How to Record the Screen on Your Windows PC or Mac

Want to record the screen on your PC? Maybe you’re a professional who needs to capture your screen for a presentation at work, a software developer generating a how-to video, or someone who wants to upload something fun to YouTube. Windows and macOS allow you to capture your screen activity thanks to built-in tools, though there are also many third-party screen-capture apps. Here's how to use all available tools.

Record Your Screen with the Windows Game Bar

Built into Windows 10, Game Bar was designed to record games that you play directly on your PC or those you stream from an Xbox One. However, it can just as easily capture screen activity from other applications. After you’ve recorded the chosen activity, the generated video is automatically saved as an MP4 file, which can then be uploaded anywhere you like.

To set this up, go to Settings > Gaming > Game bar and turn on the switch for Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using Game bar. Here, you can change any keyboard shortcuts associated with opening the Game Bar, taking a screenshot, and recording video. 

If you connect an Xbox Controller to your PC, you can trigger the Game Bar by pressing the Xbox button on the controller.

You can record activity in most applications and windows, except the Windows desktop, File Explorer, and certain Windows apps, such as Weather. Navigate to the screen you wish to record and press Win+G to open Game Bar. Several Game Bar widgets appear on the screen with controls for capturing screenshots, recording video and audio, and broadcasting your screen activity.

Click the Start Recording button to capture your screen activity. Instead of going through the Game Bar pane, you can also just press Win+Alt+R to start your recording.

Now perform whatever screen actions you want to capture. After you click on the screen, the Game Bar widgets vanish, replaced by a small floating bar in the upper-right corner of the screen through which you can control the recording. To stop the recording, click the Recording button on the floating bar.

Once the recording ends, a notification will appear to tell you that the game clip was recorded. Click the notification, and File Explorer will open to the location of the recording. At this point, you can view the video file or upload wherever you want.

Record Your Screen in macOS

Your Mac comes with its own screen-recording feature on macOS Mojave and higher. Open the app or window you want to record, then press Shift+Command+5 to open the system’s screen capture tool. From the bottom toolbar, you can opt to capture the entire screen, just the selected window, or a selected portion of the screen. 

Click the Options button, and you can choose where to save your recording and initiate a countdown timer to start the recording. Make sure to check the option to use your Mac’s microphone if you’re recording your own voice or external audio. 

Click Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion to begin recording. A Recording button appears at the top of the screen on the menu bar. Click this button to stop recording, and a thumbnail of your recording will be added to your computer. Double-click the screen recording file to play it in your default video player.

You can also trigger the screen recording directly from QuickTime on a Mac. Open QuickTime Player, then click File > New Screen Recording. The first time you do this, you’ll be asked to open System Preferences to grant QuickTime Player permission to record your screen. Go into your settings and check the box to grant the proper permissions. Start the new recording through QuickTime again, and you can then use the Mac’s recording tool.

OBS Studio

Compatible with Windows 10, 8.1, and 8, as well as macOS, the free OBS Studio packs a lot of features into one program. Use the program’s floating control panel to start and stop your recording. Along the way, OBS Studio can record screen activity, your microphone, and computer audio, then saves the output as an MP4 file. 

You can also stream your video live or turn to Studio Mode to add cuts, fades, and other transitions to the video. The program offers an array of settings where you can change the format and other criteria for both the video and audio portions of the recording. OBS Studio looks intimidating at first, but you should be able to catch onto it pretty quickly and learn how to use it effectively.

Free Cam

Free Cam is an extremely basic but still capable screen recorder. Designed for Windows 10, 8.1, and 7, this program captures your screen activity and audio, then saves your recording as a WMV file. Simply click the button for New Recording. Then select which area of the screen you want to capture, anywhere from a single window or application to the entire screen. 

Click the Record button, perform the screen activity, and then press Esc when you’re done. Your recording appears in a preview window where you can edit it, save it as a video file, or upload it directly to YouTube.

If you need to record the screen on your smartphone, check out How to Record the Screen on Your iPhone or iPad and How to Record the Screen on Your Android Phone.