Platforms
How to record your screen on Windows
Windows is the most capable platform for browser-based screen recording, mainly because it is the only one where Chrome and Edge can capture the sound coming out of your whole screen rather than just a browser tab.
Recording the screen
Open the recorder, turn on your microphone or camera if you want them, and press start. Windows shows the browser picker with three tabs: Entire Screen, Window and Chrome Tab. Pick one and confirm.
If you have more than one monitor, Entire Screen lists each display separately. Choose the one you actually want — a recording of the wrong monitor is the most common wasted take.
Getting the sound
In the picker there is a "Share system audio" checkbox on the Entire Screen tab, and "Share tab audio" on the Chrome Tab tab. Tick it before you confirm; recording with sound explains the two kinds of audio. It is off by default, and there is no way to turn it on afterwards without restarting the recording.
This is a Windows-only capability in Chrome and Edge. Firefox does not offer it at all.
Alternatives built into Windows
Windows has Xbox Game Bar (Win+G) and the Snipping Tool, both of which record video, unlike a browser, which cannot write to disk as it records. They save to disk directly and can record the desktop outside a browser, which a web page cannot. Use them if you need to record the browser itself, or something before the browser opens.
Read next
- Screen recording in Chrome
What Chrome can and cannot capture, including tab audio, the sharing bar, and the WebM files it produces.
- How to record your screen with sound
The two different kinds of audio in a screen recording, and which browsers can capture each.
- How to record your screen on a Mac
Record your Mac screen in a browser, including the macOS permission that silently blocks capture until you grant it.