How to Screen Record on Mac: 3 Built-in Methods (No Downloads Needed)

# How to Screen Record on Mac: 3 Built-in Methods (No Downloads Needed)

By Daniel Rozin | A Versus B | August 22, 2026

You can screen record on a Mac using three methods built into macOS — no software purchase or download required. The fastest is the screenshot toolbar (Shift+Command+5), which was added in macOS Mojave (2018) and is available on every Mac running macOS 10.14 or later. For more control over resolution and format, QuickTime Player offers additional options. Here is exactly how to use all three methods.

Method 1: Screenshot Toolbar (Shift+Command+5)#

This is the fastest method for most users.

Step 1: Press Shift + Command + 5 simultaneously. A toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen with five icons.

Step 2: Choose your recording mode:

• Record Entire Screen (4th icon, rectangle with filled dot): records everything visible on your display
• Record Selected Portion (5th icon, dashed rectangle with dot): lets you drag to select a specific area to record

Step 3 (Optional): Click Options to configure:

• Save to: Desktop (default), Documents, Clipboard, Mail, Messages, Preview, or QuickTime Player
• Timer: None, 5 seconds, or 10 seconds before recording starts
• Microphone: None (no audio) or any connected microphone for voiceover
• Show Floating Thumbnail: yes/no (a thumbnail appears briefly in the corner when recording stops)
• Remember Last Selection: keeps your selected area for next time

Step 4: Click Record.

Step 5: To stop recording, click the Stop button (■) in the menu bar (top of screen), or press Command + Control + Escape.

The recording saves as an .mov file on your Desktop by default. File names are formatted as "Screen Recording [date] at [time].mov."

Method 2: QuickTime Player#

QuickTime Player offers the same core functionality as the toolbar but with slightly more control, and it is familiar to users who already use it for video playback.

Step 1: Open QuickTime Player from Applications or Spotlight (Command+Space, type "QuickTime").

Step 2: Click File in the menu bar → New Screen Recording.

A recording control panel appears with a red record button and a dropdown arrow.

Step 3: Click the dropdown arrow (next to the record button) to set:

• Microphone: Select a microphone or "None"
• Show Mouse Clicks in Recording: adds a visual indicator when you click (useful for tutorials)

Step 4: Click the red record button. Then either:

• Click anywhere to record the entire screen
• Drag to select a region to record, then click Start Recording

Step 5: Click the Stop button (■) in the menu bar to finish.

QuickTime then opens the recording automatically. Use File → Save (Command+S) to choose where to save it. QuickTime saves in .mov format by default.

Method 3: Terminal Command (Advanced)#

For developers or automation use cases, macOS includes a command-line screen recording tool via the `screencapture` utility.

Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal) and use:

screencapture -v ~/Desktop/recording.mov

This starts a screen recording immediately. Press Control+C in the Terminal to stop it. The file saves to your Desktop.

Additional flags:

• `-a`: record the front application window only
• `-R x,y,w,h`: record a specific region (x and y are the top-left corner coordinates, w and h are width and height in pixels)

Example: Record a 1280×720 region starting at coordinates (100, 100):

screencapture -v -R 100,100,1280,720 ~/Desktop/recording.mov

This method does not capture audio by default. Add third-party tools like `ffmpeg` for audio capture via Terminal.

How to Screen Record With Internal Audio (System Sound)#

macOS does not natively capture internal audio (system sounds, music, app audio) during screen recording — only microphone input. This is a long-standing limitation due to privacy and copyright protections.

Options for capturing internal audio:

1. BlackHole (free, open source) — a virtual audio driver that routes system audio to an input. Install it, set it as both input and output, and macOS treats it as a microphone. Available at existential.audio.

1. Loopback (paid, $109) — Rogue Amoeba's professional solution; creates virtual audio devices that can mix any audio sources with more granular control.

1. OBS Studio (free) — open-source screen recording and streaming software that can capture both screen and system audio natively on Mac. Install from obsproject.com.

For most tutorial recording where you only need microphone (voiceover), the built-in method (Shift+Command+5) is sufficient.

File Format and Editing#

Mac screen recordings default to .mov format (Apple QuickTime container, H.264 video codec). File sizes are approximately:

• 1 minute at 1080p: ~100–250 MB (depending on motion/complexity)
• 1 minute at 720p: ~50–120 MB

To convert to MP4 (smaller, more widely compatible):

• Open the .mov file in QuickTime → File → Export As → 1080p (this exports as .m4v, which is compatible with most MP4 players)
• Or use Handbrake (free) for full format control

To trim the recording without software:

• Open the .mov in QuickTime → Edit → Trim (Command+T)
• Drag the yellow handles to set start and end points → click Trim

Troubleshooting Common Issues#

"Screen Recording" permission not granted:

Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording → enable the toggle for the app (QuickTime or Terminal). Without this permission on macOS 13+, recordings show a black screen.

No audio in recording:

In the screenshot toolbar options or QuickTime settings, confirm a microphone is selected (not "None"). If you use AirPods, they may not appear until connected.

File not saving:

Check that the destination drive has sufficient space. Screen recordings at 1080p use approximately 200 MB/minute.

Recording is choppy on older Mac:

Close unused applications before recording. Recording at high resolution is processor-intensive. Consider reducing display resolution temporarily via System Settings → Displays.

Related Comparisons#

Choosing between platforms for content creation? See Mac vs. Windows for a full comparison. For Apple hardware choices, see MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro.