Openscreen

Open source alternative to Screen Studio and Tella

7.3K stars
MIT
Active this week
Last commit 1 day ago

Last verified Nov 15, 2026

Create polished demo videos from screen recordings on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with auto-zoom, styled backgrounds, and AI editing. MIT licensed.

Visit website GitHub7.3K

Read the full breakdownWho it is for, how it works, trade-offs, the quick start and the FAQ

who it's for

Who Openscreen is for#

Developers shipping demo videos with pull requests

Record a walkthrough of the new feature, apply auto-zooms on click points, and export to MP4 for the PR description. With the OpenScreen MCP server wired to Claude Code or Codex, the agent records and attaches the video automatically after the code change, without opening the editor.

Skip if:

Teams where video walkthroughs are not part of the PR review culture, or projects where the recording step adds friction the team has not agreed to take on.

Indie makers producing launch content for X and Product Hunt

Capture the product, apply a styled background, trim dead air with the transcript editor, and export a GIF or MP4 sized for the platform. No video editing background required: auto-zoom and background tools cover the common launch-post needs in the same desktop app.

Skip if:

Launches requiring professional voiceover production, motion graphics, or screen recordings longer than a few minutes where a full non-linear video editor is a better fit.

Windows and Linux teams locked out of Mac-only recorders

Screen Studio requires macOS. Openscreen provides the same demo-video workflow on Windows and Linux with full feature parity, including auto-zoom, styled backgrounds, captions, and GPU export. No compromise on features for the platform shift, and no Mac machine required to produce professional-quality demo videos.

Skip if:

Teams where every member already uses macOS and has Screen Studio licensed.

Documentation teams recording product walkthroughs

Record a specific window or the full screen, add captions from the on-device Whisper transcription, and annotate with arrows and text. The editable transcript makes trimming accurate: cut the sentence from the transcript and the video segment goes with it. Export to MP4 for embedding in docs or to GIF for inline display.

Skip if:

Docs teams that need interactive tutorials, branching video flows, or content hosted on a platform-specific video documentation service with its own recording tool.

the problem

The problem it solves#

Recording a screen is easy; making the result look professional enough to post is not. Raw captures need zooms applied manually, bland desktop backgrounds hidden, cursor clicks made visible, and all the dead air trimmed out. Tools built for video editing are overkill for a two-minute product walkthrough, and most screen recorders export a flat file and leave the polishing to you.

Paid tools like Screen Studio solved this for macOS. If your team runs Windows or Linux, the same workflow did not exist: the alternative was a video editor, a graphics tool for backgrounds, and a caption service added separately, three steps for a job that should be one.

how Openscreen solves it

How it solves it#

GPU-accelerated MP4 and GIF export

Renders and encodes on the GPU using Metal on macOS, D3D11 on Windows, and Vulkan on Linux, with an automatic CPU fallback. Export at multiple aspect ratios and resolutions without waiting on a software encoder. The same export pipeline runs in the CLI for headless use.

Auto-zoom that follows the cursor

Applies zooms automatically as you work, with the zoom point tracking your cursor. Depth, duration, easing, and pixel-precise position are all configurable. Manual zoom points can be added, repositioned, or removed in the timeline. Post-recording path smoothing cleans up cursor jitter before the zooms lock in.

AI editing assistant with bring-your-own API key

Describe the edit in a chat prompt and Openscreen applies it to the timeline: cuts, zooms, speed ramps, annotations, and camera framing. Works with Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, Mistral, OpenRouter, MiniMax, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. The feature is disabled by default and nothing is phoned home until you configure a key.

On-device captions with editable transcript

Transcribes voiceovers locally using Whisper with no audio uploaded anywhere. The transcript is fully editable: deleting a sentence cuts that segment from the video. Optional subtitle translation is supported. Captions work offline and in 17 languages including Arabic, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified Chinese.

