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Find answers to the most commonly asked questions about Open Screen.

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General Questions

Open Screen is a free, open-source desktop application for recording your screen and creating beautiful product demos and walkthroughs. It’s designed as a simpler, free alternative to Screen Studio, offering essential features like manual zooms, annotations, background customization, and multiple export formats.Built with Electron, React, TypeScript, and PixiJS, Open Screen runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux.
Yes, 100% free with no catches! Open Screen is licensed under the MIT License, which means:
  • ✅ Free for personal use
  • ✅ Free for commercial use
  • ✅ No subscriptions or hidden fees
  • ✅ No watermarks on exports
  • ✅ No usage limits
  • ✅ Open source - you can view and modify the code
You can use it, modify it, and distribute it freely.
Open Screen is not a 1:1 clone of Screen Studio. It’s a much simpler take that covers the basics:What Open Screen has:
  • Screen and application recording (up to 4K @ 60fps)
  • Manual zoom controls with customizable depth
  • Crop and trim tools
  • Custom backgrounds (wallpapers, gradients, solid colors, images)
  • Motion blur for smooth effects
  • Annotations (text, arrows, images)
  • Speed adjustments
  • Multiple export formats (MP4, GIF)
  • Multiple aspect ratios
What Screen Studio adds:
  • Automatic zoom detection and smoothing
  • Advanced cursor effects
  • Audio recording and editing
  • More built-in backgrounds and effects
  • Professional support
If you need all the fancy features, Screen Studio ($29/month) is worth supporting. If you just want the basics for free, Open Screen does the job well!
Open Screen runs on all major desktop platforms:
  • macOS: macOS 10.13 (High Sierra) or later (Intel and Apple Silicon)
  • Windows: Windows 10 (64-bit) or later
  • Linux: Ubuntu 18.04 or equivalent (provided as AppImage)
Download installers for your platform from the GitHub Releases page.
Absolutely. Open Screen:
  • Stores all recordings locally on your computer
  • Does not upload anything to the cloud
  • Does not collect any analytics or telemetry
  • Does not require an account or login
  • Is fully open source so you can verify this yourself
Your screen recordings and projects never leave your machine unless you explicitly export and share them.

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Features and Capabilities

No, Open Screen currently only records video (screen capture). Audio recording is not supported in the current version.This is a known limitation that may be addressed in future updates. Check the project roadmap for planned features.
Open Screen can record at up to:
  • 4K resolution (3840×2160)
  • 60 frames per second
  • Up to 76.5 Mbps bitrate (for 4K @ 60fps)
  • WebM format with AV1, H.264, VP9, or VP8 codec
The actual quality depends on your display resolution and system capabilities. The app automatically selects the best settings your system supports.
Yes! Before starting a recording, you can select either:
  • Your entire screen
  • A specific application window
Use the source selector dropdown to choose what to record.
Open Screen supports two export formats:MP4 Video:
  • H.264 codec with hardware acceleration
  • Three quality presets (Source, Good, Medium)
  • Supports all aspect ratios and resolutions up to 4K
  • Best for high-quality videos and sharing
Animated GIF:
  • Frame rates: 15, 20, 25, or 30 FPS
  • Size presets: Medium (720p), Large (1080p), Original
  • Infinite loop or play once
  • Best for quick previews and social media
See the Export Formats reference for detailed specifications.
Yes! Open Screen supports adding:
  • Text annotations with custom styling
  • Arrows for pointing out elements
  • Images for logos, overlays, or callouts
All annotations can be positioned, resized, and timed to appear at specific points in your video.
Yes! Motion blur can be enabled to create smoother pan and zoom effects. This helps reduce perceived jitter when the camera moves, giving your videos a more professional, cinematic look.You can toggle motion blur on/off in the settings panel.
Open Screen supports 7 aspect ratios to match popular platforms:
  • 16:9 - YouTube, standard video
  • 9:16 - TikTok, Instagram Stories
  • 1:1 - Instagram feed, square posts
  • 4:3 - Classic video format
  • 4:5 - Instagram portrait
  • 16:10 - Widescreen displays
  • 10:16 - Vertical widescreen
The aspect ratio can be selected before export and is independent of your recording resolution.
Yes! Open Screen offers several background options:
  • Built-in wallpapers
  • Solid colors
  • Gradient backgrounds
  • Your own custom images
The background appears behind your screen recording, making your demos look more professional and polished.

