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Your Mac already has a screen recorder built right in, so there are no downloads, no subscriptions, and no third party apps to install. It is ready to go on every Mac. Below I walk through every option in the Command Shift 5 menu, how to save and convert your files, and a few small tricks that make your recordings look a lot cleaner.
- Open the capture menu with Command Shift 5
- Screenshot options vs recording options
- Choose where your recording saves
- Set a timer before the recording starts
- Thumbnail and save preferences
- Pick your microphone (and what it can and cannot record)
- Turn on Show Mouse Clicks for tutorials
- Start and stop the recording
- Find and rename your file
- Convert the MOV to an MP4
- Hide desktop clutter before you hit record
- Hide the Dock for a cleaner screen
- Share and upload your recording
- Wrapping up
Open the capture menu with Command Shift 5
The only shortcut you really need to know is Command Shift 5. As soon as you press it, the capture menu shows up along the bottom of your screen with all of your options in one place. Everything else in this guide lives inside that menu.
Screenshot options vs recording options
The first three buttons in the menu are for screenshots, and the next set are for recording. It helps to know what each one does before you start.
The screenshot options are:
- Capture entire screen: grabs the whole display in one click.
- Capture selected window: grabs only the window you pick, so nothing in the background comes along.
- Capture selected portion: lets you drag a box around the exact area you want.
The recording options work the same way:
- Record entire screen: what I default to most of the time.
- Record selected window: captures just one window.
- Record selected portion: records only the area you drag over.
Choose where your recording saves
Click Options in the menu and you will find settings most people do not even know are there. The Save To section controls exactly where your file lands. It defaults to the Desktop, which I like because it is easy to find later and move wherever you want.
You can also send it to:
- Documents
- QuickTime Player, where you can save and trim it right away
- Another location, so you can point it at a specific folder on your Mac or your iCloud Drive
Picking one dedicated folder just for screen recordings can be a nice way to keep them all in one spot.
Set a timer before the recording starts
Still under Options, the Timer setting changes how long the Mac waits before it starts recording. If you are not planning to trim your recording afterward, the 5 second timer is a great choice. Once you press record, you get a countdown clock in the bottom right corner so you have a second to get everything ready on your screen.
Thumbnail and save preferences
Two more small settings live in the Options menu. You can decide whether the floating thumbnail shows up after you finish recording, and you can tell your Mac to remember these options for the next time you record so you are not resetting them every session.
Pick your microphone (and what it can and cannot record)
The Microphone setting decides whether your recording captures sound at all, and which mic it uses. You can pick your iPhone, a USB microphone if you have one plugged in, or the built in mic on your Mac.
One important thing to know: this only records audio through the microphone. It does not record system sounds directly. It will only pick up music, video audio, or other computer sound if it is coming out of your speakers and getting caught by the mic. If you need clean system audio, you will need a third party tool, which is a bigger topic than this guide. For a basic screen recording or tutorial, the built in mic is all you need.
Turn on Show Mouse Clicks for tutorials
The last option is Show Mouse Clicks, and you want this on any time you are making a tutorial. Every time you click, a small circle highlights your cursor on screen. It makes it much easier for viewers to follow exactly what you are doing and where.
Start and stop the recording
Once your options are set, just press Record. If you are recording the full screen, you can click anywhere in the middle and it starts immediately.
When you are done, you have a few ways to stop:
- Click the small stop button at the top of your display.
- Press Command Shift 5 again and hit Stop Screen Recording.
- Press Command Control Escape to stop instantly from anywhere.
Find and rename your file
Your recording saves as an MOV file wherever you set it in the options, and the default is always the Desktop. To rename it so it is easier to find later, just right click the file, click Rename, and call it whatever you want.
Convert the MOV to an MP4
By default your Mac records in the MOV format. If you want an MP4 instead, double click the file to open it in QuickTime, then go to File, Export As, and choose a resolution. From there you can save it as an HEVC file, or click Greater Compatibility to save it as an MP4. MP4 works better than MOV for sharing or uploading to most platforms.
Hide desktop clutter before you hit record
A messy desktop is the fastest way to make a recording look unprofessional. Before you record, right click your desktop and make sure Use Stacks is turned on, otherwise all your loose file icons show up on screen. Then open Show View Options and set the icon size as small as it will go so they take up even less space. Stacks plus tiny icons makes a big difference on camera.
Hide the Dock for a cleaner screen
You can also hide the Dock to free up space and clean up the frame. The quickest way is to press Command Space, type Hide Dock, and open the Dock settings that pop up. Then turn on Automatically Hide And Show The Dock. Your screen looks cleaner and you get more room to work while recording.
Share and upload your recording
Once you have your recording, you can click the Share button to text it to someone or send it through Mail. You can also just drag the file into whatever cloud provider you use, or upload it straight to YouTube, Google Drive, or anywhere else you need it to go.
Wrapping up
That covers everything you need to record your screen on a Mac without any extra apps. Learn the Command Shift 5 shortcut, set your options once, and clean up your desktop and Dock before you record. If this helped, the video walks through it all live, and there is more Mac content on the channel.
