What this recorder actually does
You click Start, your browser asks what to share (a whole monitor, one app window, or a single tab), and from that moment everything on that surface gets captured. A live preview shows you exactly what’s going into the file. A timer ticks up so you know how long you’ve been rolling. Hit Stop, and you get a WebM you can play back and download on the spot.
The recording never leaves your machine. There’s no upload, no account, no server doing the work. Your browser’s own Screen Capture API and MediaRecorder handle all of it, which is why a 10 minute capture finishes the instant you press Stop instead of after some progress bar.
Recording with your voice
Tick “Capture microphone” before you start and the tool grabs your mic alongside the screen, mixing both into one track. That’s the setup for narrated walkthroughs: a bug repro you’re talking through, a feature demo for a teammate, a quick “here’s how I did it” for a Slack thread.
Tab and system audio ride along too when your browser offers it. In Chrome and Edge, the share dialog has a “Share tab audio” checkbox when you pick a tab. Tick that and the music, video, or app sounds on that tab land in the recording with no extra step.
How to use it
- Decide if you want your mic in the recording and check the box if so.
- Press Start Recording.
- In the browser prompt, choose a screen, a window, or a tab, then confirm.
- Do the thing you’re recording. Watch the live preview to confirm it’s capturing the right surface.
- Press Stop Recording, or click the browser’s own “Stop sharing” bar.
- Play it back, then hit Download .webm.
Good to know
WebM is the native output here because that’s what browsers record to directly. It plays in Chrome, Firefox, Edge, VLC, and most modern players without any conversion. Need an MP4 for an editor that’s picky? Run the WebM through a format converter afterward.
There’s no built in time limit, but long recordings eat RAM since the whole clip is held in memory until you stop. For anything past 20 or 30 minutes, recording in chunks is kinder to your machine.
Quality depends on what you share. A full 4K monitor records at 4K. A small window records small. The frame rate targets 30fps, which is plenty smooth for UI demos and tutorials.
Common questions
Does this work on my phone?
Not really. Mobile Safari and most mobile browsers don’t expose getDisplayMedia, so screen capture won’t start. Use a desktop browser. iOS and Android both have a built in screen recorder in the system settings anyway.
Why is there no sound in my recording? Two reasons usually. Either you didn’t check “Capture microphone,” or you shared a tab without ticking the browser’s “Share tab audio” box. System audio capture also isn’t offered on every OS, especially macOS.
Can other people see my screen while I record? Nope. This isn’t a streaming or conferencing tool. The capture goes straight into a local file. Nothing is broadcast anywhere.
What if I block the permission by accident? You’ll get a short message telling you it was blocked. Just press Start again and approve the prompt. If the browser stopped asking, clear the site’s permissions in your address bar settings and retry.
Which browsers handle this best? Desktop Chrome and Edge give you the most options, including tab audio. Firefox records fine but has fewer audio choices. Safari support is partial and patchy, so stick with Chromium based browsers if you can.