18

I need a screen recorder. However, I try to avoid using closed-source software whenever possible except from major vendors like Apple and Skype.

I am wondering, is there an open source screen recorder for Mac OS X?

Or if not, does Apple include such a thing with the OS? Or how about using Skype? I'm running Snow Leopard.

Improve this question
2
  • Try and answer some other questions and once you have the reputation, you can answer your own questions. You could also flag your comment and see if a moderator can move it to an answer. I'm not sure they can do that, but it shouldn't hurt to try...
    – bmike ♦
    Commented Sep 15, 2011 at 20:39
  • @Mithras May I ask why you've edited your question to remove the parts that make it specific to screen recording? The question is now extremely vague...
    – Dan J
    Commented Apr 26, 2012 at 20:24

5 Answers 5

Reset to default
8

You've answered your own question, but I thought I would flesh it out a bit.

You are correct that QuickTime will record a window, or the whole screen, but it only does so with the version of QT that ships with Lion. It wasn't available in earlier versions of QT or OS X (I'm not sure if the latest QT would do this on an older OS - I don't have one to try it on.)

I was pleasantly surprised to see that it now had that functionality - there really aren't any other free or low cost options.

Improve this answer
1
  • 2
    QuickTime in Snow Leopard also recorded the screen
    – Kyle Cronin
    Commented Sep 24, 2011 at 7:02
8

Kap is a great option. Recently (January 3, 2017) they hit version 1.0.0.

Its great features include:

  • Export to Gif, WebM, MP4
  • Audio recording
  • Hiding the mouse cursor and highlighting clicks
  • Record a portion of your screen with a custom size and aspect ratio
  • "High" FPS recording
Improve this answer
1

VLC is an open source media player which also offers screen capture facilities (via File -> Open Capture Device..).

Improve this answer
3
  • This only gives the option for the FaceTime camera. What version of VLC are you using?
    – Alex Gittemeier
    Commented Aug 14, 2013 at 2:11
  • It looks like the feature was removed at some point in the last year. I'd suggest Quicktime's built-in screen recording feature. See "Record your screen" on this Apple support page.
    – noffle
    Commented Aug 19, 2013 at 6:14
  • @AlexGittemeier, You need to select Screen for the dropdown where Input Devices is showing.
    – Iulian Onofrei
    Commented Jan 11, 2017 at 15:40
1

Open Broadcaster Software may be a reasonable option. The project appears to be open source and to support macOS:

OBS Studio

Free and open source software for video recording and live streaming. Download and start streaming quickly and easily on Windows, Mac or Linux.

Improve this answer
0

Open Source

  • jScreenRecorder GPL, java-based screen recorder.
  • VLC has this as a feature and it's great for playback, streaming and transcoding.
  • Capture Me

Closed Source

  • Jing is great for making screencasts and taking screenshots. There's a free version that does the job fine.
  • QuickTime is capable and it comes with OS X.
  • IShowUHD
Improve this answer
2
  • Which of these are open source?
    – nohillside ♦
    Commented Aug 8, 2014 at 5:53
  • non cnet link, please? uBlock even warned me about it.
    – noɥʇʎԀʎzɐɹƆ
    Commented Sep 16, 2016 at 0:20

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .