Recordly

Free, open-source screen recorder with auto-zoom and timeline editing. Positions as a Screen Studio alternative.

Table of Contents
webadderall/Recordly
Create polished screen recordings for free. An open-source alternative to Screen Studio.
https://github.com/webadderall/Recordly

What it is

Desktop app for recording and editing screen captures with built-in motion design. The pitch is "Screen Studio but free and open-source". AGPL 3.0 license, 9.3k stars, actively maintained (v1.1.24, April 2026).

Language

TypeScript (89%) on Electron, with native capture bridges in C++ and Swift. Linux falls back to Electron capture because the native APIs aren't available.

Install

Prebuilt binaries on the releases page. Arch Linux via AUR:

yay -S recordly-bin

Building from source needs Node.js plus platform toolchains (Xcode CLT on macOS, VS 2022 on Windows, build-essential on Linux).

Platforms

Platform Requirement Capture method
macOS 14.0+ ScreenCaptureKit (native)
Windows 10 b19041+ Windows Graphics Capture (native)
Linux any Electron (no cursor hiding)

Value

The important features for Nic's use case:

  • Auto-zoom and cursor smoothing. This is the Screen Studio signature: motion blur, click bounce, cursor path smoothing, automatic zoom suggestions driven by cursor activity.
  • Webcam bubble overlays. Position presets, shadow, mirror, zoom-reactive scaling.
  • Timeline editor. Drag-and-drop trims, speed regions, annotations, audio overlays. Projects save as .recordly files.
  • Frame styling. Wallpapers, gradients, blur, rounded corners, padding, drop shadows.
  • Extensions. Community marketplace for cursors, device frames, and similar.
  • Export. MP4 and GIF with quality and dimension controls.

Good candidate for product demos, internal Loom-style walkthroughs, and any Kaltura-adjacent short-form screen content where Screen Studio's $229 price stings.

links

social