Open Source Screen Capture & Recording Software
Screen Capture & Recording software creates visual documentation of digital activity through screenshots, GIFs, and video files. These tools record desktop regions, webcam feeds, and browser tabs to produce tutorials, bug reports, and product demonstrations. This type of software serves developers and content creators who need to document workflows without sending sensitive screen imagery to external servers. By self-hosting these apps, you keep recording files and transcription data on your own hardware. This approach prevents private visual information from leaving your local network during the capture process.
This page lists 14 open source tools in the Screen Capture & Recording category. The most popular are OBS Studio, ShareX and PicGo. Most use the MIT or GPL-3.0 license, and 3 offer an official Docker image.
OBS Studio
Captures, composites, encodes, records, and streams video content for use across various platforms and live streaming providers.
ShareX
Captures screen regions, records video and GIFs, and uploads files to various cloud destinations via keyboard shortcuts.
PicGo
An image upload utility that automates hosting and link generation for markdown editors and developer documentation.
screenpipe
Continuously records screen and audio locally, transcribes content, and enables AI‑driven search and automation.
Cap
Record screen and webcam with local editing and instant sharing for product demos and async updates.
Recordly
Record screen captures and create polished demo videos with automatic zooms, cursor smoothing, and styled frames.
Kap
Records screen activity as videos or GIFs for the creation of tutorials, demonstrations, and bug reports.
Screenity
Record screens, tabs, or cameras with integrated annotation tools and a built-in editor for creating tutorials.
eSearch
A cross-platform screen capture tool featuring offline OCR, image search, and integrated translation capabilities.
Streamlabs Desktop
Live streaming software for Windows and macOS built using Electron and the OBS project framework.
Pika
A native macOS utility for sampling colors from the screen and converting them into various formats.
asciinema
Host and share terminal session recordings and live streams through a self-hosted web platform.
BetterShot
Capture, edit, and enhance screenshots and screen recordings with built-in annotation and beautification tools for macOS.
OpenScreen
Record and edit polished product demos with automatic zooms, cursor smoothing, and on-device captions.
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