Screen Recorder (Free, In-Browser)
Record your screen for free, right in your browser. No install and no upload required — your recording never leaves your device. Capture your screen, window, or tab together with microphone or tab audio, then download the video instantly.
What Is This Screen Recorder
This free online tool lets you record your computer screen, a single window, or a browser tab entirely inside your browser. There is nothing to install and no account to create — just click "Start Recording", pick what to share, and recording begins immediately.
Recording uses only the browser-native Screen Capture API (getDisplayMedia) and MediaRecorder API, so your video and audio are never uploaded to a server. Once you stop, the finished video file is generated locally and can be downloaded straight to your device, which makes it safe to use even for sensitive workflows or internal tools.
How to Record Your Screen
- Click "Start Recording" This opens your browser's built-in sharing dialog.
- Choose what to share Select "Entire Screen", "Window", or "Chrome Tab", and check the audio option if you also want sound.
- Do what you want to record Once you allow sharing, recording starts and an elapsed-time counter appears.
- Click "Stop Recording" A playback panel appears so you can review the recording immediately.
- Download the file Click "Download Recording" to save the video (WebM format) to your device.
Tips for getting more out of it
- Check "Share tab audio" in the sharing dialog to record playing video or music along with your screen (support varies by browser).
- You can also stop recording from the "Stop sharing" bar your browser shows during capture — stopping the share also stops the recording.
- Recorded data is held in browser memory, so longer recordings use more memory. For sessions longer than a few tens of minutes, consider stopping and downloading in segments.
- If you also want microphone audio, your browser may prompt for microphone permission separately after you grant screen-sharing access — be sure to allow it too.
When to Use a Screen Recording
Software tutorials and how-to guides
Recording your actions step by step makes instructions far easier to follow than text alone.
Bug reports
Send developers a recording of the exact steps that trigger a bug instead of trying to describe it in words.
Online lessons and training videos
Capture a slide deck or live demo without installing dedicated recording software.
Gameplay clips and demos
Quickly record a browser game session for a highlight clip to share on social media.
Screen Recording Terms
- Screen capture
- Capturing what is displayed on a screen as an image or video. A single still image is usually called a "screenshot"; continuous video is called "screen recording".
- WebM
- An open video container format promoted by Google. It carries no licensing fees, and most modern browsers can play and record it natively.
- System audio
- Sound produced by the computer itself, such as video or music playback. Choosing to share audio in the sharing dialog can include this alongside microphone input, though support varies by OS and browser.
- Codec
- A method for compressing and decompressing video or audio data. This tool automatically picks a codec your browser supports, such as VP9/VP8 for video and Opus for audio, falling back to a more compatible format if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Side Note — Why Your Browser Can Record Your Screen at All
Not long ago, recording your screen meant installing dedicated software. That changed with the standardization of the Screen Capture API (getDisplayMedia), which began rolling out around 2014. It lets the browser itself prompt the user to choose a screen, window, or tab to share, then hands that video stream directly to JavaScript.
Recording relies on a second API called MediaRecorder, which compresses the video and audio streams from getDisplayMedia into a video file in real time. No server communication happens during recording because the entire pipeline — from capture to compression — runs inside the browser engine itself.
This browser-only video pipeline is possible partly thanks to open, royalty-free video codecs. Google's VP8 and VP9 codecs can be used without licensing fees, and pairing them with the WebM container let browser vendors build recording support directly into the browser without patent-licensing concerns. That open technology is a big part of why online screen recorders can be offered for free.