Ubuntu Screen Recorder

Introduction

We often require to record the screen of our desktop for several objectives such as creating video tutorials, online broadcasting gaming sessions, etc. In this article, we are going to list a few applications of screen recording in Linux.

We will use the SimpleScreenRecorder tool and some other applications for this objective. However, the SimpleScreenRecorder is one of the great screen recorder tools in Linux and it is open-source and free software.

First, let's see how we can install the SimpleScreenRecorder tool in Ubuntu 16.04, 18.04, 20.10 and other Ubuntu-based Linux distributions like Linux Lite, Elementary OS, Linux Mint, etc.

Features of SimpleScreenRecorder

There are some of the important features of the SimpleScreenRecorder tool. These features are mentioned as follows:

• It supports more than one format of video output.
• It is used for audio recording through an applicable source.
• It supports the recording area of the selected screen.
• It facilitates statistics at the time of recording.
• It supports Hotkey.
• It supports live preview at the time of recording.
• It is used for optimizing work on slow machines smoothly.

Advantage:

• Enough tweaking options are available to fine-tune the resulting video.

Disadvantage:

• No support for built-in webcam recording
• UI is not very promising.

Installing SimpleScreenRecorder in Ubuntu

In Ubuntu Software Center, this tool is available. So, we can easily install it by Software Center or via executing a command in our terminal which is mentioned below:

Also, we can apply the official PPA for installing the latest release of the SimpleScreenRecorder tool in the Ubuntu-based distributions of Linux. We can run the below command in our terminal:

Fixing up the SimpleScreenRecorder tool for recording screen

We might wish to configure SimpleScreenRecorder to our needs once we have installed it. Let's check how we can do that.

• Open the software by finding it in Gnome or Unity Dash.
• Set our options on the upcoming screen. These contain options such as screen size of the video if we wish a rectangular area or wish to record our cursor or not. We can also set whether we wish to record the audio or not on this screen.
• Press Continue once we have fine with these settings. Choose whether we wish to save a file on the next screen and audio's bit rate for our video as well.
• Just enter start recording once we are done with the settings and it will begin recording the screen for us.
• If we wish to stop the recording, then we need to just open the application and click stop recording. Our video will save within the specified path.

Best Screen Recorder Applications for Linux

1. Open Broadcaster Software Studio

Without a doubt, Open Broadcaster Software Studio is the most advanced and feature-rich application for screencasting available in Linux.

Primary Features of OBS Studio

• More than one scene for switching between by custom transitions seamlessly.
• Filters for the sources of the video
• Audio mixer along with filters
• Easy-to-use and powerful configuration options
• A settings panel (streamlined) to tweak configurations
• Support for live streaming

Pros

• Possibly, everything we will need is in this one application.

Cons

• We will require a while for figuring out its terminology.

Installation

Open Broadcaster Software Studio is available in Ubuntu by its PPA. We can type a command in our terminal for installing it. The command is mentioned below:

2. Kazam

Kazam can be described as a nifty and minimal too to screencast. It provides support for screenshots as well. Kazam is one of the most applicable for beginners and for quickly getting the operation done without getting too confused in distinct options.

Primary Features of Kazam

• Compact and simple user interface
• Supports more than one format of video output
• Audio recording through an applicable source (speaker or microphone)
• Support to record one selected or window screen area
• Supports for the delay timer

Pros

• Easy-to-use, minimal, and simple.

Cons

• Lack of support for webcam recording
• Minimum options to tweak configurations settings

Installation

Open the terminal and type the below command:

3. recordMyDesktop

Primarily, the recrodMyDesktop application is a tool of the command-line for screen recording specified in the C language. It contains two separate GUI-based on QT4 and GTK.

It has been terminated but we can still provide it a chance as an experiment.

Primary Features of recordMyDesktop

• It is a lightweight tool.
• It supports recording one window.
• It provides options for video output tweaking.

Pros

• We can use it using the terminal with the help of a command, i.e., recordmydesktop.

Cons

• The interface of the recordMyDesktop application is not well polished.
• It does not provide the feature of webcam recording.
• It does not provide options for formats of video output (alternative).
• It is no longer developed actively.

