Showing someone how to do something is often faster than writing it down. A short screen recording can replace a page of instructions, prove that a bug exists or walk a client through a design. Installing software for that is overkill, and many free recorders add watermarks, time limits or an upload to their cloud.
This recorder uses the screen capture built into desktop browsers. Pick what to share, choose whether to include the tab or system sound and your microphone, and press Start recording. When you stop, the video is ready to watch and download as WebM or MP4. It is never sent to a server.
How recording a screen in a browser works
Desktop browsers include the screen sharing feature that video-call sites use. When a page asks to capture the screen, the browser itself shows a picker where you choose an entire screen, one window or one tab. The page only receives what you approve, and you can stop sharing at any moment from the browser's own bar. The Start with setting decides which option the picker offers first in Chrome and Edge.
The shared picture is then encoded live by the browser's MediaRecorder. By default the result is WebM, usually VP8 or VP9 video with Opus sound, which Chrome, Edge and Firefox record natively. Safari and recent versions of Chrome can record MP4 (H.264 and AAC) directly, so if you choose MP4 in those browsers there is no extra step. Where the browser cannot record MP4, the tool keeps the WebM and makes an MP4 copy after you press Stop.
What people record their screens for
Bug reports and support tickets
A thirty-second capture of the steps that trigger an error saves a long back-and-forth. Choose Window or Browser tab so notifications and other apps stay out of the frame.
Tutorials and walkthroughs with narration
Turn on Microphone to talk over what you are doing. A countdown of 3 or 5 seconds gives you time to switch to the right window before the first frame is captured.
Saving a presentation, demo or web lesson
Recording a browser tab with its sound captures a slide deck, a product demo or an online lecture you are allowed to keep, without the rest of your desktop.
Sound, formats and what to expect
Sound comes from two optional sources. Tab or system sound asks the browser to include audio with the shared picture, but you must also tick Share audio in the browser's picker. Chrome and Edge can share a tab's sound everywhere and, on Windows, the whole computer's sound; Firefox and Safari currently share the picture without sound. Microphone adds your voice with echo cancellation and noise suppression. When both are on, the two are mixed into one track. If you asked for screen sound but none was shared, a notice says so while recording, so you can start again rather than discover a silent file later.
While recording, the panel shows a live preview, the elapsed time, the size so far and an input level meter. Stopping, with the Stop button or the browser's Stop sharing button, finishes the file. If you chose MP4 and the browser recorded WebM, the copy is made by the site's video converter, about 31 MB, which downloads the first time it is needed; the WebM can be saved meanwhile. Browser-made WebM files often lack a stored duration, so some players cannot show their length or seek; the MP4 copy does not have that problem.
Cómo usar esta herramienta
- Under Start with, choose Entire screen, Window or Browser tab, set a Countdown (Off, 3 s or 5 s) and pick WebM or MP4 as the Format.
- Switch Tab or system sound and Microphone on or off. Press Start recording and allow the microphone if asked.
- In the browser's picker select the screen, window or tab, tick Share audio if you want its sound, and confirm.
- Use Pause and Resume as needed, then press Stop (or Stop sharing in the browser's bar).
- Watch the result and download it. Press New recording to start over.
Limitations
- Screen capture needs a desktop browser. Phones and tablets, including Safari on iPhone and iPad and Chrome on Android, do not let websites record the screen; use the device's built-in screen recorder there.
- Sound from the screen depends on the browser and system: tab sound in Chrome and Edge, whole-computer sound only on Windows, and none in Firefox or Safari.
- The recording is held in memory until you download it. Very long recordings, especially of a large screen, use a lot of memory, and closing the tab before downloading loses them.
- There is no built-in editing. Cut the start and end with Trim Video, and shrink a long capture with Compress Video.