Mac Screen Recording Shortcut: Cmd+Shift+5 & Fixes

Quick answer: Press ⌘ Command + ⇧ Shift + 5 to open the macOS screen recording toolbar. Choose Record Entire Screen, Record Selected Window (macOS Tahoe 26 and later) or Record Selected Portion, then click Record. Press ⌘ Command + ⌃ Control + Esc, or click the stop icon in the menu bar, to stop. Works on macOS Mojave and later.

The recording lands on your Desktop as a .mov file unless you've picked another folder. Everything below covers the rest: every capture shortcut, what changed in recent macOS versions, how to record with sound, and what to do when the shortcut stops working.

Mac Screen Recording Shortcut Cheatsheet

The shortcut key for screen recording on Mac is Shift + Command + 5. All related shortcuts in one place:

The Complete macOS Capture Shortcut Reference

Beyond the two headline shortcuts, macOS has a full set of capture combinations — including modifier keys most users never discover:

Modifier tricks while dragging a selection (works with Cmd+Shift+4 and "Record Selected Portion"):

• Hold Space — move the entire selection box without resizing it
• Hold Shift — lock resizing to one axis (horizontal or vertical only)
• Hold Option — resize from the centre instead of a corner

What Changed in macOS Tahoe 26 and macOS 27

Apple has quietly added recording features to the same Cmd+Shift+5 toolbar over the last few releases. If an older guide told you something isn't possible, check this table first:

Not sure which version you're on? Click the Apple menu → About This Mac.

How the Cmd+Shift+5 Toolbar Works

The quickest way to start a screen recording on your Mac is Command + Shift + 5. This opens a small floating toolbar at the bottom of your screen with every capture option in one place — no QuickTime required.

The left group of buttons takes screenshots. The video buttons sit in the middle:

• Record Entire Screen: Captures your full desktop, including the menu bar and Dock. Best for full software walkthroughs. With more than one display, click the screen you want to record.
• Record Selected Window (macOS Tahoe 26 and later): Records one app window. Click the window to start. It's the cleanest way to record a single app without your Dock, desktop or other apps in the shot.
• Record Selected Portion: Drag a box over the area you want. Ideal for focused demos — a single panel, a dialog, or one part of a web page.

Pick a mode, then click Record (or click the window, in window mode). A small stop icon appears in the menu bar while you record.

Once you've used it a few times, you can start, manage and stop recordings without taking your hands off the keyboard.

The Options Menu: Mic, System Audio, Clicks, Timer, Format and Save Location

The Options button on the toolbar holds the settings that decide what actually ends up in your video. The menu remembers your choices, so you only set them once.

• Save to: Desktop by default. Pick Documents, Mail, QuickTime Player or Other Location for a dedicated folder. If you record a lot, a "Recordings" folder keeps your Desktop clean.
• Timer: None, 5 or 10 seconds. The countdown gives you time to arrange windows and put your cursor where the video should start.
• Microphone: Defaults to None, so no audio is recorded until you pick a mic. This is the single most common reason a recording comes out silent.
• Include System Audio (macOS 27 and later): Records the sound coming from your Mac — videos, apps, notifications — alongside your mic.
• Show Floating Thumbnail: The preview that appears in the corner after you stop. Leave it on if you want to trim right away; turn it off if you want the file saved instantly.
• Remember Last Selection: Reopens the same area next time, handy for repeat recordings of the same window region.
• Show Mouse Clicks: Draws a black circle around the pointer each time you click, so viewers can follow what you're doing.
• Capture format (macOS Tahoe 26 and later, supported Macs): SDR saves H.264 video that plays everywhere. HDR saves HEVC with a wider brightness range, but looks slightly worse on non-HDR screens and plays in fewer apps. Stick with SDR unless you know you need HDR.

Taking two seconds to set the save location, mic and timer before you record saves a lot of cleanup later.

How to Record Your Mac Screen With Sound

Whether you can record your Mac's own audio with the shortcut depends on your macOS version.

On macOS 27 and later, it's built in:

1. Press Command + Shift + 5.
2. Click Options and choose Include System Audio.
3. To add your voice too, pick your microphone in the same menu.
4. Click Record.

On macOS Tahoe 26 and earlier, the toolbar and QuickTime record your microphone only. App and video sound isn't captured. You have two options:

• Install a virtual audio driver such as BlackHole and route your Mac's output through it. It's free, but it takes some setup and changes how your Mac's audio works. Our guide to recording internal audio on Mac walks through it step by step.
• Use a recorder that captures system audio directly. Screen Charm records your screen, webcam, microphone and system audio together, with no driver to install. That's the simplest route if you're on an older macOS and record often.

If your recording has no sound at all, see why your Mac screen recording has no sound.

Trim, Crop and Edit a Recording After the Shortcut

You don't need an editor for the basics.