Installation

The recordMyDesktop application is available to install through the Ubuntu repository (official). We need to just execute a command to install this application which is mentioned below:

4. ScreenStudio

The ScreenStudio application can be described as a cross-platform tool for screen recording which is specified in Java language. Even though it is no longer managed since 2017, but still we can give this application a chance to check if it works for us.

Primary Features of ScreenStudio

• It supports more than one format of video output.
• It is used for audio recording with an applicable source.
• It provides stream support for several services such as Twitch.tv, Hitbox, etc.
• It provides various options for advanced configuration.
• It provides support for webcam recording.
• It provides support for the overlay layer at the time of recording (text and image layers).

Pros

• We can use the ScreenStudio application everywhere being the cross-platform application.

Cons

• It is no longer developed actively.
• The dependency size of ScreenStudio is instead large and it needs JRE 8.0.

Installation

On Ubuntu, we can install this application using its PPA. We need to type a command in the command-line window to install this application which is mentioned as follows:

5. VokoscreenNG

The Vokoscreen application has been redesigned as VokoscreenNG (NG is short for New Generation). It also satisfies its new. This application includes a group of necessary features and the latest QT-based user interface.

Primary Features of VokoscreenNG

• It is used to record the whole desktop.
• It is used for recording a section of the screen.
• For recording purposes, it includes a delay timer.
• For recording purposes, it sets a time limit.
• It includes the ability for recording by using the webcam.
• It can tweak the format of the output, manage the framerates, and several other essential parameters.

Pros

• It is easy to use along with advanced aspects on board.
• It provides plenty of helpful features.

Cons

• It doesn't provide an rpm/deb package and Applmage file.

Installation

We can install this application easily on Fedora and OpenSUSE but we need to use an unofficial repository via Ubuntu Handbook for some Ubuntu-based distributions. We can use the following commands to install it:

For OpenSUSE:

For Fedora:

For Ubuntu-based distributions:

6. Green Recorder

The Green Recorder application has a normal interface and it is easy to use. This application was one of the oldest tools for screen recording in Linux for providing Wayland support. It is built with GTK3 and uses Ffmpeg within the background.

It will perhaps be a great choice for the Ubuntu screen recorder if we are using Wayland. The project was archived over GitHub unfortunately and no longer integrated. However, it works for various users.

Primary Features of Green Recorder

• It supports more than one format of video such as webm, mp4, mkv, avi, etc.
• Also, it can record a screen in a gif format.
• It supports both Wayland and Xorg.
• Using the Green Recorder tool, preferences (default) could be saved.

Pros

• It supports Wayland
• It supports GIF
• It has a normal interface with essential features

Cons

• It is no longer developed actively.
• It doesn't provide support for webcam recording.

Installation

On Ubuntu, we can install the Green Recorder application with its official PPA. We need to just enter the following command to install it:

7. Peek

The Peek application is a normal tool to record animated GIFs using the screen of our desktop.

Primary Features of Peek

• It supports a delay timer.
• Framerate setting is available in this application.

Pros

• It has a slick and modern interface.

Cons

• Only Linux using X11 is currently supported.

Installation

DEB packages are present for installation on the release page of its GitHub project. Also, we can install the Peek application by using it's PPA (official) with the help of a command which is mentioned below:

8. Gifine

The Gifine application is a tool for gif recording in Linux. We can use this tool to record and stitch short videos and gifs together.

Primary Features of Gifine

• It supports trimming and editing the output video or gif before saving.
• It supports both mp4 and gif video output formats.

Pros

• It offers extra features as compared to Peek.

Cons

• The interface of Gifine is not as good as Peek.

Installation

It could be a lengthy process to install the Gifine tool. We need to open the command-line window and type a command carefully to install this tool on Ubuntu. The command is mentioned below:

9. Byzanz

It can be described as a screencasting application that is based on CLI in Linux. The Byzanz application is used for recording audio and video in FLV and OGG formats. Also, it can be used for creating an animated gif.

