How to record a GIF of your screen on Mac
The macOS screen recorder (Shift-Command-5) saves a .mov video. To get a GIF you can drop into a chat, a README or a bug report, you then have to convert it with another tool. CapturePush is a free macOS menu bar app that records a region of your screen directly to an animated GIF — or to MP4 — in one step.
Record a GIF, Step by Step
- Click the CapturePush icon in the menu bar and choose Record GIF, or use the hotkey you assigned in Preferences → Shortcuts.
- Drag to select the part of the screen you want to record.
- A 5-second countdown starts. Press Start to skip it, or abort if you need to reselect.
- The selection border turns green while recording. Do whatever you want to demonstrate.
- Stop from the control bar below the selection, or press the same hotkey again.
CapturePush encodes the GIF and then handles it like any other capture: saved to your Mac, or uploaded to your own server or S3-compatible storage with the link copied to your clipboard.
Small GIFs Without Fiddling
- Optimised colour palette: each recording gets a palette generated from its own frames instead of a generic one.
- Only what changed: between frames, only the regions that actually changed are stored, so a mostly static screen produces a very small file.
- Sensible frame rate: GIFs are recorded at 10 frames per second, which keeps UI demos smooth without bloating the file.
- Nothing else to install: the encoder is built into the app. You do not need Homebrew, FFmpeg or a separate converter.
GIF or MP4?
| GIF | MP4 | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Short UI demos, bug reports, READMEs | Longer clips, video, lots of motion |
| Frame rate | 10 fps | 30 fps |
| Plays inline | Almost everywhere, no player needed | Where video embeds are supported |
| File size | Small for static content, larger with motion | Efficient for motion (H.264) |
Both are in the same menu: choose Record MP4 instead of Record GIF and the rest of the workflow is identical.
Upload Recordings, Keep Screenshots Local
If you only want links for recordings, set the upload scope to Recordings Only in Preferences → Upload. Screenshots are then saved locally while GIF and MP4 recordings are uploaded and linked.
Need a still image of a long page instead? See how to take a scrolling screenshot on Mac.