Record your screen

Press ⇧⌘3 to record part of your screen, a window or the whole screen, with your camera, your microphone and the Mac's sound if you like. Press ⇧⌘3 again to stop, and the recording is on your clipboard, ready to paste.

Start a recording#

1. Press ⇧⌘3, or click catu in the menu bar and choose “Record Screen”.
2. Choose what to record:
   • An area: drag over it.
   • A window: press Space, then click the window. Press Space again to go back to dragging an area.
   • The whole screen: press Return. catu records the screen the pointer is on.
3. A dashed frame marks what will be recorded, and the recording bar opens under catu's menu-bar icon.
4. Set the camera, microphone and sound on the bar, then click “Start” or press Return.

Press Esc at any point before you start to cancel.

To record the same area again, press ⌃⇧⌘3. catu skips the bar and goes straight to the countdown with the choices you used last time. It remembers the area until you quit catu; the first time, it asks you to pick one.

A window recording is that window's place on the screen. If you move the window, or another window covers it, the recording shows what is there instead.

The recording bar#

The bar shows what will be in the recording before you start. catu remembers your choices for next time.

Control	What it does
Camera	Turns your camera on or off. It is green while on, and a preview of you appears in the area. The camera is off until you turn it on.
S, M, L	How big your camera appears in the video. Shown only while the camera is on.
Microphone	Records your voice. A green fill rises and falls as you speak, so you can see it hears you.
System audio	Records the sound your Mac plays, such as a video or a call. catu's own sounds are left out.
Save on this Mac	The recording is saved on this Mac. You share it later, if you want to.
Upload while recording	catu uploads the recording as you record, so the link is ready the moment you stop. Needs the Web app plan.
“Cancel” (esc)	Closes the bar without recording.
“Start” (↩)	Starts the countdown.

You can drag the bar anywhere. The bar, the dashed frame and the camera preview are never part of the video, even when they sit inside the area. Your pointer is recorded.

Choose a camera or microphone#

1. Click the arrow beside the camera or the microphone.
2. Choose one from the list, or “System Default” to use whatever your Mac uses.

Choosing a camera or a microphone also turns it on. catu uses the same one next time.

Save on this Mac or upload while recording#

Each recording is always saved on this Mac. With Upload while recording, catu also uploads it as you go, so you can paste a link as soon as you stop. You need to be signed in with the Web app plan. See Share a capture as a link and Plans and billing.

If you are not signed in, choosing Upload while recording closes the bar and asks you to sign in. Once you have, press ⇧⌘3 again to record. If the upload cannot start, catu tells you and keeps the recording on this Mac only.

You can set the usual choice in Settings › Capture › Recordings go. See Settings in the Mac app.

The countdown#

After you click “Start”, a 3, 2, 1 countdown appears in the middle of the area. The bar says “Starting…”.

• Press Return to skip the countdown and start at once.
• Press Esc, click “Cancel” or press ⇧⌘3 to cancel.

While you record#

The bar shows a red dot and how long you have recorded, such as 00:04. catu's menu-bar icon shows the time too.

Control	What it does
Timer	The time recorded so far. Pauses do not count.
Uploaded amount	With Upload while recording, how much has gone up so far.
Camera	Hides or shows your camera in the video from this moment on.
Microphone	Mutes or unmutes your microphone. Shown if the microphone was on when you started.
“Pause” (⌥⇧⌘3)	Pauses the recording.
“Resume” (⌥⇧⌘3)	Resumes after a short countdown.
“Stop” (⇧⌘3)	Stops and saves the recording.

Pause and resume#

1. Click “Pause” or press ⌥⇧⌘3. The timer turns grey and the menu bar shows ❚❚.
2. When you are ready, click “Resume” or press ⌥⇧⌘3 again.
3. A 3, 2, 1 countdown runs before recording carries on. Click “Resume now” or press Return to skip it, or press Esc to stay paused.

Stop#

Do any of these:

• Press ⇧⌘3.
• Click “Stop” on the bar.
• Click catu's icon in the menu bar.

