How to Record Your Screen as a GIF on Mac
GIFs are the fastest way to show a quick demo or a bug — no player needed. Here's how to record your Mac screen straight to an animated GIF.
Can you record a GIF on a Mac?
macOS can record video (Shift + Cmd + 5, or QuickTime), but it only saves a .mov video file — there's no built-in way to export a GIF. To get a GIF you either convert the video afterward or use an app like Shotstrix that records straight to GIF.
The built-in way (and its catch)
Press Shift + Cmd + 5, choose Record Selected Portion or the whole screen, record, and stop. You get a .mov file. To turn it into a GIF you then need a separate converter — an extra step, and the result often balloons in file size.
Record straight to GIF with Shotstrix
Shotstrix (free) records your whole screen or a selected region and saves directly to an animated GIF — or an MP4 if you prefer — at 24, 30, or 60 fps. No conversion step, and choosing the frame rate keeps the file small and easy to share.
How to record a GIF with Shotstrix
- 1 Start a screen recording
Open Shotstrix's recorder and choose GIF as the output format.
- 2 Pick what to record
Select a region or the full screen.
- 3 Choose a frame rate
24, 30, or 60 fps — lower keeps the file smaller.
- 4 Record and share
Stop when you're done; the GIF is saved, ready to drop into a chat, doc, or issue.
Get Shotstrix — free
Shotstrix is a free screenshot and screen-recording tool for macOS — scrolling capture, OCR, annotation, blur, GIF recording, and share-ready backdrops, with no account and no watermark.
Free · Universal (Apple Silicon + Intel) · macOS 14 Sonoma or later
Frequently asked questions
Can macOS record a GIF directly? +
No. The built-in screen recorder only saves .mov video, which you'd have to convert. Shotstrix records straight to GIF.
Should I use MP4 or GIF? +
GIFs are best for short, silent, share-anywhere clips like chats, docs, and issues; MP4 is better for longer or higher-quality clips. Shotstrix does both.
Is the screen recorder free? +
Yes — screen recording to GIF or MP4 is built into Shotstrix, which is free for macOS.