How to Add a Background to a Screen Recording on Mac

macOS can't add a background to a screen recording. QuickTime and the Screenshot toolbar (⇧⌘5) record exactly what's on screen. The quickest built-in workaround is to set a clean desktop wallpaper and record a selected portion of the screen, leaving a margin of wallpaper around your window.

For a real background, you need an editor that places the recording on a canvas with padding, rounded corners, a wallpaper or image behind it, and a set aspect ratio. In Screen Bolt, you set Padding in the Screen panel (⌘1) and choose the background in the Background panel (⌘2). Built-in wallpapers, Mac wallpapers and your own images export as you see them. Custom gradients, solid colors and background blur don't.

Why put a background behind a screen recording

A raw recording runs edge to edge, so your menu bar, Dock and any clutter are all in the frame. A background with some padding makes the recording look framed and finished, even when it plays small in a Slack embed, a Notion page or a landing page.

A canvas also lets you export a different shape from the one you recorded. For example, you can make a square or vertical video from a landscape screen, with the background around the recording. It also gives a 3D tilt room to work.

The built-in way: record your desktop wallpaper around the window

macOS has no background setting, but your desktop can act as one. This works with the Screenshot toolbar on macOS 14 Sonoma, 15 Sequoia and 26 Tahoe.

1. Open System Settings, click Wallpaper in the sidebar, and pick a plain or soft wallpaper.
2. Hide the files and folders on your desktop (Terminal command below).
3. Resize the window you want to record so the desktop shows on every side.
4. Press ⇧⌘5 (Command-Shift-5) to open the Screenshot toolbar.
5. Click Record Selected Portion.
6. Drag the selection so it includes the window plus an even margin of wallpaper.
7. Click Record.
8. When you're done, click the stop button in the menu bar or press ⌃⌘Esc (Control-Command-Escape).

This Terminal command hides desktop icons. It tells Finder not to draw anything on the desktop, then restarts Finder:

defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool false && killall Finder

To bring your desktop icons back:

defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool true && killall Finder

Your files aren't moved or deleted. They stay in the Desktop folder and you can still see them in Finder.

One catch: screen recordings save to the Desktop by default. With the icons hidden, your new recording won't show on the desktop, so open the Desktop folder in Finder to find it. See where screen recordings go on Mac if you changed the location.

What this method can't do:

• The background is your live desktop. Notifications, other windows and the cursor all end up in the shot.
• You can't change the background, padding or framing after recording. A bad margin means recording again.
• There's no corner radius or padding control, and the aspect ratio is whatever shape you dragged.
• If you move or resize the window during the recording, the framing breaks.

For a short internal clip, this is often enough. For more on area recording, see how to record part of the screen on Mac.

Add a background to a screen recording in Screen Bolt

We make Screen Bolt, a Mac screen recorder with a timeline editor (macOS 14 Sonoma or later). A new recording opens in the editor with a background already behind it. By default that's the "macOS" wallpaper with 5% padding and 12 px rounded corners. You don't have to choose the background before you record.

1. In the recording bar, click Display, Window or Area, then click the red record button. Window records that window on its own, so the background frames one window with no desktop around it (see how to record a single window on Mac).
2. Stop the recording. With the default After recording setting, "Open editor", the editor opens.
3. Open the Screen panel (⌘1, Command-1) and set Padding and Corner Radius.
4. Open the Background panel (⌘2, Command-2) and choose a background type.
5. Click Export in the toolbar, pick a format and quality, and click Export in the sheet.

Set padding and rounded corners

In the Screen panel:

The background only appears because of padding. At 0% padding, the export has no background at all, even if you picked one.

The default 5% suits most landscape videos. Go higher for a more framed look when the video will play large. Go lower for text-heavy recordings that need to stay readable at small sizes (more in making text readable in screen recordings).

Pick a wallpaper, your Mac wallpaper or an image

The Background panel has four types: Wallpaper, Gradient, Color and Image.

Wallpaper is the default. It has 23 built-in gradient wallpapers: macOS, Spring, Sunset, Radiance, Ocean, Forest, Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia, Mojave, Tahoe, Aurora, Slate, Graphite, Midnight, Dawn, Dusk, Aqua, Lavender, Sand and Storm. Random wallpaper picks one for you.

From your Mac shows your current desktop picture plus Apple wallpapers stored on your Mac. Screen Bolt looks for them in /System/Library/Desktop Pictures, /System/Library/Wallpapers/.default and /Library/Desktop Pictures, and lists HEIC, JPG and PNG files over 500 KB.

