How to Trim a Screen Recording on Mac (and Cut the Middle)

To trim a screen recording on a Mac, open it in QuickTime Player and choose Edit ▸ Trim (⌘T, Command-T). Drag the yellow handles to where the video should start and end, then click Trim. To cut a mistake out of the middle, use Edit ▸ Split Clip in QuickTime and delete the piece you don't want. In Screen Bolt, press I at the start of the mistake, press O at the end, and click Cut I-O.

Trim a screen recording on Mac with QuickTime Player

QuickTime Player is the fastest way to take dead time off the start and end of a recording you've already saved.

1. Double-click the recording to open it in QuickTime Player, or right-click it and choose Open With ▸ QuickTime Player.
2. Choose Edit ▸ Trim, or press ⌘T. A yellow bar with a handle at each end appears under the video.
3. Drag the left handle to where the video should start.
4. Drag the right handle to where it should end.
5. Click the play button next to the trim bar to check the result.
6. Click Trim.
7. Choose File ▸ Export As, pick the resolution that matches your recording, name the file and save it.

Export As writes a new file and leaves the original alone. Make that a habit. If you trimmed too much, the full recording is still there.

What QuickTime doesn't do well: you set the trim by dragging handles, so hitting an exact frame takes some fiddling. There's also no project file you can reopen to adjust your edit points later. For more on recording with QuickTime, see QuickTime screen recording on Mac.

Trim right after recording with the Screenshot toolbar

If you recorded with the Screenshot toolbar (⇧⌘5, Command-Shift-5), a thumbnail slides into the bottom-right corner of the screen when you stop. This only happens if Show Floating Thumbnail is turned on in the toolbar's Options menu.

1. Click the thumbnail before it disappears.
2. Click the Trim button in the preview window.
3. Drag the yellow handles to the new start and end.
4. Click Done.

This method only trims the ends, and it changes the file that gets saved, so you don't keep an untrimmed copy. If you missed the thumbnail, open the saved file in QuickTime instead. Can't find the file? See where screen recordings go on Mac.

Trim in Photos

Use Photos if the recording is already in your library, or if you want a trim you can undo later.

1. Open Photos and choose File ▸ Import, then pick the recording. Skip this step if it's already in your library.
2. Double-click the video to open it.
3. Click Edit.
4. Drag the yellow handles at either end of the frame strip under the video.
5. Click Done.

Photos doesn't overwrite the original. To get the full video back, open it, click Edit, then click Revert to Original. To share the trimmed version, select it and choose File ▸ Export. Pick the option that exports the edited video, not the unmodified original.

Photos has two drawbacks for this job. It only trims the ends, not the middle. And if iCloud Photos is on, the recording uploads to iCloud, which you may not want for a recording of private work.

Cut part of a screen recording out of the middle

This covers a wrong click, a notification popping up, or a long pause halfway through. You have two options.

In QuickTime with Split Clip

1. Pause at the start of the mistake.
2. Choose Edit ▸ Split Clip (⌘Y, Command-Y). A strip of clips appears at the bottom of the window.
3. Move the playhead to the end of the mistake and choose Split Clip again.
4. Click the middle clip (the mistake) and press Delete.
5. Click Done.
6. Choose File ▸ Export As to save a new file.

This works, but you can't fine-tune a cut after you've made it. To change it, you have to undo and split again.

In Screen Bolt with In and Out points

In Screen Bolt, the editor opens by default as soon as you stop a recording. To trim a video you recorded with another tool, choose File ▸ Create project from video... or File ▸ Open project... (⌘O).

Edits to an imported video are not saved, so export before you close the editor. Imported videos also have no cursor data, which means auto zoom and cursor effects don't apply to them.

1. Find the start of the mistake. Press Space to play or pause. Press ← or → to step one frame (1/30 s), or ⇧← and ⇧→ to jump 5 seconds. While paused, you can also hover over the clip track to skim.
2. Press I (or click the I button) to set the In point.
3. Move to the end of the mistake.
4. Press O (or click the O button) to set the Out point.
5. Click Cut I-O ("Delete between In and Out points"). Pressing Delete (⌫) while both marks are set does the same thing. There's also a faster way: drag across the timeline to select a range, then click the scissors button Delete selected region.

To be precise on long recordings, zoom the timeline in with ⌘=. Zoom out with ⌘−, reset with ⌘0, or hold ⌘ and scroll. Right-click an In or Out mark for Seek to In/Out, Clear In/Out Point, Clear Both Marks or Cut I–O.

