How to Record Your Screen on a Mac

The End of Third-Party Screen Recorders

For many years, if you wanted to record your Mac’s screen to create a software tutorial, capture a gameplay session, or save a webinar, you had to pay for expensive third-party software like Camtasia or navigate complex open-source tools like OBS Studio.

Today, that is no longer necessary. Apple has built two highly capable, completely free screen recording tools directly into the macOS operating system. Depending on which version of macOS you are running, you can start recording your entire screen—or just a specific window—in less than five seconds using a simple keyboard shortcut.

Here are the two best ways to record your screen on an Apple Mac.

Method 1: The Screenshot Toolbar (macOS Mojave and Later)

If you bought your Mac after 2018, or if you have kept your operating system updated to macOS Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, or later, this is the easiest method. Apple combined the screenshot and screen recording tools into one unified toolbar.

1. Press and hold three keys on your keyboard simultaneously: Command + Shift + 5.
2. A small, grey toolbar will appear at the bottom of your screen.
3. Look at the middle section of the toolbar. You will see two icons with small “recording circles” on them:
   • Record Entire Screen: Click this icon (a solid rectangle with a circle) if you want to capture everything happening on your monitor.
   • Record Selected Portion: Click this icon (a dotted rectangle with a circle) if you only want to record a specific area. A selection box will appear; drag the edges to frame the area you want to record.
4. Important: If you want to record your voice while demonstrating something, click the Options button on the toolbar and select your Mac’s Built-in Microphone under the “Microphone” section. By default, the microphone is set to “None.”
5. Click the Record button on the far right of the toolbar to begin.

Once you start recording, the toolbar will disappear, and a tiny stop button (a square inside a circle) will appear in your top menu bar, near the Wi-Fi and clock icons.

To stop the recording, simply click that Stop button in the menu bar. The video file will automatically save to your Desktop.

Method 2: QuickTime Player (Older Macs and Advanced Audio)

If you are running an older version of macOS (like High Sierra), or if you simply prefer using a dedicated application, you can use the built-in QuickTime Player.

1. Open the Applications folder on your Mac and double-click QuickTime Player. (Or press Command + Spacebar to open Spotlight, type “QuickTime,” and press Enter).
2. Look at the very top menu bar of your screen and click on File.
3. Select New Screen Recording from the dropdown menu.
4. A small dark grey recording box will appear. Before you click the red record button, click the small downward-pointing arrow right next to it.
5. This dropdown menu allows you to select your microphone. If you want to narrate the video, select Internal Microphone. If you want a silent video, leave it on None.
6. Click the Red Record Button.
7. A prompt will appear in the middle of the screen.
   • Click anywhere on the screen to instantly begin recording the entire monitor.
   • Click and drag a box to select a specific area, then click “Start Recording” within that box.

Just like the first method, a Stop button will appear in your top menu bar. When you are finished, click the Stop button. QuickTime will immediately open the finished video file so you can review it, trim it, and save it to your preferred folder.

Why Can’t I Hear the Computer’s Internal Audio?

You will quickly notice a major limitation with both of these built-in methods: they will record your microphone, but they will not record the internal audio coming from the computer itself (e.g., the sound of a YouTube video playing, or the voices of other people on a Zoom call).

Apple intentionally blocks the recording of internal system audio at the hardware level to prevent users from easily pirating copyrighted music and movies.

If you absolutely must record internal system audio, you cannot use the built-in tools alone. You will need to download a free third-party audio routing plugin like BlackHole or use a dedicated recording application like OBS Studio.