Installation

We need to enter a command to install this application which is mentioned below:

10. VLC

The VLC application is the most popular and powerful Multimedia Player for Linux. It is prepacked with several features and the screencasting feature is one of them. We need to modify the mode of capture into the mode of desktop inside the options setting. Also, we can save any recording video and online live-streaming it.

Installation

We need to enter a command to install this application which is mentioned below:

11. Wink

The Wink application is primarily used to create content for interactive tutorials. This screen capture software of Linux comes with highly competitive aspects for screen recording. Also, it supports every major platform of an operating system including Linux, Windows, and other Linux-based systems.

Installation

We need to enter a command to install this application which is mentioned below:

12. Freeseer

The Freeseer application is created to make distance conference streaming easy and simple. Both audio and video streaming are simultaneously supported. It is a free application for screencasting and provides resources for cross-platforms.

Primary Features of Freeseer

• It supports audio and video recording.
• It supports audio and video streaming.
• It facilitates configuration tools.
• It applies a plug-in system. Thus, the developers could easily include new aspects.
• It provides a talk editor to manage talks.
• It supports common keyboard shortcuts.
• It facilitates configuration profiles.
• It offers a report editor to report problems with recorded talks.
• It provides more than one audio input.

13. Shutter

The Shutter application is a great screen recorder for Linux. It is simple and provides the latest user interface. Also, it offers a tool for image editing that could be used to customize the captured image. We can capture the whole section of the screen of a desktop or only a chosen area.

Installation

We need to enter a command to install this application which is mentioned below:

14. Krut

The interface of the Krut application does not look nice, but it is the lightest screen recorder for Linux present in the market. This screen capture software of Linux is designed with Java language, so it is portable as well as simple to use on another system.

We can do every task that the full-fledged screen recorders of Linux should do without a problem.

Primary Features of Krut

• It permits users for moving the chosen area at the time of recording.
• The Krut software allows users for recording mouse movements.

Screen recording in Ubuntu with the keyboard shortcut

We don't need to get a third-party application for screen recording in Ubuntu. Ubuntu provides a built-in screen recorder, a component of the GNOME Shell. Same as Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS, we can start recording right away in Ubuntu using a hotkey.

Here, the good thing is that it allows us to record the screen for every three preferences- custom, window, and full-screen partial area. We found only one disadvantage where it does not allow audio recording (microphone or internal), and the recording of the screen gets stored in WEBM format. In this article, we will see how to record screen with the help of some keyboard shortcuts:

• Simply, we need to press the "Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R" shortcut keys on Ubuntu, and a pop-up window will occur on the screen for screen recording. We need to now go to the bottom of the video tab and select our preference, whether we wish to record the entire screen, a partial area, or a specific window.
• Then, we need to press the "Record" red button, and the screen recording will start on Ubuntu.
• In the system tray, we need to press the red button at the top-right side to stop recording. And we are done.

Audio screen recording in Ubuntu

If we are looking for excellent software for screen recording in Ubuntu, we recommend getting SimpleScreenRecorder. It offers several features, such as area selection, cursor recording, bitrate customization, frame rate selection, audio recording, etc.

Also, the SimpleScreenRecorder app supports a lot of options of media formats, including WEBM, MKV, MP4, etc. A single issue is that we might face problems if we are utilizing the Wayland server. But it works perfectly for a wide variety of users who are still using Xorg/X11.

The following are some steps on how we can record the screen using SimpleScreenRecorder on Ubuntu:

• First, we need to launch our Terminal window and execute the following command. After that, input the password and click the "y" button when asked. It will start downloading the SimpleScreenRecorder app on Ubuntu in seconds:

• We need to now launch the SimpleScreenRecorder app through the app launcher. Select the recording part- be it an active window, a fixed part, or the whole screen. Also, we can customize various settings, such as audio input, record cursor, and frame rate.
• Press the "Continue" option, and we will have the option to choose the media format, which is a directory to store the screen recording, video/audio codec, and much more on the attached page.
• On the attached page, press the "Start recording" option on the top, and screen capturing will start right away.
• In the system tray, we will see the progress bar at the top-right side. We can launch it anytime using a click and select "Save recording" when we are done.