Video Screen Capture Tools for Linux
SimpleScreenRecorder
Installation
sudo apt install simplescreenrecorder
Record a screen rectangle (no black bars)
- Launch SimpleScreenRecorder
- Choose “Record a rectangle” → click and drag to select the video area
- Enable “Record audio” → Backend: PulseAudio → Source: Monitor of your output
- Click “Start recording”
- Press Ctrl+C in the terminal or click “Save recording” when done
Capabilities
Rectangle/window/full-screen recording, built-in H.264/AV1/VP9 encoding, separate cursor options, live preview, low CPU usage, Pause/Resume, hotkeys.
OBS Studio
Installation
sudo apt install obs-studio
Record a screen rectangle (no black bars)
- Open OBS → Scene → Sources → + → Screen Capture (XSHM)
- Select display → crop to desired area (Alt-drag edges)
- Right-click the source → Transform → Edit Transform → Bounding Box Type: “Scale to inner bounds”
- Sources → + → Audio Output Capture → select PulseAudio output
- Bottom-right → Start Recording (default hotkey Ctrl+Alt+R)
Capabilities
Professional-grade recording & streaming, multi-source scenes, filters, transitions, virtual camera, plugins, advanced audio mixer, NVENC/AMF/VAAPI hardware encoding, studio mode.