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Screen recorder · Mac

Screen Recorder for Mac

Record your Mac screen without QuickTime gymnastics, and know exactly which sound it will capture before you press record.

Start recording on Mac
  • Free, no time limit
  • Nothing to install
  • Editor built in
How it works

How to record your screen on Mac

  1. Open the recorder and allow Chrome

    Open REQO in Chrome or Edge on your Mac and press record. The first time, macOS asks for permission: in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording (Screen Recording before macOS 15), switch your browser on, then quit and reopen it.

  2. Share a tab to get the sound

    In the picker, choose the Chrome tab that plays the audio and leave "Also share tab audio" on. An entire screen or a single window on a Mac records your microphone only. Your mic and the tab’s sound are mixed into one audio track.

  3. Stop, trim and share the Mac recording

    When you stop, the recording opens in the editor instead of landing on your Desktop as a .mov. Trim it, cut filler words from the transcript, add captions, then export an MP4 or send a link.

The macOS recorder, and the audio problem

Press Shift + Cmd + 5 and macOS gives you a toolbar that records the whole screen or a selection, saving a .mov to the Desktop. QuickTime Player has the same feature under File, New Screen Recording. Both work, and both are genuinely fine for grabbing raw footage.

Then you hit the wall every Mac user hits: they do not record system audio. Your microphone, yes. The sound coming out of the machine, no, not without installing a virtual audio device like BlackHole or Loopback and routing your output through it. For a screen recording of a video call or a product with sound, that is a real obstacle.

Recording a browser tab sidesteps it for anything that plays in the browser, because Chrome and Edge capture the tab’s own audio as part of the share. It does not reach a desktop app: in Chrome on a Mac, an entire screen or a single window shares no sound, only your microphone. And when you stop, the footage is already in an editor rather than sitting on your Desktop as an untrimmed .mov.

Microphone audio

Shift + Cmd + 5Yes
QuickTimeYes
REQOYes

Sound the Mac plays

Shift + Cmd + 5Needs a virtual audio driver
QuickTimeNeeds a virtual audio driver
REQOA Chrome or Edge tab only

Webcam overlay

Shift + Cmd + 5No
QuickTimeNo
REQOYes

Trim and cut afterwards

Shift + Cmd + 5Trim only
QuickTimeTrim only
REQOFull editor

Captions from speech

Shift + Cmd + 5No
QuickTimeNo
REQOYes

Output

Shift + Cmd + 5.mov on the Desktop
QuickTime.mov
REQOMP4, plus a share link

Recording on an M-series MacBook

Apple silicon handles browser recording comfortably. The recording is held on your Mac while you record and uploads when you stop, so on a slow connection a long recording means a wait at the end, not during it. Battery is the thing to watch: a 40 minute recording with the webcam on is real work for the machine, so plug in for anything long.

FAQ

Recording on Mac: questions

How do I record my screen on a Mac with sound?

The built-in recorder captures your microphone but not the sound the Mac plays, which needs a virtual audio driver like BlackHole. In a browser, share a Chrome or Edge tab and leave "Also share tab audio" on: that tab’s sound is captured with nothing installed. An entire screen or a single window shares no sound on a Mac, so a desktop app’s audio still needs the driver.

What is the shortcut for screen recording on Mac?

Shift + Cmd + 5 opens the screenshot and recording toolbar. Shift + Cmd + 3 and 4 are stills rather than video.

Where do Mac screen recordings save?

To the Desktop as a .mov by default. Recordings made in REQO stay in your projects and export as MP4, which is smaller and plays on Windows and Android without a fight.

Do I need to install anything to record my screen on Mac?

No. The recorder runs in Chrome or Edge, so there is nothing to download, no extension to approve and no admin rights to ask IT for.

Is it really free?

Yes. Recording, editing and sharing are free with an account, and there is no time limit on a recording. Free exports carry a small REQO badge; Pro removes it.

Why not just use the macOS screenshot toolbar?

the macOS screenshot toolbar is fine for capturing raw footage. The gap is everything after: you still have to trim the dead air at the start, cut the bit where you lost your train of thought, and get the file to someone. That is the part REQO does in the same tab.

Can I record my screen and webcam at the same time?

Yes. Capture the screen with your webcam in a corner overlay, and reposition or resize it afterwards in the editor.

How long can I record?

As long as you need. There is no cap on recording length on the free plan.

Other systems

Recording elsewhere

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Record your screen on any distro without fighting OBS configuration or a 30 second cap.

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Record your Mac screen now

Free, no install, and the recording opens straight in a full editor.

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