Image takes any image file, such as a brand background or a flat color you made in another app. Click Choose Image to add one, and later Change Image or Remove Image. For a sharp result, pick an image at least as large as your export (a 1080p 16:9 export is 1920×1080) with the same shape as your canvas. It takes image files, not video.

Gradient has Start and End color pickers, and Color has a Solid Color picker. Both look right in the preview but don't export as shown (details in the next section). If you need a brand color or a custom gradient in the final file, save it as an image and use Image instead.

Background Blur (0–30) blurs the background in the preview only. It isn't exported.

Match the aspect ratio to where the video goes

In the Screen panel, Canvas ▸ Aspect Ratio sets the shape of the exported video:

When you pick a shape that differs from the recording, the recording sits inside the canvas with the background around it, so keep Padding above 0%. For full-height vertical video, see how to make a vertical screen recording for Reels.

In the export sheet, each Quality tile (Original, 4K, 1080p, 720p) shows the output pixel size. Tiles larger than your recording are disabled.

To tilt the recording at an angle on the background, use the Camera 3D card in the same panel. The tilt exports. See how to add a 3D tilt effect.

What exports and what's preview-only

Some Screen and Background settings show in the editor preview but aren't rendered into the exported file. Check this table before you build a look around them.

If the background has to look exactly right in the file, use a built-in wallpaper, a Mac wallpaper or an image.

Quick export skips the editor and skips the background. If After recording is set to "Export to file" (in Settings ▸ Recording, or "Export to file (skip editor)" in the Record menu), Screen Bolt renders the file right away with default styling, which means no background and no padding. To get a background, export from the editor with the Export button.

The free version includes every background setting. Free exports are limited to 720p and 3 minutes and carry a "Made with Screen Bolt" watermark. Pro removes those limits for $79 one-time (as of November 2026). The export docs cover formats and quality presets.

Save the look as a preset

Once the background, padding, corners and aspect ratio look right, save them so every video matches:

1. Click Presets in the editor toolbar.
2. Choose Save Current as Preset....
3. Enter a name (the default is "My Preset") and confirm.

To use it on another recording, open Presets and click Apply next to your preset. A preset stores more than the background. It also stores padding, corner radius, shadow, inset, aspect ratio, cursor, zoom, device frame, reflection, speed, 3D camera, audio volumes and enhance toggles, sound effects and camera-1 styling. Applying it also changes the playback speed, which affects the export. The built-in presets are Default, Presentation, Social Media, Clean and Device Showcase.

Your presets are saved in UserPresets.json inside ~/Documents/Screen Bolt Presets. You can change that folder in Settings ▸ Editing ▸ Save presets in. File ▸ Import preset... reads a preset .json file, but there's no command to export one.

To have each new recording start with the look of the last project you edited, turn on Settings ▸ Editing ▸ Use last project settings as default for new recordings (off by default).

Build presets on a wallpaper or image background. A preset with a custom gradient or solid color will export with a different background than you see. For keeping a team's videos consistent, see how to keep screen recordings on-brand with presets.

Which method to use

Use the built-in method for a one-off clip where the framing doesn't need to be exact. Use an editor when you need a set aspect ratio, the same look across videos, or the option to change the background later.

If the background doesn't show up in your export

• No background at all in the file. Padding is at 0%. Set it above 0% in the Screen panel and export again.
• No background, and the editor never opened. After recording is set to "Export to file", which uses default styling. Open the project from File ▸ Open recent and export with the Export button.
• The exported background is a different gradient or a dark gradient. You used Gradient or Color, which don't export as shown. Switch to a wallpaper, or save your color as an image and use Image.
• Shadow, blur or device frame missing. Shadow, Inset, Background Blur, Device Frame and Reflection are preview only.
• A wallpaper isn't in the "From your Mac" list. Use Image ▸ Choose Image and select the file directly.
• Free export refused after trimming under 3 minutes. The export sheet checks the full recording length, not the trimmed length. Pro removes the cap. More fixes are in the troubleshooting docs.

FAQ

Can I add a background to a video I already recorded? Yes. Use File ▸ Create project from video... in Screen Bolt, set padding, background and aspect ratio, then export. Edits to an imported video aren't saved, so export in the same session. Auto zoom and cursor effects aren't available because the file has no cursor data.

Will the background show on my screen while I record? No. You record as normal, and the background is added in the editor afterwards. You can change it as often as you like before exporting.

Can I make the background match my brand colors? Yes, through Image. Save your brand color or gradient as an image at the size of your video and choose it in the Background panel.

The full list of background, frame and overlay options is in the effects docs. To try it on your own recording, download Screen Bolt. The free version has no time limit.