Trim the start and end. As soon as you stop, a thumbnail appears in the corner of your screen. Click it before it disappears to open a quick editor, then click the trim button and drag the yellow handles to cut the fumbling at the start and the reach for "stop" at the end.

If the thumbnail is gone, open the file in QuickTime Player and choose Edit → Trim (Command + T).

Crop the frame. macOS has no crop tool for videos, so the easiest fix is to record a tighter area next time with Record Selected Window or Record Selected Portion. To crop a recording you already have, use iMovie, or our free in-browser video cropper — nothing is uploaded.

Edit further. QuickTime can split a clip (Edit → Split Clip), rearrange parts and remove sections. For anything more — zooms on important clicks, captions, or a cleaner cursor — you'll want an editor. See how to edit a screen recording on Mac for the options.

Going Beyond the Shortcut with QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player is the other built-in route. Open it from Applications, then choose File → New Screen Recording. On macOS Mojave and later, this opens the same Cmd+Shift+5 toolbar, so you get the same modes and Options.

QuickTime is still useful for two things: File → New Movie Recording records your webcam on its own, and File → New Audio Recording records just your voice. After recording, QuickTime's Edit menu is the quickest way to trim or split a clip.

Both the toolbar and QuickTime offer Show Mouse Clicks, which draws a plain black circle on each click. It works, but it's basic. For tutorials, Screen Charm's auto-zoom follows your cursor and zooms in on each click automatically, so viewers see exactly which button you pressed without you editing anything.

Recording Your Screen with Privacy in Mind

When you hit record, you capture more than the app you're focused on: notifications, open tabs, files on your desktop. macOS asks for explicit permission before any app can record your screen, and shows a recording icon in the menu bar while it does. The rest is up to you.

Before you use the shortcut, run through this quick checklist:

• Turn on Do Not Disturb so messages and calendar alerts don't pop up mid-take.
• Close unrelated apps and tabs to avoid distractions and keep private work out of the shot.
• Tidy your desktop — or use Record Selected Window so the desktop never appears.

A minute of prep keeps the video focused and saves an embarrassing re-record.

Solving Common Screen Recording Problems on Mac

Most problems come down to a setting or a permission, not a bug.

No Audio in Your Recording

Open the toolbar with Command + Shift + 5, click Options and check the Microphone section. If it says None, no sound is recorded. Pick your mic.

If the right mic is selected and the recording is still silent, it's a permission problem:

• Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Microphone.
• Make sure the toggle is on for the app you're using, such as Screenshot or QuickTime Player.

If you hear your voice but not the video or app you recorded, that's system audio, which needs macOS 27 or one of the options in How to Record Your Mac Screen With Sound.

When Cmd+Shift+5 or Cmd+Shift+3 Doesn't Work

If pressing the shortcut does nothing, check these in order:

1. The shortcut is turned off or reassigned. Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Screenshots. Make sure each shortcut is checked and still set to the default, or click Restore Defaults.
2. Another app is grabbing the keys. Screenshot tools, window managers and some games take over Cmd+Shift+3/4/5. Quit them one at a time and try again.
3. The save folder no longer exists. If you once picked a custom folder in Options and later deleted or renamed it, captures can fail silently. Reopen Options → Save to and pick a folder that exists.
4. Your Mac is managed. Work or school Macs can block screenshots and recordings through device management. Ask your IT team.
5. Still stuck? Open the Screenshot app from Spotlight (Command + Space, type "Screenshot"). If that works, it's the keyboard shortcut. If it doesn't, restart your Mac.

The Recording Won't Stop

Occasionally the stop icon in the menu bar disappears or Cmd + Control + Esc doesn't respond. Try these in order:

1. Press Cmd + Shift + 5 again — the toolbar reappears with a Stop button
2. Check the menu bar carefully; on Macs with a notch, the stop icon can be hidden behind it — quit an app with many menu bar icons to make room
3. As a last resort, open Activity Monitor, search for screencapture, and quit the process. The recording up to that point is usually saved

The Screen Recording Is a Black Rectangle

If a specific app or video appears black in your recording, that content is protected by DRM. Streaming services (Netflix, Apple TV+, Disney+) block screen capture at the system level — no recorder can bypass it, and that's intentional. Browser windows playing DRM content record as black even though everything looks normal live.

If the entire recording is black, it's a permissions issue instead: System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording, toggle the recording app on, and restart the app. More fixes in Mac screen recording not working.

Recording Stops By Itself or Drops Frames

Long recordings that stop unexpectedly usually mean disk space ran out — macOS recordings are large (roughly 1–2 GB per 10 minutes at Retina resolution). Check free space before long sessions, and point the save location at a drive with room to spare. Dropped frames on older Macs improve if you close browser tabs and record a selected window or portion instead of the full screen.

