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Web Video Recorder
Record any browser tab as video or audio — save as MP4 or GIF.
By Virgil DeanUpdated Version 0.1.6
Free · No account required · Available for Chrome
Overview#
Web Video Recorder captures the video and audio playing in a single browser tab — and turns it into an MP4 or animated GIF. It is narrower than a desktop recorder by design: one tab, with optional region framing and microphone voiceover, and nothing else.
Conversion happens locally in your browser through a WebAssembly build of ffmpeg, so there is no server, no upload and no queue. Finished recordings are kept in a local library inside the extension for re-downloading or converting later.
The trade-offs follow from that focus. It records one tab at a time, the tab must stay open and playing while you record, and DRM-protected streams record as black or silent — a browser restriction, not a setting. If you need to capture your whole desktop or other apps, a desktop recorder is the better fit.
What it does
The capabilities Web Video Recorder ships with today, as implemented — not a roadmap.
Record what plays in a tab
Captures the tab's video and audio stream directly, so what you see and hear is what gets recorded.
Region framing with precise calibration
Drag a frame around the part of the page you want to keep. The frame is calibrated against the page, so the crop stays accurate as the page scrolls or resizes.
Microphone voiceover
Mix your microphone into the recording for commentary, alongside the tab's own audio.
MP4 or animated GIF output
Recordings are converted to MP4 or GIF right in your browser using a local WebAssembly build of ffmpeg. No server, no upload, no queue.
One-keystroke controls
Ctrl+Shift+1 starts a tab recording, Ctrl+Shift+2 adds the microphone, Ctrl+Shift+3 pauses and Ctrl+Shift+4 stops — all from the keyboard.
Local library of past recordings
Finished recordings are kept in a local library inside the extension, so you can re-download or convert them later.
Who it is for
Common situations this extension handles well, and what people typically use it for.
Clip a short moment from a page
Record a few seconds of a page's activity — a demo, an animation, a workflow — and keep it as an MP4 for later.
Capture webinars and online meetings
Record the meeting tab with its audio, plus your own microphone if you are presenting.
GIFs for documentation and support
Turn a short interaction into an animated GIF to embed in tickets, docs or changelogs.
Reproduce a bug with sound
Capture exactly what the tab shows and plays when the bug happens, region and audio included.
How to use Web Video Recorder
From install to first result in four steps.
Open the page you want to record
The recorder captures a tab's output, so start on the tab you want to record.
Start recording
Press Ctrl+Shift+1 to record the tab, or Ctrl+Shift+2 to include your microphone. A frame appears — drag it around the area to keep, or leave it full-frame.
Pause and resume as needed
Press Ctrl+Shift+3 to pause or resume. The tab keeps playing; the recording does not.
Stop and download
Press Ctrl+Shift+4 to stop. Pick MP4 or GIF — the conversion runs locally, then the file downloads.
How it compares
An honest look at where this tool fits — and where other options fit better.
| Criterion | Web Video Recorder | Windows Xbox Game Bar | OBS Studio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Captures a browser tab's audio + video | Yes — captures the tab stream directly | Records the whole screen, including other windows | Records displays/windows, not tab streams |
| Region framing over the page | Yes — draggable, calibrated frame | No region selection | Cropping via filters (manual) |
| GIF export built in | Yes | No | No (needs extra tooling) |
| Install required | Extension only | Built into Windows | Desktop application |
| Records outside the browser | No — tabs only | Yes — games and apps | Yes — any source |
Our take: Game Bar and OBS capture your whole screen and work outside the browser. Web Video Recorder is narrower by design: it records what a single tab plays, with region control and GIF export, and nothing else.
Limitations & known boundaries
What this extension does not do, and the cases where results may be imperfect. Stated plainly so you can decide before installing.
- Records one tab at a time. It captures the chosen tab's audio/video, not your whole desktop or other apps.
- The tab must stay open and playing while recording. Closing or navigating away ends the capture.
- DRM-protected streams (most paid movie and music services) are blocked by the browser and will record as black or silent. This is a browser restriction, not a setting.
- Conversion runs on your machine. On slower computers, converting a long clip can take roughly as long as the clip itself.
- GIF output is limited to 256 colors and grows large quickly — for anything longer than a few seconds, MP4 is the better choice.
- Requires Chrome 116 or newer because it relies on the tab-capture and offscreen APIs.
Frequently asked questions
Questions people ask before and after installing.
Does the recording get uploaded anywhere?
No. Capture and the MP4/GIF conversion both happen locally in your browser using WebAssembly. Files are saved to your device and to the extension's local library.
Can it record a tab's audio even when the tab is muted to me?
The recorder captures the audio stream the tab produces. If you mute the tab itself, that mute applies to the capture as well.
Why is my recording of a streaming service a black screen?
DRM-protected content is blocked at the browser level for any capture method, including this one. There is no workaround, and we do not try to defeat DRM.
What's the difference between the MP4 and GIF outputs?
MP4 keeps full color and audio in a small file. GIF has no audio and only 256 colors, but plays inline almost anywhere — good for short, silent clips.
Can I record my microphone over the tab audio?
Yes — start with Ctrl+Shift+2 (or enable the microphone option) and both streams are mixed into the recording.
Is it free?
Web Video Recorder is free to install from the Chrome Web Store and free to use. No account is required.
Changelog
What changed in Web Video Recorder, newest first.
v0.1.6LatestMuch smaller recordings.
- ImprovedVideo files are dramatically smaller — a one-minute recording that used to take around 40 MB now typically lands between 10 and 16 MB, and small selected areas shrink even further. Picture quality stays sharp for screen content.
- ImprovedDownloaded GIFs are several times smaller — a 10-second clip that used to be 6 MB is now around 1.5 MB — with smarter colors and no more inflating small selections to full width.
- FixedThe download progress for GIF no longer jumps to 100% and then restarts from zero — it now climbs steadily to the end.
- ImprovedOn very high-resolution screens, full-page recordings are now saved at up to 1920 pixels wide instead of the screen's raw resolution — this is the main reason the files got smaller while text stays readable.
- FixedFixed a thin strip of the page background (usually white) sneaking into the left edge of region recordings — most visible when recording a centered video, for example on X/Twitter.
- ImprovedYou can now drag a custom selection box starting directly on top of a video or player to record just part of it — previously clicking was the only option there, and dragging required moving away from the element first.
v0.1.5Cleaner in-app wording and guidance.
- ImprovedSimplified the on-screen hints for selecting a recording area.
- ImprovedUpdated the library's empty-state text to be clearer.
v0.1.4First public release on the Chrome Web Store. Earlier 0.1.x builds were development versions before the public listing.
- AddedRecord any browser tab with picture and sound — the audio playing in the tab, your microphone for narration, or both mixed into one track.
- AddedRegion recording — drag a rectangle on the page and record just that area; full-page mode records the whole tab.
- AddedPause and resume at any time during a recording.
- AddedNew recordings save straight to MP4 (H.264) with no conversion wait, and can be exported as MP4 or animated GIF — all processing happens on your device.
- AddedA recording library with thumbnails and playback, plus a quick in-page panel to preview and download right after a recording finishes.
- AddedKeyboard shortcuts for start, stop, pause and resume (Ctrl+Shift+1 to 4).
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Editorial disclosure
We are the developers of the extensions documented on this site. This page describes the shipped version as we built and tested it — including its limitations — and was fact-checked on . Claims are based on our own testing of released builds; where third-party tools are named, their capabilities are described as documented by their publishers.
Try Web Video Recorder in your browser
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