CLI for scripts, CI, and AI coding agents

Records headlessly, edits the .openscreen project file programmatically (zooms, annotations, trims), and renders MP4 or GIF with the full export pipeline, with no visible windows and NDJSON output via --json. The same CLI backs the MCP server that lets AI coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor) record and attach demo videos to pull requests automatically.

Native capture on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Uses ScreenCaptureKit on macOS, Windows Graphics Capture on Windows, and PipeWire or direct X11 on Linux, all producing the same editing and export feature set. Webcam overlay with picture-in-picture, eight snap positions, and shape options works on all three platforms. The editor, backgrounds, captions, and AI tools are identical across operating systems.

strengths · trade-offs

Strengths and trade-offs#

Strengths

MIT license with no paywall and no watermarkEvery feature is free for personal and commercial use, including the AI editing assistant, GPU export, auto-zoom, and CLI. Nothing is held behind a subscription or trial period. The MIT license allows forking, modification, and commercial redistribution with no restrictions.
Full feature parity on Windows, macOS, and LinuxScreen Studio is macOS-only. Openscreen ships the same editor, backgrounds, captions, and AI tools on all three platforms, with native capture pipelines on each. Teams running mixed operating systems get the same output from every machine, and Linux users are not relegated to a reduced feature set.
AI agent integration via CLI and MCP serverAn MCP server and an installable skill let AI coding agents record, edit, export, and attach demo videos to pull requests without human intervention. The npx skills add installer sets up the agent-side workflow in one step. This positions Openscreen as infrastructure for agentic development workflows, not just a manual recording tool.
On-device captions with no audio uploadWhisper runs locally: voiceover audio is transcribed on the device and never sent to a third-party service. The transcript doubles as a cut tool, and the feature works offline. This matters for teams with confidentiality requirements around internal tooling demos or recordings that contain sensitive on-screen content.

Trade-offs

-Active development with rough edges and breaking changesThe README explicitly notes rough edges and occasional breaking changes, including to the .openscreen project format and the CLI. A project file from an earlier version may not load in a newer one. The repository was created in March 2026 and has 34 open issues. For teams that need a stable, battle-tested tool, the experience is less polished than the paid alternatives at this stage.
-Linux system audio needs PipeWireRecording system audio on Linux requires PipeWire, the default on Ubuntu 22.04+ and Fedora 34+, but absent from older or minimal installs. PulseAudio-only setups capture microphone audio but not system audio. Wayland click effects also require a udev rule or input group membership for the helper to read mouse buttons.
-Standalone Windows installer is not code-signedThe .exe from GitHub Releases is not code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen shows a warning on first run. The Microsoft Store build avoids this: it is signed during certification and installs without prompts. Teams that cannot use the Store (Windows LTSC, locked-down work machines, offline installs) will see the SmartScreen warning on every new release.

versus alternatives

Openscreen vs alternatives#

Openscreen vs Screen Studio

Screen Studio is the macOS-only paid screen recorder that defined the polished-demo category. Both tools offer auto-zoom, styled backgrounds, and camera overlays; Openscreen adds a CLI for headless recording, an MCP server for AI coding agents, and on-device caption transcription that Screen Studio does not ship.

Feature	Openscreen	Screen Studio
License	MIT	Proprietary
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	macOS only
Price	Free	One-time purchase
Auto-zoom	Yes	Yes
Styled backgrounds	Yes	Yes
On-device captions	Yes (Whisper, offline)	No
CLI and headless export	Yes	No
AI editing assistant	Yes (bring your own key)	No

Openscreen wins for Windows and Linux users, for teams running mixed operating systems, and for anyone who needs a CLI or AI agent integration. Screen Studio has a longer commercial track record and was code-signed and notarized before Openscreen was released; teams that need a battle-tested macOS tool and are comfortable with a one-time purchase will find the experience more polished at this stage of Openscreen's development.

Openscreen vs Tella

Tella is a commercial screen recorder with a cloud-based editing and storage workflow. It competes with Openscreen on AI-enhanced editing: Tella's paid plan includes Auto Zoom and Auto Cut, the equivalent of Openscreen's always-free auto-zoom and AI assistant.

