Windows already has a quick recorder: Win+G opens Xbox Game Bar, and Win+Alt+R starts and stops a clip. That is fine for a short gameplay capture. How to screen record on Windows on this page is the desktop path we document: a GitHub program that can record a region, a window, or a monitor, with the file landing in a folder you control. The capture job in fewer Windows-specific steps sits on Record screen. A comparison with Bandicam sits on Screen recorder vs Bandicam.

This is ShareX. Windows. GPL. We did not make it. Official files live on GitHub Releases. The repo is ShareX/ShareX. Their site is getsharex.com. This page still points at GitHub. This site does not host the installer. Skip Softonic, CNET, and unofficial wrappers.

The button on this page goes to Install on the home page. Home is Screen recorder. The winget box on home is the live command. Trust notes sit on Screen recorder download safe.

Install so you can screen record on Windows

Paste this into Windows Terminal or Command Prompt:

winget install -e --id ShareX.ShareX
Copy

If winget is missing, install App Installer from Microsoft, then paste the command again. Official Microsoft links only. The id is ShareX.ShareX. Do not paste a lookalike id. Steam and Microsoft Store listings exist on their README. This page still documents winget and GitHub, not a store CTA.

The other path is GitHub Releases. Open the latest release. For most PCs, take the setup x64 exe. Names look like ShareX-21.0.0-setup-x64.exe. Portable is the x64 zip if you do not want an installer. Latest live tag observed on this site is v21.0.0. More of the live list sits on Screen recorder releases. LICENSE sits on Screen recorder GitHub.

How to screen record on Windows with this app

  1. Install ShareX with the command on this page, or open the latest GitHub release and pick the setup x64 exe.
  2. Open ShareX. You should get the main window, not a browser tab.
  3. Open the capture menu and choose Screen recording. If you want a key, open Hotkey settings and bind Screen recording to a combination you will remember. We will not invent a default key here. The menu item is the reliable start.
  4. Select the region, window, or monitor. Start the take. The first recording may fetch FFmpeg. That is how this app encodes the video. Wait for that fetch to finish if it asks.
  5. Stop when the take is done. Open the output folder ShareX used. Play the file once. If audio is missing, check the recording options for which device was selected, then record a ten-second test.

That list is how to screen record on Windows on this PC. You are not uploading the clip unless you later turn on an after-capture upload. Default can stay on save to disk. Check After capture tasks if you do not want an upload.

Game Bar versus this Windows path

Win+G is built in. It is good when you already live in Game Bar and you only need the active window or a game. How to screen record on Windows here is for people who want a region, a custom folder, or a recorder that is not tied to Game Bar. You can keep both. This page does not uninstall Game Bar. It documents ShareX.

Snipping Tool on current Windows can record a region too. Short, simple, built in. If that already saved the clip you needed, you are done. If you wanted hotkeys, a history window, and GitHub releases you can pin, stay on this install.

Do not confuse this with a brightness tool. Screen brightness is not this job. Skip it. Do not open a second phrase page for recording "for PC." Home already is the screen recorder page.

Region, monitor, and audio on Windows

A region is a rectangle you drag. Use it when the rest of the desktop is clutter. A monitor capture is the whole display. A window capture follows one app if the recorder supports it in that mode. Pick the smallest target that still shows the work. Smaller target, smaller file, fewer accidental pop-ups in the take.

Audio is a separate choice: none, system sound, microphone, or both, depending on what the recording options list the day you open them. Test ten seconds with a YouTube tab and a sentence into the mic if both matter. Then look at the file. Do not record a one-hour lecture as the first test.

Output folder lives in ShareX settings. Put it on a drive with room. A desktop full of mp4 files is how people lose the take in a pile. Name the folder Recordings. After capture, History in ShareX lists recent files so you can open the last one without hunting Explorer.

FFmpeg, first run, and where the file lands

Screen recording in this app uses FFmpeg. If FFmpeg is not present, ShareX can fetch it. That is expected. It is not a second installer from a random site. Stay in the app prompt. When the encode is ready, start the take again.

Stop writes the file. If the take looks stuck, wait a few seconds for the encode to flush. Then open History. If the file is missing, check the output path and whether After capture tasks moved it. Do not grab a "screen recorder exe" from a download blog while you wait. The GitHub build is already on this machine if you used winget or the setup exe.

A failed first take is usually audio device, a region that missed the window, or FFmpeg still installing. Fix one thing. Record ten seconds. Then do the real take.

If you record a browser tab that plays protected video, the rectangle can come out black. That is the app blocking capture, not a broken ShareX install. Try a different window. If you record a second monitor, make sure the region sits on that display. A region that starts on the wrong screen is a take of the desktop clock.

How do I screen record on Windows?

Install with winget install -e --id ShareX.ShareX or the setup x64 exe from GitHub Releases. Open ShareX. Capture menu, Screen recording. Select the area. Record. Stop. Open the file from the output folder. Game Bar (Win+G) is the built-in extra, not a replacement for this path. The install pointer is Install on the home page.

Do I need Game Bar to screen record on Windows?

No. Game Bar is optional and already on many PCs. This page is ShareX from GitHub. You can use Game Bar for a quick clip and this app when you want a region and a folder you chose.

Where does the Windows screen recording file go?

Into the output folder set in ShareX. History lists recent captures. Change the folder in settings if Desktop is already crowded.

Did you make this how to screen record on Windows tool?

No. ShareX is published on GitHub under GPL. Official files live on GitHub Releases. This site only points at that page. We do not host the installer.