a simple trick that can help you with capturing footage from the desktop while your camera window is also present on top. However, like we mentioned before, neither the Screenshot nor QuickTime Player has capacity to record the system sound from your macOS. So if the internal audio is essential in your screen recordings, the AppGeeker Screen Recorder will be your best option and will provide you with a better overall recording experience.

FAQs

1. How to record a video on a Mac?

You can take photos or record videos on a Mac using the Photo Booth, a pre-installed application on macOS. You can record yourself using either the built-in camera on your Mac or an external camera that you attached to your computer. Here's how:

• Double-click Photo Booth in the Launchpad. You can also find it in the Applications in Finder.
• Select the video icon to switch to the Video mode.
• Click on the Record Video button to start the recording instantly.
• To end the recording, hit the red Stop button.
• Preview the recording and save it through Export option.

2. How to record screen with system and external audio on Mac?

To record screen with system and external audio on a Mac, simply use the AppGeeker Screen Recorder, follow the steps to capture your Mac screen along with audio:

• Run the Screen Recorder on your Mac and select Video Recorder.
• Select full screen or a certain area you want to record.
• Turn on the System sound and Microphone option according to your need.
• Click on REC to start recording.
• Once done, hit the Stop option and save the recording.

3. How to start and stop recording screen on Mac?

To capture what's happening on the Mac screen: Simply press the Command + Shift + 5 on your keyboard, and select Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion.

To stop the recording: Press CMD + Control + Esc to make it stop. The recording will pop up on the screen automatically.

4. How can I screen record on my MacBook?

Use the following methods to create screen recordings on your MacBook:

• Screenshot Toolbar (macOS Mojave and later)
• QuickTime Player (record screen and external audio)
• Screen Recorder (capture screen, audio, webcam and more)

Try the above methods to record screen activities from your Mac screen.