Where Recordings Are Saved (and How to Change It)

By default, screen recordings save to the Desktop as .mov files named "Screen Recording [date] at [time].mov". Two ways to change this:

• Toolbar Options menu: press Cmd + Shift + 5 → Options → Save to and pick Documents, Mail, QuickTime Player or Other Location for a custom folder.

• Terminal (applies to screenshots and recordings):

defaults write com.apple.screencapture location ~/Recordings
killall SystemUIServer

The folder must already exist. The Options menu remembers your choice, so this is a one-time change. Can't find a recording you just made? Our guide on where screen recordings go on Mac covers every place it can end up, including recordings that never saved.

When the Built-In Shortcut Isn't Enough

For a quick clip to send a colleague, Cmd+Shift+5 is hard to beat. It gets limiting when the video is for an audience: a tutorial, a product demo, a launch video. That's where a dedicated Mac screen recorder like Screen Charm helps:

• Auto-zoom on clicks. Instead of a full-screen view where viewers squint at small buttons, the video zooms in on what you click and follows your cursor — no keyframes.
• Click highlights and a smooth cursor. A subtle ripple marks each click, and cursor movement is smoothed after recording, which looks far cleaner than a black circle.
• System audio on any supported macOS. Screen, webcam, microphone and system audio record together, with no BlackHole setup — useful if you're not on macOS 27 yet.
• MP4 export up to 4K. Files save locally as MP4, ready for YouTube, Slack or a docs page, with no conversion step.

Mac Screen Recording Shortcut FAQ

How do you record your screen on a Mac?

Press Command + Shift + 5, choose Record Entire Screen, Record Selected Window (macOS Tahoe 26+) or Record Selected Portion, and click Record. Press Command + Control + Esc to stop. The recording saves to your Desktop.

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

For your voice, press Command + Shift + 5, click Options and pick a microphone before recording. For sound from your Mac itself (a video, an app, a call), choose Include System Audio in the same menu on macOS 27 and later. On older versions, use a virtual audio driver like BlackHole or a recorder that captures system audio, such as Screen Charm.

What is the shortcut to stop screen recording on Mac?

Command + Control + Esc stops any active recording. You can also click the stop icon in the menu bar, or press Command + Shift + 5 and click Stop.

Why is Command Shift 3 not working?

Usually the shortcut was turned off or reassigned, another app is intercepting it, or the save folder you picked no longer exists. Check System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Screenshots first and click Restore Defaults if needed. See When Cmd+Shift+5 or Cmd+Shift+3 Doesn't Work for the full checklist.

Can I record just one window with the shortcut?

Yes, on macOS Tahoe 26 and later: press Command + Shift + 5, choose Record Selected Window and click the window. On older versions, use Record Selected Portion and drag tightly around the window.

Can I change the default Command + Shift + 5 shortcut?

Yes. Go to System Settings → Keyboard → Keyboard Shortcuts → Screenshots, double-click the shortcut for screenshot and recording options, and press your new combination. Pick one that no other app uses.

What format does Cmd+Shift+5 record in, and can I get MP4?

The built-in recorder saves .mov files. On macOS Tahoe 26 and later you can choose the capture format in Options: SDR (H.264) or, on supported Macs, HDR (HEVC). QuickTime's File → Export As still saves a .mov, so for MP4, convert the file with our free MOV to MP4 converter — it runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded. Screen Charm exports MP4 directly, up to 4K.

My video files are huge. What can I do?

macOS records at your screen's full resolution, so files get big fast. Trim the dead air at both ends first (click the thumbnail right after recording). Then open the file in QuickTime Player and choose File → Export As → 1080p or 720p, or run it through a video compressor. Recording a selected window instead of the full screen also keeps files smaller.

Is there a time limit on Mac screen recordings?

No — the built-in recorder has no time limit. The practical limit is disk space: expect roughly 1–2 GB per 10 minutes at Retina resolution. For multi-hour recordings, check free space first and consider pointing the save location at an external drive.

Does Cmd+Shift+5 work on all Macs?

The toolbar requires macOS Mojave (10.14) or later. On older systems, use QuickTime Player → File → New Screen Recording.

What is Ctrl+K on Mac?

In most Mac text fields, Control + K deletes everything from the cursor to the end of the line or paragraph, and Control + Y pastes it back. It's unrelated to screen recording. Command + K, by contrast, inserts a link in many apps, such as Mail, Notes and Pages.

Related Mac Recording Guides

• How to screen record on a Mac
• Where screen recordings go on Mac
• Fix Mac screen recording no sound
• Record system audio on Mac
• Fix Mac screen recording not working
• Record screen and webcam together

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Want recordings that look edited without the editing? Screen Charm adds auto-zoom, click highlights, a smooth cursor and system audio to your Mac screen recordings, for a one-time $99. Try it at screencharm.com.