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First Recording

Two paths to your first GIF -- choose whichever fits your workflow.

Using the App

  1. Launch QuikGIF from your Applications folder. It appears as an icon in your menubar.
  2. Grant Screen Recording permission when prompted. macOS will ask you to quit and reopen the app.
  3. Press CMD+SHIFT+6 (the default global hotkey). A selection overlay appears.
  4. Drag to select the area you want to record. Resize or reposition the selection if needed.
  5. Press Return or click Start to begin recording.
  6. Press S to save, or Escape/Return to stop. The GIF is copied to your clipboard and a notification confirms the save.
tip

You can also start a full-screen or window recording from the menubar dropdown menu.

Using the CLI

Record a specific application window for 5 seconds:

quikgif record --app Terminal --duration 5 -o demo.gif

Record an arbitrary screen region:

quikgif record --region 100,100,800,600 --duration 5 -o region.gif

Record interactively (stop with Ctrl+C):

quikgif record --app Safari -o safari-demo.gif
info

If multiple windows match the --app name, QuikGIF shows an interactive picker. Use quikgif list-windows to find specific window IDs and pass them with --window.

What's Next