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Technical Questions

Since Open Screen is free and open-source, it doesn’t have an Apple Developer Certificate (which costs $99/year). This causes macOS Gatekeeper to block it.To bypass this, run this command in Terminal:
xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Openscreen.app
Then grant Screen Recording and Accessibility permissions in System Settings > Privacy & Security.This is safe for verified open-source software. Always download from the official GitHub releases.
Yes! Open Screen automatically uses hardware-accelerated video encoding when available:
  • GPU encoding for MP4 exports (2-5× faster)
  • WebGL/GPU rendering for real-time effects
  • Automatic fallback to software encoding if hardware isn’t available
The app will show in the console whether hardware or software encoding is being used.
Recording file sizes vary by resolution and frame rate:
ResolutionFrame RateFile Size (per minute)
4K60 FPS~575 MB
4K30 FPS~337 MB
1080p60 FPS~229 MB
1080p30 FPS~135 MB
720p30 FPS~135 MB
Ensure you have sufficient free space before recording (at least 1GB recommended).
GIF encoding is computationally intensive because:
  • Each frame must be color-quantized to a 256-color palette
  • Floyd-Steinberg dithering is applied for quality
  • The process is CPU-intensive (uses 4 worker threads)
  • Longer videos = more frames to process
A 30-second video at 30 FPS can take 5-10 minutes to compile. This is normal.To speed up GIF exports:
  • Use lower frame rate (15-20 FPS)
  • Use Medium size preset instead of Large/Original
  • Consider exporting as MP4 instead (10-50× smaller and faster)
Open Screen is built using modern web technologies:
  • Electron - Cross-platform desktop framework
  • React - UI framework
  • TypeScript - Type-safe JavaScript
  • Vite - Build tool and dev server
  • PixiJS - GPU-accelerated 2D rendering
  • WebCodecs API - Hardware video encoding/decoding
  • dnd-timeline - Timeline editor component
  • Mediabunny - Video muxing library
The full source code is available on GitHub.
Minimum requirements:
  • 4GB RAM
  • GPU with WebGL 2.0 support (most from 2012+)
  • 500MB disk space
However, for the best experience:
  • 8GB+ RAM recommended
  • Multi-core CPU (4+ cores)
  • Dedicated GPU with hardware encoding
  • SSD storage
Older hardware may struggle with 4K recording or complex effects, but should handle 1080p recording and editing fine.

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Usage and Workflow

  1. Launch Open Screen
  2. Select your recording source (screen or application) from the dropdown
  3. Click the Record button
  4. Click Stop Recording when finished
  5. The video automatically opens in the editor
Make sure you’ve granted screen recording permissions on first launch.
Currently, Open Screen only edits videos recorded within the app itself. You cannot import external video files.This limitation may be addressed in future versions. Check the project roadmap for planned features.
  1. Move the playhead to where you want the zoom to start
  2. Press Z or click Add Zoom
  3. Adjust the zoom region duration by dragging its edges in the timeline
  4. Adjust the zoom depth (how much to zoom in) using the controls
  5. Position the zoom target by dragging in the preview
You can add multiple zoom regions throughout your video.
  1. Press T or click Add Trim
  2. Position the trim region over the section you want to remove
  3. Adjust the trim region duration by dragging its edges
  4. Multiple trim regions can be added to remove multiple sections
Trimmed sections are excluded from the final export.
  1. Click the Export button
  2. Choose your format (MP4 or GIF)
  3. Select quality/settings:
    • MP4: Choose quality preset (Source/Good/Medium)
    • GIF: Choose frame rate, size, and loop settings
  4. Choose aspect ratio
  5. Click Export
  6. Wait for processing to complete
  7. The file is automatically saved to your downloads folder
Export progress is shown in a dialog with current frame count and percentage.
Yes! Projects are automatically saved as you work. Your edits persist between sessions.However, there’s currently no explicit “Save Project” or “Open Project” feature. The app automatically loads your most recent recording and its associated edits.
Key shortcuts for faster editing:
  • Z - Add Zoom
  • T - Add Trim
  • S - Add Speed adjustment
  • A - Add Annotation
  • F - Add Keyframe
  • Space - Play/Pause
  • Ctrl+D - Delete selected
  • Tab - Cycle annotations forward
  • Shift+Tab - Cycle annotations backward
  • Del/⌫ - Delete selected (alternate)
Most shortcuts are customizable in settings. See the Keyboard Shortcuts reference for details.

