You don’t need expensive software to screen record a good tutorial: the recorders built into macOS and Windows, or the free OBS Studio, cover what most creators need. What really makes the difference is how you prepare and how you record: a clean screen, readable text, short sections, and calm mouse movements. That’s how you get footage that’s quick to edit and that viewers actually watch to the end.
What is a tutorial screen recording?
A screen recording (or screencast) is a video of what happens on your screen: clicks, typing, windows, results. In a tutorial, it’s the core of the video. Viewers want to see how something works so they can do it themselves afterward.
To pull that off, your recording has to be readable, even on a phone, and easy to follow, at a pace people can keep up with.
Which screen recording tool should you use?
| Tool | Platform | Cost | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screenshot app (Shift + Command + 5) | macOS | built in | quick recordings, nothing to install |
| Snipping Tool (Windows + Shift + R) | Windows 11 | built in | quick recordings, nothing to install |
| OBS Studio | Windows, macOS, Linux | free, open source | full control over scenes, audio, and quality |
macOS: Press Shift + Command + 5 to open the Screenshot app. Choose whether to record the whole screen or a selected area, and pick a microphone under “Options.” Apple walks through it in How to record the screen on your Mac.
Windows 11: The Snipping Tool records video too. Press Windows + Shift + R to start a recording; you can turn on your microphone and system audio. Microsoft covers the details in How to record your screen on Windows 11.
OBS Studio: OBS is free and open source. You build scenes (say, “Browser” or “Code editor”), fine-tune resolution, frame rate, and quality, and record multiple audio sources separately. It takes a bit longer to learn, but it’s worth it if you publish tutorials regularly.
Our advice: start with the built-in tools. Switch to OBS when you hit a specific limitation.
Getting the settings right
Aspect ratio and resolution
Record in 16:9, since that’s how YouTube displays videos by default. Your recording resolution should be at least as high as the resolution you plan to publish in; 1080p is a common standard for YouTube. You’ll find YouTube’s own guidance in its recommended upload encoding settings.
If your monitor has a different shape, like an ultrawide, record only a 16:9 area or resize a single window to that ratio.
Frame rate
For most software tutorials, 30 frames per second is plenty. If there’s a lot of motion on screen, like animations or games, 60 fps can look smoother. Keep in mind that more frames also mean bigger files.
Text size and zoom
The most common weakness in tutorials is text that’s too small. What looks fine on your big monitor is often unreadable on a phone. So:
- set your browser zoom to 125 to 150%,
- bump up the font size in code editors,
- close sidebars and panels you don’t need,
- enlarge your cursor if your system supports it.
Before the real recording, make a short test clip and watch it on your phone.
Audio
Even if you plan to record your explanation later, it’s worth having a mic on while recording. A quick comment (“Now I’m clicking Export”) helps when you edit and when you write the script. Only record system audio when it matters, for example in an audio app tutorial.
Prep: a clean screen
Run through this list before you hit record:
- Notifications off. Turn on Focus or Do Not Disturb, and close chat and email.
- Clean desktop. Personal files, bookmarks, and extra tabs go out of frame.
- Separate browser profile. One profile just for recordings, with no history, bookmarks, or autofill data.
- Test data, not real data. Never show real client names, email addresses, or credentials.
- Reset to the starting point. The software should look exactly like it will for your viewers when they begin.
- Outline the flow. A short bullet list of the steps you want to show.
Number 4 is a big one. A password or API key that showed up once in a public video should be treated as compromised.
How to record: the workflow
One step per clip
Don’t record the whole tutorial in one go. Break it into steps and record each one as its own clip. That way:
- a mistake only costs you one short clip, not the whole recording,
- you can rearrange the order while editing,
- your files stay organized.
Name clips clearly right away, for example 03-export-settings.mp4.
Calm mouse, short pauses
Move your mouse deliberately and slowly. Let it rest on an element for a moment before you click, and wait a second after the click until the result shows up. Those tiny pauses give viewers time to follow and give you clean cut points.
Avoid circling your cursor frantically to point at something. Highlights and zooms are easier to place precisely in the edit.
Just redo mistakes
If you misclick, pause briefly and repeat the step. You’ll cut out the bad take later. That’s faster than starting over.
Make keyboard shortcuts visible
When you use keyboard shortcuts, viewers can’t see them. Say the shortcut out loud while recording or jot it down so it can be added as an on-screen label in the edit. For longer tutorials, a small app that displays your keystrokes on screen is worth considering.
Show the result
At the end of each section, show what came out of it: the exported file, the finished page, the chart. Viewers need confirmation that it worked.
After recording: stay organized
Right after the session is the best time to get organized. Later, you often won’t remember which clip was the good one.
- One folder per video, with a subfolder for screen recordings.
- Delete bad takes right away or mark them with “x-” in the file name.
- Jot down a quick note on what happens in each clip and whether anything needs a reshoot.
- Back it up: keep raw recordings on an external drive or in cloud storage as well until the video is published.
Also spot-check the audio once. Otherwise, a wrong mic selection only shows up in the edit, long after you’ve wrapped.
Common screen recording mistakes
- Tiny text. Unreadable on a phone.
- Personal data in frame. Notifications, bookmarks, real client data.
- Everything in one take. One slip near the end and you start over.
- Frantic cursor. Viewers lose track.
- No result shown. Viewers can’t tell whether it worked.
- Wrong format. An ultrawide screen leads to black bars or tiny content.
From recording to finished video
Your screen recording is the raw material. To turn it into a finished tutorial, you usually still need an intro, transitions, an outro, and editing. Many creators add a facecam that puts what’s on screen into context. Learn how to write that script in How to write a facecam script. For the full process from idea to upload, see our guide on how to make a YouTube tutorial.
How Macreto helps with screen recordings
In Macreto, your screen recordings are the starting point. Record them with whatever tool you like and upload them. Files up to 20 GB each are supported, each file uploads in several parts at once, and uploads resume if your connection drops.
From there, Macreto takes over:
- Review: Your recordings are transcribed and analyzed for content.
- Script: Research and recordings turn into a facecam script in your voice. More under Script.
- Build: Editing with stumbles and pauses removed, slides, animations, AI images, and music.
All that’s left for you is recording the facecam. The first video guide walks through the process step by step.