Feature	Openscreen	Tella
License	MIT	Proprietary
Data storage	Local files	Cloud
Price	Free	Free tier, then paid
Auto-zoom	Included	Paid plan only
AI Auto Cut	Via AI assistant	Paid plan only
Linux support	Yes	No desktop app
CLI and headless export	Yes	No

Openscreen includes every AI editing feature at no cost, stores recordings locally, and runs on Linux. Tella's cloud-based approach has one genuine advantage: recordings are accessible from any device without managing local file storage, and its web interface requires less configuration than Openscreen's desktop-and-CLI workflow.

install · quick start

Quick start#

bash

Install via the Homebrew cask on macOS, the Microsoft Store on Windows, or the package for your Linux distribution.

```bash
brew install --cask openscreen
```

tech stack · detected from GitHub

What it's built on#

Languages: CC++JavaScriptRustSwiftTypeScript
Frameworks: ElectronReact
Tooling: esbuildFFmpeg

frequently asked

FAQ#

Is Openscreen completely free, with no watermark or subscription?

Yes. Every feature, including auto-zoom, styled backgrounds, the AI editing assistant, and GPU-accelerated export, is free for personal and commercial use. There is no paid tier, no watermark, and no trial period. The project is MIT licensed and funded through GitHub Sponsors and Ko-fi.

Does Openscreen work on Linux, and what are the limitations?

Yes. Packages are published for Debian/Ubuntu (.deb), Fedora/RHEL (.rpm), Arch (.pacman), and any distribution (.AppImage), plus a Nix flake for NixOS and Home Manager. The editor and all export features are identical to macOS and Windows. The main Linux caveats: system audio needs PipeWire (the default on Ubuntu 22.04+ and Fedora 34+), and Wayland click effects need a udev rule or input group for the helper to read mouse buttons.

How does the AI editing assistant work, and does it upload my recording?

You provide your own API key for one of the supported providers: Claude, OpenAI, Gemini, Mistral, OpenRouter, MiniMax, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. The feature is disabled by default; nothing is phoned home until you configure a key. You describe the edit in a chat prompt and Openscreen applies cuts, zooms, speed ramps, annotations, or camera framing to the timeline. The video itself is not uploaded: the AI sees the timeline structure, not the raw video file.

What is the relationship between this project and the original Openscreen repository?

Siddharth Vaddem created the original project and archived the repository at v1.5.0. Development continued at getopenscreen/openscreen with the original author's approval, under the same name and the same MIT license. The getopenscreen/openscreen repository is the active continuation; the archived siddharthvaddem/openscreen repository stops at v1.5.0 and receives no further updates.

Can I use Openscreen in CI or wire it to an AI coding agent like Claude Code?

Yes. Openscreen ships a CLI that records headlessly, edits the .openscreen project file programmatically, and renders MP4 or GIF without any visible windows, with NDJSON output via --json. For AI coding agents, an MCP server and a demo skill are available; the README's AI editing section documents the two setup commands for Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor. Once configured, ask the agent to add a video of the change to the PR and it handles the storyboard, recording, editing, export, and attachment automatically.

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Openscreen vs Screen Studio

Feature	Openscreen	Screen Studio
License	MIT	Proprietary
Platforms	Windows, macOS, Linux	macOS only
Price	Free	One-time purchase
Auto-zoom	Yes	Yes
Styled backgrounds	Yes	Yes
On-device captions	Yes (Whisper, offline)	No
CLI and headless export	Yes	No
AI editing assistant	Yes (bring your own key)	No

Openscreen vs Tella

Feature	Openscreen	Tella
License	MIT	Proprietary
Data storage	Local files	Cloud
Price	Free	Free tier, then paid
Auto-zoom	Included	Paid plan only
AI Auto Cut	Via AI assistant	Paid plan only
Linux support	Yes	No desktop app
CLI and headless export	Yes	No