To trim the start or end in Screen Bolt, drag the left or right handle of the clip on the clip track.

Split and reorder clips

Split a recording when you want to move a section rather than delete it. For example, you might show the result first and the setup after.

1. Put the playhead where you want the break.
2. Press S, click the scissors button Split at playhead (S), or right-click the clip and choose Split at Playhead.
3. Each half is now its own clip. Drag a clip along the clip track to reorder it, or drag its edges to trim it.
4. To remove a clip, right-click it and choose Delete Clip.

Delete Clip is greyed out when only one clip is left. In that case, use the trim handles or a cut instead. The clip's right-click menu also shows its duration and Reveal Source in Finder.

You can also drop another video file onto the clip track. It's inserted as a new clip before or after the clip under the pointer, which is useful for adding a second take you recorded separately. The rest of the timeline is covered in how to edit a screen recording on Mac and the editing docs.

Undo and check your cuts

For recordings made in Screen Bolt, the raw recording.mov is never changed. Cuts and splits are saved as edits in the .screenbolt project, so you can change your mind later.

• Undo / Redo: ⌘Z and ⇧⌘Z. The editor keeps 50 undo steps.
• Remove every cut at once: click Clear all cuts, the trash icon that appears once you've made cuts.
• Clear marks or a selection: press Esc.
• Flag problems while reviewing: press M to drop a marker at the playhead, then press [ and ] to jump between markers. Markers don't appear in the export.
• Check each cut point: press Home (fn←) to go to the start, then play through. Watch the second either side of each cut for a clipped word or a jump in the cursor.

Avoid J and L while reviewing. They change the playback speed by 0.25×, and that speed is saved with the project and applied to the export. If you pressed them, check that the speed menu reads 1x before you export. If you do want a faster video, see how to speed up a screen recording.

Export the trimmed video

1. Click the blue Export button in the editor toolbar.
2. Under Format, choose MP4 (H.264, plays everywhere) or MOV (HEVC, smaller files). GIF needs a Pro license.
3. Under Quality, choose Original, 4K, 1080p or 720p. Presets larger than your recording are disabled, and the free version allows only 720p.
4. Check the summary line for the estimated file size and pixel size.
5. Under Save to, keep the Desktop or click Change… to pick another folder.
6. Click Export or press Return. The file is named Screen Bolt <date> at <time>.mp4 (or .mov), and Finder shows it when the export finishes. Full details are in the export docs.

Free version limits: exports are capped at 3 minutes and 720p, carry a "Made with Screen Bolt" watermark, and can't be GIFs. Pro is $79 one-time as of November 2026; see pricing.

If it doesn't work

Screen Bolt says "Recording Too Long for Free Export" after you trimmed under 3 minutes. The export sheet checks the free 3-minute limit against the full length of the original recording, not the trimmed result. You have two options:

• Upgrade to Pro.
• Trim the file under 3 minutes in QuickTime first, then open the shorter file with Create project from video....

For general length questions, see how long you can screen record on a Mac.

The file you shared is still full length. The Share button in Screen Bolt's toolbar sends the raw, unedited recording.mov. Export first, then share the exported file. In Photos, make sure you exported the edited video, not the unmodified original.

Your edits to an imported video disappeared. Videos opened with Create project from video..., opened with Open project... as a movie file, or dropped onto the app are not saved as projects. Export before you close the editor.

Pressing Delete removed something other than your I–O range. Delete also removes a selected zoom region or overlay, and with nothing else selected it can delete the selected clip. Press ⌘Z to get it back. Then click the Cut I-O button instead of pressing the key.

The exported video plays faster or slower than the recording. J or L changed the project speed. Set the speed menu back to 1x and export again.

QuickTime's trim handles won't land where you want. Pause at the exact spot and use Split Clip instead of dragging, or use an editor with frame stepping and In/Out marks.

FAQ

Can I cut the middle of a screen recording without paying anything? Yes. QuickTime Player's Edit ▸ Split Clip lets you split around the mistake and delete it. Screen Bolt's free version can do it too, within the free export limits (3 minutes, 720p, watermark). The 3-minute limit is measured on the full recording.

Does trimming in Screen Bolt delete part of my original recording? No. For recordings made in Screen Bolt, the raw recording.mov stays unchanged in the .screenbolt project folder. Cuts are stored as edits, and Clear all cuts removes them.

Where does QuickTime save a trimmed file? Wherever you choose in the Export As dialog. The original file stays where it was unless you saved over it.

If you want to try the In/Out workflow on your own recordings, download Screen Bolt. The free version has no time limit.