Recording a 30-second bug report shouldn't produce a 400 MB file, require an account, or upload your screen to someone else's cloud. That frustration is why I built Camly.
Camly is a free, open-source (MIT) screen recorder, screenshot tool and webcam recorder for macOS, Windows and Linux (X11). It is compact by default and saves everything locally.
| Feature | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Screen recorder | Record a display, an application window, or a selected region |
| Screenshot tool | Capture, copy to clipboard and preview |
| Webcam recorder | Take photos and record camera clips with device selection |
| Face-cam bubble | Show a movable, resizable camera overlay while recording |
| Quality presets | Compact (up to 1080p), Balanced (up to 1440p), Retina (native) or Custom |
| Video compression | Drop an existing video into the library to compress it locally |
| Media library | Filter, preview, reveal, copy or trash recordings and screenshots |
| Safeguards | Fragmented MP4/MOV output and a low-disk auto-stop threshold |
The shortcut is fully remappable in Settings.
The Compact preset is the default: up to 1080p at 30 fps. Under the hood, Camly uses the best encoder available on each platform:
Need maximum compatibility? Choose H.264 + MP4 and the file will play almost anywhere. Need more detail? Switch to Balanced or Retina. Frame rate (30/60 fps) is a separate setting, so you control size and smoothness independently.
File size still depends on what's on screen — a busy scrolling page compresses less than a static code editor. Camly gives you sensible defaults, not magic numbers.
Camly has no account, no cloud upload and no analytics. Recordings go to the folder you choose. Sharing them is a separate, deliberate action you take yourself.
| Capability | macOS 15+ | Windows 10/11 | Linux |
|---|---|---|---|
| Screen recording | ScreenCaptureKit | FFmpeg gdigrab | FFmpeg x11grab (X11 only) |
| System audio | ✅ | Not yet | Via PulseAudio monitor |
| Pause / resume | ✅ | Not yet | Not yet |
Wayland screen recording isn't implemented yet; on Linux, use an X11 session.
Camly isn't trying to be either. It doesn't host your videos like Loom, and it doesn't do streaming and scene composition like OBS. It is for the most common job: quickly capture something, keep a small local file, move on.
Grab the latest installer for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), Windows (EXE/MSI) or Linux (DEB, RPM, AppImage) from GitHub Releases.
If Camly saves you time, please ⭐ star the repository — it helps other people find it. Bug reports, translations and platform testing are all welcome.
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