How to Stop Screen Recording on Mac

The quickest way to start and stop screen recordings on the Mac.

By
Saikat Basu
Saikat Basu
Saikat Basu
Writer
  • University of Pune (India)
Saikat has been a technology writer for 12+ years. His writing has appeared at MakeUseOf, OnlineTechTips, GoSkills, and many others.
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Updated on June 20, 2022
Reviewed by
Jessica Kormos
Jessica Kormos
Reviewed by Jessica Kormos
  • Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
Jessica Kormos is a writer and editor with 15 years' experience writing articles, copy, and UX content for Tecca.com, Rosenfeld Media, and many others.
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What to Know

  • Select the Stop icon on the Mac menu bar to stop your computer from recording.
  • Press keyboard shortcut Command + Control + Esc to stop the recording.
  • Select Shift + Command + 5 again to maximize the Screenshot toolbar. Press the Stop button on the toolbar.

This article will show you how to stop recording on QuickTime or while using the Screenshot Toolbar on a Mac.

How Do You Stop Your Computer Screen From Recording?

There are two standard methods to start recording the screen on your macOS. You don't need a third-party tool as QuickTime, and the Screenshot toolbar can help you record a part of the screen or the entire screen.

The Screenshot toolbar on macOS is a utility tool which can record the computer screen and also take screenshots.

  1. Press Shift + Command + 5 to open the Screenshot toolbar.

  2. Select the icon for Record Entire Screen for full-screen video capture. Alternatively, select Record Selected Portion to capture a part of the screen.

    The macOS screenshot tool with screen recording buttons highlighted.

    Tip:

    Press the Esc key to cancel a recording if you want to before you select Record.

  3. Select Record to start or tap anywhere on the screen when a tiny camera icon appears.

  4. The Screenshot toolbar will minimize to the top on the macOS menu bar as a small Stop icon. You can stop the recording in three ways:

    • Select the Stop icon to stop your computer from recording.
    • Select Command + Control + Esc to stop the recording.
    • Select Shift + Command + 5 again to maximize the Screenshot toolbar. Press the Stop button on the toolbar.
    The teeny tiny stop button in the menu which stops screen recording on macOS.

The Mac displays a small preview window on the bottom-right of the screen and the recording is saved on the desktop by default.

Note:

The Screenshot toolbar was included from macOS Mojave (10.14) onwards. For older Macs, the QuickTime Player was the only built-in screen recorder of choice. You can keep using the QuickTime recording feature on the latest versions of macOS.

How Do I Stop QuickTime Screen Recording on Mac?

The QuickTime Player is an all-purpose utility available in all versions of the Mac. The screen recording function is performed by the same Screenshot toolbar we used in the previous section.

  1. Open the QuickTime Player from the Applications folder in the Finder window. Alternatively, open it from Spotlight Search.

    The QuickTime Player app highlighted in the Finder in macOS.

  2. Select File on the QuickTime Player menu to open a dropdown menu.

  3. Select New Screen Recording to open the Screenshot toolbar. You can record the entire screen or a part of it.

    New screen recording from the File Menu in Quicktime Player on a Mac.

  4. The Screenshot toolbar has the same interface and features described in the above section. To stop the screen recording on the Mac, use the same three methods:

    • Select the Stop icon to stop your computer from recording.
    • Select Command + Control + Esc to stop the recording.
    • Select Shift + Command + 5 again to maximize the Screenshot toolbar. Press the Stop button on the toolbar.
    Screenshot Toolbar

A QuickTime Player window opens with the captured screen recording.

Note:

Apart from running on older versions of macOS, the QuickTime Player also allows you to record a movie or make a new audio recording.

FAQ
  • How do I edit a screen recording on a Mac?

    You can do limited editing of a screen recording using QuickTime, including trimming, adding clips, and flipping. For more advanced options like adding music or effects, you should use something like iMovie.

  • How do I make a screen recording with sound on a Mac?

    When you start the screen recording, you can also include a voice-over. First, press Command + Shift + 5 to open the screen-recording menu. Click Options and select a microphone. To include your computer's audio in the recording, you'll need a third-party app.

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