How to Record Your Mac Screen as a GIF

macOS can't record straight to GIF. The fastest free way is to press ⇧⌘5 (Command-Shift-5), choose Record Selected Portion, record a few seconds, then convert the screen recording to GIF with a converter such as our free video to GIF converter. If you make GIFs often, Screen Bolt Pro exports GIF directly from its editor at 640 or 960 px wide, with click zooms and cursor effects already in the file.

This guide covers both routes, an ffmpeg command for Terminal users, and the settings that keep a GIF small enough to upload.

When a GIF beats a video

A GIF is the right format when the clip is short and silent, and it needs to play inline where a video player won't:

• GitHub READMEs, where a GIF displays with normal Markdown image syntax. See how to add a demo GIF to your GitHub README.
• Help center articles and internal docs that show one UI interaction. Use short GIFs for single steps and videos for full walkthroughs. See how-to videos for your help center.
• Pull requests, issues and bug reports, where a 5-second loop of the bug plays without anyone pressing play.
• Release notes and changelogs: one GIF per feature, showing the new interaction once.

A video is the better choice when you need audio, when the clip runs longer than about 15 seconds, or when small text has to stay sharp. GIF stores at most 256 colors per frame, so gradients, photos and anti-aliased text lose quality, and file size grows quickly with length.

Method 1: Convert a screen recording to GIF for free

This costs nothing and needs no new app. The trade-off is that you get a plain recording with no zooms, no styled cursor and no editing beyond what the converter offers.

1. Press ⇧⌘5 to open the Screenshot toolbar.
2. Click Record Selected Portion.
3. Drag the frame edges so they surround only the part of the screen you want in the GIF.
4. Click Record.
5. Perform the action once, slowly and deliberately.
6. Click the stop button in the menu bar, or press ⌃⌘Esc (Control-Command-Escape).
7. Find the .mov file on your Desktop, or in the folder set under Options in the toolbar.
8. Open the video to GIF converter, add your recording and follow the steps on the page.

QuickTime Player records the same way (File ▸ New Screen Recording opens the same toolbar) and also saves .mov. Neither QuickTime nor the Screenshot toolbar can save as GIF. For more on the built-in recorder, see how to screen record on Mac.

Method 2: Convert with ffmpeg in Terminal

If you already use Homebrew, ffmpeg gives you full control over frame rate, width and trimming, and it runs entirely on your Mac. ffmpeg doesn't come with macOS.

Install it (this assumes Homebrew is installed):

brew install ffmpeg

This downloads and installs ffmpeg. To remove it later, run brew uninstall ffmpeg.

Then convert your recording:

ffmpeg -i input.mov -vf "fps=10,scale=640:-1:flags=lanczos,split[a][b];[a]palettegen[p];[b][p]paletteuse" -loop 0 output.gif

This writes output.gif at 10 frames per second and 640 px wide (the height scales to match). It builds a color palette from your own clip for better colors and makes the GIF loop forever. It doesn't change any settings on your Mac.

Useful tweaks:

• macOS puts spaces in recording names ("Screen Recording … .mov"). Type ffmpeg -i and then drag the file into the Terminal window to paste its full path.
• To keep only part of the clip, put -ss 2 -t 8 before -i. That starts 2 seconds in and keeps 8 seconds.
• Change 640 to 480 for a smaller file. Change fps=10 to fps=15 for smoother motion and a bigger file.

Method 3: Export GIF directly from Screen Bolt

Screen Bolt is our Mac screen recorder with a timeline editor (macOS 14 Sonoma or later). It earns its place for GIFs when you want the clip to look edited: auto zooms on your clicks, a larger smoothed cursor, click effects, text or blur, all baked into the GIF. GIF export needs a Pro license. The free version can't export GIF, but there's a workaround below.

Record a short, tight clip

The smaller and shorter the recording, the better the GIF.

1. Click Area in the recording bar.
2. Drag a rectangle around the part of the screen you need. It must be larger than 20×20 points.
3. Click Record Area (or press Return).
4. Click the red record button.
5. Do the action once. If you need to set something up mid-take, click Pause. The paused gap is removed from the recording.
6. Click Stop. The editor opens.

If the take goes wrong, click Discard and restart in the recording bar. It deletes the take and returns you to setup without creating a project. Keep GIF recordings under 15 seconds. Screen Bolt checks GIF length against the full recording, not your trimmed result. A 90-second recording trimmed to 10 seconds is still refused, because anything over 60 seconds can't be a GIF. Recording short clips from the start avoids that.

Edit for a silent, looping clip

A GIF has no sound, so the clicks have to be visible:

• Cursor panel: Cursor Press Effect is on by default. Turn on Highlight on Click to add a colored highlight on every click.
• Zoom panel: auto zooms are generated from your clicks and exported. On a small recorded area you may not need them. Turning off Auto Zoom on Click disables every zoom region, including the ones you added by hand.
• Text panel: press T to add a short label such as "Drag to reorder". In exports, every text animation plays as a fade.
• Click sounds, keyboard sounds and voice clean-up won't appear, because GIFs are silent.

Some editor settings appear in the preview but aren't exported in any format, GIF included: device frames, reflection, screen shadow and inset, background blur and speed ramps. The global speed, such as 1.5x from the speed menu, is exported.

