Brief: In this article, we list you the best screen recorders for Linux. This list also includes software that let you record your Linux desktop as gif.
Often we need to record our desktop screen for various purposes, like broadcasting gaming session online, making video tutorials etc. Today, we are going to present various screen recording applications for Linux.
This list is divided into two parts:
- Recording screen as video
- Recording screen as gif
All the softwares mentioned here are free and open source (FOSS).
Before we see the list of best screen recorders, I would like to mention asciinema. It’s a desktop tool that lets you record your terminal session and uploads to its website. You can grab the URL and send it to friends. Best thing is that the commands in recorded terminal session can be copied. That helps a lot if you used plenty of commands, no need of manual entering those commands.
For clarification, these applications are not listed in any specific order and the features mentioned here are not all-inclusive. The features mentioned are compiled either from their respective official websites or from my personal experience using them.
Best Screen Recorders for Linux
1. Kazam
Kazam is a minimal and nifty tool for screencasting. It includes screenshot support too. Kazam is most suitable for beginners and for getting the task done quickly without going too much into various options.
Main Features
- Simple and compact user interface
- Supports multiple video output format
- Audio recording from suitable source (microphone or speaker)
- Support for recording a single window or selected screen area
- Delay timer support
Pros
- Simple and minimal, easy to use.
Cons
- Very few options for tweaking configuration settings
- Lack of WebCam recording support
Installation on Ubuntu
Open a terminal window and enter the following command:
sudo apt install kazam
N.B. The latest version — which adds a bunch more features to Kazam — is not available through the official PPA or Ubuntu Universal repositories.
2. Open Broadcaster Software Studio
OBS Studio is, without doubt, the most feature-rich and advanced screencasting application available for Linux.
Main Features
- Multiple Scenes to switch between seamlessly via custom transitions
- Filters for video sources
- Audio mixer with filters
- Powerful and easy to use configuration options
- Streamlined Settings panel for tweaking configurations
- Live streaming support
Pros
- Everything you will possibly need is within this single application
Cons
- You’ll need a while to figure out its terminologies (…but it’s worth it)
Installation on Ubuntu
OBS Studio is available for Ubuntu via PPA. You can enter the following commands in the terminal for installing it:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:obsproject/obs-studiosudo apt update sudo apt install obs-studio
3. SimpleScreenRecorder
SimpleScreenRecorder — as the name implies — is a simple application for screen recording on Linux. Its interface is Qt-based.
Main Features
- Supports multiple video output format
- Audio recording from suitable source
- Support for recording selected screen area
- Provides statistics while recording
- Live preview while recording
- Optimized to work smoothly on slow machines
- Hotkey support
Pros
- Sufficient tweaking options to fine tune the output video.
Cons
- User interface is not very appealing
- No built-in support for WebCam recording
Installation on Ubuntu
SimpleScreenRecorder is available for Ubuntu via PPA. Run the following commands on after another in a terminal window:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:maarten-baert/simplescreenrecorder
sudo apt update
sudo apt install simplescreenrecorder
4. recordMyDesktop
recordMyDesktop is mainly a command-line tool for screen recording written in C. It has two separate graphical user interface based on GTK and QT4.
Main Features
- Lightweight tool
- Support for recording a single window
- Video output tweaking options
Pros
- You can also use it from command-line with
recordmydesktopcommand.
Cons
- Interface is not quite polished
- No WebCam recording feature
- No options for alternative video output formats
Installation on Ubuntu
recordMyDesktop is available for installation via official Ubuntu repository. Just run the following command:
sudo apt install gtk-recordmydesktop5. VokoScreen
VokoScreen is an easy to use screencast creator. This simplicity could earn it the label of one of the best desktop recorders for Linux, in my opinion.
Main Features
- Supports multiple video output format
- Audio recording from suitable source
- Support for recording a single window or selected screen area
- WebCam preview support
- Delay timer support
- Hotkey support
Pros
- Various preference options for tweaking the video output
Cons
- User interface can be better
Installation on Ubuntu
VokoScreen is available via official Ubuntu repository. For installing, enter the following command in terminal:
sudo apt install vokoscreen6. ScreenStudio
ScreenStudio is a cross-platform screen recording application written in Java.
Main Features
- Supports multiple video output format
- Audio recording from suitable source
- Stream support for various services like – Hitbox, Twitch.tv etc.
- Various advanced configuration options
- WebCam recording support
- Overlay layer support while recording (image and text layers)
Pros
- Being a cross-platform application, you can use it everywhere.
Cons
- Dependency size is rather large — Requires JRE 8.0
Installation on Ubuntu
ScreenStudio can be installed on Ubuntu from PPA. Enter the following commands in a terminal for installation:
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:soylent-tv/screenstudiosudo apt update sudo apt install screenstudio
Best Linux software to record screen as GIF
7. Peek
Peek is a simple tool for recording animated gif from your desktop screen.
Main Features
- Framerate setting
- Delay timer support
Pros
- Modern and slick interface
Cons
- Currently, only Linux with X11 is supported (which most of us are currently using)
Installation on Ubuntu
For installation, DEB packages are available on its GitHub project’s release page. You can also install it from command-line with the following commands:
wget https://github.com/phw/peek/releases/download/v0.8.0/peek-0.8.0-Linux.deb
sudo apt install libsdl1.2debian ffmpeg libavdevice-ffmpeg56
sudo dpkg -i peek-0.8.0-Linux.deb8. Gifine
Gifine is a tool for recording and stitching together a short gifs or videos.
Main Features
- Supports both GIF and MP4 video output.
- Supports editing and trimming the output before saving
Pros
- Provides additional features than Peek
Cons
- Interface is not as nice as Peek
Installation on Ubuntu
Installing Gifine is a bit lengthy process. Open a terminal window and carefully enter the following commands for installing Gifine on Ubuntu:
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/lolilolicon/xrectsel.git cd xrectsel ./bootstrap && ./configure sudo make install sudo apt install gifsicle luarocks libgirepository1.0-devsudo luarocks install --server=http://luarocks.org/dev gifine
And you are done. For running Gifine, enter the following command:
gifineYour choice?
Did I miss out your favorite screen recorder application? Which desktop recorder do you use in Linux? Do share your views. And please do take a moment to share this article. It does help us :)