Your camera in the video#

When the camera is on, a preview of you appears inside the area. It is where you will be in the video.

• Move it: drag the preview anywhere inside the area, before or during the recording. catu remembers the spot.
• Change its size: choose S, M or L on the bar before you start. You cannot drag it bigger or smaller, and the size cannot change once you are recording.
• Hide it for a moment: click the camera button on the bar while you record. Click it again to bring it back.

The preview is mirrored, like a mirror, and so is the video.

When you stop#

The recording is saved and copied straight away. Press ⌘V to paste the video file into Mail, Messages, Slack or any app that takes files. It is in your clipboard history too.

A card appears in the bottom-right corner of the screen with the first frame and the length.

On the card	What it does
The picture	Click to play the recording. Drag it into any app to add the video there.
Trim	Cuts the start or the end. See Trim a recording.
Copy share link	Uploads the recording and copies a link. Hold ⌥ as you click to add a password. Needs the Web app plan.
Copy the link again	Shown once there is a link. Copies it again.
Open in your browser	Shown once there is a link. Opens it at catu.app.
Show in Finder	Shows the file in its folder.

The card goes away by itself after a few seconds. It stays while the pointer is over it. To close it sooner, point at it and click the ✕ in its corner.

Trim a recording#

1. On the card, click Trim.
2. A window opens with the recording and macOS's trimming bar.
3. Drag the yellow handles at either end to where the video should start and stop.
4. Click “Trim” to save, or “Cancel” to leave it as it is.

catu saves the trimmed video as a new file with “(trimmed)” in its name. Your original stays as it was. The trimmed video is copied to your clipboard, and a new card appears for it, so you can share that one.

Where recordings are saved#

Every recording is saved as an MP4 file in Movies › catu recordings.noindex. Each file is named with the date and time, such as “Recording 2026-10-13 at 14.03.22.mp4”. The “.noindex” ending keeps them out of Spotlight.

To open the folder, click Show in Finder on the card, or go to Settings › Capture and click “Show in Finder” next to Saved to.

Files you delete from the folder are gone from your Mac. A link you have already shared keeps working until it expires or you delete it in your Library.

Get a link#

With the Web app plan you can turn a recording into a link that anyone can watch in a browser, without catu. There are two ways:

• After you stop: click Copy share link on the card. catu uploads the recording and copies the link.
• While you record: choose Upload while recording on the bar before you start. When you stop, catu finishes the upload and copies the link. The card then shows Copy the link again and Open in your browser.

Recording links never expire unless you change it in Settings › Sharing › Recording links stop working after. You can change each link's expiry, password and downloads later. See Share a capture as a link, Passwords, expiry and downloads and Plans and billing.

Limits#

• A recording can be up to 10 minutes long, not counting pauses. At 10 minutes catu stops and saves it for you.
• Videos are at most 1920 pixels on their longer side, at 30 frames a second.
• You can share a recording of up to 2 GB. A 10-minute recording is normally far smaller.
• You record one screen at a time.

If something doesn't work#

• ⇧⌘3 takes a screenshot instead, or catu says “Shortcut taken by another app”. macOS uses ⇧⌘3 for its own screenshots. Switch it off in System Settings › Keyboard › Keyboard Shortcuts › Screenshots. You can also start from “Record Screen” in catu's menu. See Keyboard shortcuts.
• “Recording could not start”, or the video is black. Allow catu in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Screen & System Audio Recording, then quit and reopen catu. See Install catu and give it permission.
• The microphone's green fill doesn't move, or there is no sound. Allow catu in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Microphone. Then click the arrow beside the microphone and check the right one is ticked.
• “Allow the camera for catu in System Settings” or “No camera found”. Allow catu in System Settings › Privacy & Security › Camera, and check your camera is connected.
• Upload while recording didn't give you a link. You need to be signed in with the Web app plan. The recording is still saved on this Mac: click Copy share link on its card to try again.