How to screen record on a Mac
Short answer: Press ⇧⌘5 to open the Screenshot toolbar (macOS Mojave 10.14 or later), choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion, then click Record. Stop with the Stop button in the menu bar or ⌃⌘Esc. The video is saved to the desktop as a .mov file. On older macOS, use QuickTime Player: File → New Screen Recording.
These steps describe macOS 27 Golden Gate and earlier versions back to macOS Mojave 10.14, where the Screenshot toolbar gained recording. Checked on 2026-10-10 against Apple’s support pages published 2026-09-14.
Which method fits your Mac
| What you want | How | Works on |
|---|---|---|
| The whole screen | ⇧⌘5 → Record Entire Screen → Record | macOS Mojave 10.14 or later |
| Part of the screen | ⇧⌘5 → Record Selected Portion → Record | macOS Mojave 10.14 or later |
| One window | ⇧⌘5 → Record Selected Window, then click the window | macOS Tahoe 26 or later |
| Sound from apps | ⇧⌘5 → Options → Include System Audio | macOS 27 Golden Gate or later |
| A Mac older than Mojave | QuickTime Player → File → New Screen Recording | older macOS versions |
| One key to start and stop, then a styled MP4 | Screen2Shot, ⌥⇧⌘9 | macOS 15 Sequoia or later, Apple silicon |
Checked on 2026-10-10. Sources below.
Method 1: The Screenshot toolbar (⇧⌘5)
- Press ⇧⌘5. The Screenshot toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen.
- Choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion. For a portion, drag its borders to resize it. On macOS Tahoe 26 or later you can also choose Record Selected Window.
- Click Options to choose a microphone, a timer, Show Mouse Clicks, or another folder under Save to. On macOS 27 Golden Gate or later, Options also has Include System Audio.
- Click Record. For a window, click the window you want instead.
- To stop, click the Stop button in the menu bar, or press ⌃⌘Esc.
- A thumbnail appears in the corner of the screen. Click it to trim the recording, or wait and it is saved to the desktop.
Press Esc before you click Record to cancel without recording anything.
Method 2: QuickTime Player
- Open QuickTime Player from the Applications folder.
- Choose File → New Screen Recording, or press ⌃⌘N. If the Screenshot toolbar appears, continue with Method 1 from step 2.
- If a Screen Recording window appears instead, click the arrow next to the Record button to choose a microphone or Show Mouse Clicks in Recording.
- Click Record, then click anywhere to record the whole screen, or drag over an area and click Start Recording.
- To stop, click the Stop button in the menu bar, or press ⌃⌘Esc. QuickTime Player opens the recording so you can play, edit or share it.
The QuickTime screen recording guide covers trimming and exporting in QuickTime Player.
Where the recording is saved
- Recordings go to the desktop as .mov files named “Screen Recording [date] at [time].mov”.
- To use another folder, press ⇧⌘5, click Options and choose a place under Save to.
- On supported Macs with macOS Tahoe 26 or later, Options also offers a capture format: SDR (Most Compatible) or HDR.
How to record a video of yourself
If you meant a camera video rather than the screen:
- Open QuickTime Player and choose File → New Movie Recording.
- Click the Capture Device Selection Menu button to pick a camera, a microphone and a quality.
- Click the Start Recording button, then the Stop Recording button when you are done.
- Choose File → Save to name the movie and keep it.
The Screen2Shot way: one key, then a styled video
The built-in toolbar records the screen as it is. Screen2Shot records with one shortcut and opens the video in Studio, where you choose how it looks before you save it. Recording is part of Screen2Shot 1.1 and needs macOS 15 Sequoia or later on Apple silicon.
- Press ⌥⇧⌘9 to record the display under the pointer, or choose Record Area… in the Screen2Shot menu, drag a rectangle and press Return. Recording starts at once, with no countdown.
- For sound, open Recording ▸ in the menu and turn on System Audio, Microphone, or both.
- To stop, press ⌥⇧⌘9 again, or click the menu-bar icon (a red dot with the elapsed time) and choose Stop Recording.
- Studio opens with the recording. Choose Save Video…; the file is an MP4 in your Movies folder unless you pick another place.
Recording is free and has no time limit: a free recording exports up to 1080p with a thin Screen2Shot strip at the bottom. PRO removes the strip and adds export up to 4K, a smooth cursor, backgrounds and auto zoom on clicks; see pricing.
Troubleshooting
- The Record buttons are missing from ⇧⌘5. The Mac runs a version older than macOS Mojave 10.14. Use QuickTime Player, Method 2.
- The recording has no sound from apps. Before macOS 27 Golden Gate the built-in tools record only the microphone chosen in Options. See how to record your Mac screen with audio.
- You cannot find the Stop button. An app in full screen hides the menu bar; move the pointer to the top of the screen, or press ⌃⌘Esc. More in how to stop a screen recording on a Mac.
- One app’s window will not record. Some apps, such as the Apple TV app, might not let you record their windows.