Export the GIF

1. Click Export in the editor toolbar.
2. Under Format, choose GIF.
3. Under GIF Size, choose Standard or HD.
4. Check Save to. The default is the Desktop. Click Change… to pick another folder.
5. Click Export (or press Return).
6. If the recording is longer than 15 seconds, a Long GIF dialog appears. Click Export GIF to continue. When the export finishes, Finder opens with the file selected. The file is named like Screen Bolt 2026-11-14 at 10.12.33.gif. The GIF runs at about 10 frames per second, has no audio and loops.

Neither option makes the GIF wider than your recording.

If you make GIFs all the time, you can skip the editor:

1. Set Settings ▸ Quick export ▸ Format to GIF.
2. Choose Record ▸ Export to file (skip editor).

After each recording, Screen Bolt renders the GIF right away with auto zooms and the cursor, saves it inside the project, and shows it in Finder. Quick export has some limits:

• It uses default styling, with no background or padding.
• If an export is blocked, it fails without a message.
• Every export from the editor overwrites the quick-export format. If you export an MP4 from the editor, set the format back to GIF afterward.

Full export options are in the export documentation. As of November 2026, Screen Bolt Pro is a $79 one-time purchase (see pricing).

Free route with Screen Bolt: export MP4, then convert

The free version of Screen Bolt has no time limit, but its exports have four limits:

• Exports are capped at 3 minutes. The cap is measured against the full recording.
• Exports are capped at 720p.
• Exports carry a "Made with Screen Bolt" watermark in the bottom-right corner.
• GIF export isn't available. Choosing GIF shows Upgrade to Screen Bolt Pro with "GIF export requires a Screen Bolt license."

You can still get the zooms and cursor effects into a GIF for free:

1. Record and edit as above.
2. Click Export, choose MP4 and 720p, then click Export.
3. Convert the MP4 with the video to GIF converter or the ffmpeg command above.

The watermark carries over into the GIF. If that's a problem, use Method 1 or 2 instead.

Compare the methods

How to choose:

• Built-in route: pick it if you need a quick GIF of a click or two and don't care about polish.
• ffmpeg: pick it if you want exact control over frame rate and size and you're comfortable in Terminal.
• Screen Bolt Pro: pick it if GIFs are a regular part of your docs, READMEs or release notes and you want zooms and a visible cursor without extra steps.

Keep GIFs small

GIF compresses far worse than MP4, so file size depends on how many pixels change from frame to frame and for how long.

• Record a small area. A tight crop around one panel beats a full display scaled down, and text stays readable. See how to record part of the screen on Mac.
• Keep it short. Aim for one action per GIF, under 15 seconds.
• Use Standard (640 px) unless the GIF lives in docs where people need to read text.
• Skip busy backgrounds. In Screen Bolt, set Padding to 0% in the Screen panel so no background is exported. Gradients and photos use up the 256-color limit and can show banding.
• Move less. Fewer zooms, a still window and a slow cursor all mean fewer changes between frames.
• Close what moves. Hide notifications, clocks and animated content inside the recorded area.

For font size and window size, see our guide to readable screen recordings.

Other Mac apps for GIF recording

Kap is a free, open-source screen recorder for macOS, with separate Apple silicon and Intel downloads at getkap.co. You can also install it with brew install --cask kap. As of November 2026, Homebrew lists version 3.6.0. We couldn't confirm when it was last updated or check its current export options, so look at its site before relying on it.

CleanShot X is a Mac screenshot app that also records the screen. Check its site for current export options.

We cover both in Kap alternatives and CleanShot X alternative for screen recording.

If it doesn't work

"Clip Too Long for GIF" even though you trimmed it. Screen Bolt checks the full recording length and refuses anything over 60 seconds. To work around it, export the trimmed edit as MP4, then convert that file with the video to GIF converter or ffmpeg. The MP4 already contains your zooms and effects. Next time, record shorter clips.

Choosing GIF shows an upgrade prompt. You're in free mode. Enter your key in Settings ▸ General ▸ License (or press ⇧⌘L) and click Activate. Otherwise, use the free MP4-then-convert route above.

Text in the GIF is blurry. The recorded area was too large for the GIF width. Record a smaller area, or switch to HD.

Motion looks choppy. Screen Bolt's GIFs run at about 10 fps, so fast cursor moves look jumpy. Move the pointer more slowly while recording, or share an MP4 if smooth motion matters. With ffmpeg you can raise fps.

The device frame or shadow is missing. Device frames, reflection, screen shadow and inset show only in the editor preview. They aren't exported in any format.

The file is too big to upload. Use Standard, shorten the clip, record a smaller area and set padding to 0%. Then check the size limit of the site or app you're uploading to.

FAQ

Can QuickTime save a screen recording as a GIF? No. QuickTime Player and the ⇧⌘5 toolbar save .mov files only. To get a GIF, you need a converter, ffmpeg or an app that exports GIF.

Can a GIF have sound? No. The GIF format has no audio track. If the voiceover matters, export MP4 instead.

Do Screen Bolt GIFs loop? Yes, they loop continuously. Zooms, cursor effects, text, annotations and blur are baked into every frame. Preview-only settings such as device frames are not.