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Licensing and Contributing

Open Screen is licensed under the MIT License, one of the most permissive open-source licenses.This means you can:
  • Use it commercially
  • Modify the source code
  • Distribute your own versions
  • Use it in proprietary projects
The only requirement is to include the original license and copyright notice.Disclaimer: The authors are not liable for any issues, damages, or claims arising from use of the software.
Absolutely! Contributions are welcome:
  • Report bugs on GitHub Issues
  • Suggest features in Discussions
  • Submit pull requests with bug fixes or new features
  • Improve documentation
  • Share feedback on your experience
Check the project roadmap to see current priorities and find ways to contribute.
Yes! The MIT License allows you to:
  • Fork the repository
  • Modify the code however you want
  • Release your own version
  • Even sell your modified version commercially
All that’s required is:
  • Include the original MIT License
  • Credit the original authors
  • “Be cool” and give a shoutout if you build on it 😊
The complete source code is available on GitHub:Repository: github.com/siddharthvaddem/openscreenThe repo includes:
  • Full application source code
  • Build scripts and configuration
  • Issue tracker and discussions
  • Project roadmap
  • Contribution guidelines

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Troubleshooting

Common causes:
  1. No source selected - Choose a screen or application to record
  2. Missing permissions - Grant Screen Recording permission:
    • macOS: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording
    • Linux: Allow when prompted by desktop environment
  3. Insufficient disk space - Ensure at least 1GB free
  4. App needs restart - Try restarting after granting permissions
See the Troubleshooting guide for more solutions.
Common causes:
  1. Insufficient disk space - Need at least 2GB free for exports
  2. Memory exhaustion - Close other apps, especially for GIF exports
  3. Complex effects - Try removing some effects or exporting a shorter section
  4. Encoder error - Try a lower quality setting or different format
Check the developer console (View > Developer > Developer Tools) for detailed error messages.See the Troubleshooting guide for detailed solutions.
Performance optimization tips:
  1. Close other applications to free up RAM and CPU
  2. Disable motion blur if enabled
  3. Reduce preview window size
  4. Simplify your project - fewer annotations and effects
  5. Update graphics drivers
  6. Pause playback when not previewing
  7. Restart the app to clear memory
Recording and exporting are CPU/GPU intensive, so some fan noise and heat are normal during these operations.
If you’re stuck or found a bug:
  1. Check the Troubleshooting Guide for common issues
  2. Search GitHub Issues for similar problems
  3. Ask in GitHub Discussions
  4. Create a new issue with:
    • Your platform and OS version
    • Open Screen version
    • Steps to reproduce
    • Console logs if available
    • Screenshots/recordings of the issue
The community and maintainers are active and responsive!

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Platform-Specific

Yes! Open Screen supports both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. The app runs natively on Apple Silicon for optimal performance.Download the appropriate version for your Mac from the releases page. If you encounter issues, try the Rosetta (Intel) version.
Open Screen is distributed as an AppImage, which works on most Linux distributions:
  • Ubuntu 18.04+
  • Debian 10+
  • Fedora 30+
  • Arch Linux
  • openSUSE
  • Pop!_OS
  • Linux Mint
  • Elementary OS
You may need to install libfuse2 on newer distributions. See System Requirements for details.
Yes, but with some caveats:
  • You may need to grant portal permissions when first recording
  • Ensure xdg-desktop-portal is installed
  • Some desktop environments have better Wayland support than others
  • X11 session is more reliable if you encounter issues
GNOME and KDE Plasma generally work well. If you have problems, try switching to an X11 session temporarily.
Have a question not answered here? Ask in GitHub Discussions or check the other reference pages in this documentation.