screc is a tiny native macOS menu-bar recorder that turns any window, region, or screen into a small, share-ready MP4 or GIF — the instant you hit stop. No export step. No ffmpeg. No subscription.
Record with QuickTime. Crop. Feed it to ffmpeg with flags you re-google every time. Convert to GIF. Delete the 400 MB original. screc collapses all of it into one click — encoding happens while you record.
screc-20260726-1403.mp4 · 8.4 MB
share-ready the moment you stop
One click records the window you're working in. Switch focus and the recording follows — a dimmed passe-partout always shows exactly what's being captured.
Pick one specific window, drag a capture area inside it. It tracks moves and resizes; close the window and recording pauses — reopen it (even after the app restarts) and it resumes.
Drag with live dimensions and coordinates. Adjust edges and corners after placing; ⇧ locks aspect, ⌥ mirrors, or force a ratio like 16:9 globally.
Hardware H.264/HEVC encoding at your target bitrate during capture. Presets from Tiny to Master, or fully custom — resolution caps, GOP, profile, the works.
Auto-convert on stop or convert any recording later. Built-in frame editor lets you delete individual frames — the thing Preview can't do.
Recordings live in /tmp by default and vanish on reboot. Recents menu opens clips straight in QuickTime or Preview; Clear All shows exactly how much disk it frees.
Clone the repository and build it — that is the primary way, it is free, and it always will be. You need Xcode and one command; the README walks through it. A Mac App Store release is planned for people who would rather not touch a compiler, and a notarized direct download after that.
macOS 15 (Sequoia) or later, and the one-time Screen Recording permission — macOS requires an app relaunch after granting it, which screc walks you through. No accessibility access, no kernel extensions, no launch daemons.
MP4 (H.264 for maximum compatibility, HEVC optionally) and GIF. MP4s open in QuickTime where Trim + Save is lossless; GIFs open in Preview, and screc’s own frame editor removes unwanted frames.
Nothing, if you build it yourself — the source is MIT-licensed and complete, with no crippled features and no paywalled build. The planned App Store version is a small one-time purchase for the convenience of not building it. Never a subscription.