1. [Clacky](https://clacky.app/) 2. › 3. [A–Z](https://clacky.app/features/#a-z) 4. › 5. [Answers](https://clacky.app/answers/) 6. › 7. Crop a screen recording on a Mac Answer # How do I crop a screen recording on a Mac? QuickTime Player can trim, rotate and flip a video but not crop it, so use iMovie, which is free: select the clip, click the **Cropping** button above the viewer, choose **Crop to Fill** and drag the frame around the part to keep. The easiest crop is the one you don’t need: next time, press Shift-Command-5 and choose **Record Selected Portion**, so only that area is recorded. [Try free for 3 days](https://clacky.app/try/)[Pricing](https://clacky.app/#pricing) ## Crop in iMovie iMovie keeps the project shape (usually 16:9), so a narrow crop is enlarged to fill it. Crop close to that shape, or the picture gets soft. 1. Create a project in **iMovie** and drag your recording into the timeline. 2. Select the clip and click the **Cropping** button above the viewer. 3. Choose **Crop to Fill**. A frame appears over the video. 4. Drag and resize the frame around the part you want, then click **Apply**. 5. Choose **File → Share → File** to export. ## Record only the part you need On macOS 26 the toolbar can also record one window. Smaller recordings are lighter files too: see [how big a screen recording is](https://clacky.app/blog/how-big-is-a-screen-recording-on-mac/). 1. Press **Shift-Command-5** and click **Record Selected Portion**. 2. Drag the box around the app or area. Under **Options**, turn on **Remember Last Selection** to reuse it. 3. Click **Record**, and stop with the Stop button in the menu bar or **Command-Control-Esc**. ## With Clacky Studio Open the recording with **Edit in Studio** (or any video with **Edit a Video**) and click **Crop…** under Crop recording. Pick **No menu bar or Dock** to hide both in one click, **Around your clicks** to frame where you worked, or **Free** to drag the corners. **Reset** puts it back. Zooms and captions work inside the crop. Need another shape? Studio also makes 9:16, 4:5 and 1:1 from the same take, with the camera following your pointer. See [vertical video from a screen recording](https://clacky.app/use/vertical-video-from-screen-recording/). ## Where these facts come from Checked on 5 November 2026. - [Apple: Ken Burns and cropping in iMovie on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/imovie/mov26d3f6a6c/mac) - [Apple: Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/take-a-screenshot-or-screen-recording-mh26782/mac) (Record Selected Portion, Remember Last Selection, Record a window on macOS 26) - [Apple: Trim a movie or clip in QuickTime Player](https://support.apple.com/guide/quicktime-player/trim-a-movie-or-clip-qtpf2115f6fd/mac) ## Questions ### Can I crop a video in the Photos app on a Mac? Photos has an edit view for videos, but for a screen recording iMovie gives you more control over the crop and the export. ### Does cropping lower the quality? It enlarges what is left. Record on a Retina display, or record just the area, to keep text sharp. ### Can I crop to a vertical video for TikTok? Yes, in iMovie only with a lot of fiddling. Clacky Studio has a 9:16 shape that follows your pointer. Facts checked on 5 November 2026. ## Related - [Hide the menu bar and Dock in a screen recordingTurn on Automatically hide and show for the menu bar and the Dock in System Settings, record a selected area, or crop them out later in an editor.](https://clacky.app/answers/hide-menu-bar-dock-recording/) - [Trim a screen recording on a MacOpen it in QuickTime Player, choose Edit → Trim, drag the yellow handles and click Trim. To cut a part from the middle, split the clip first.](https://clacky.app/answers/trim-screen-recording-mac/) - [CropHide the menu bar and the Dock in one click, crop to where you clicked, or drag the corners. Zooms and captions work inside the crop.](https://clacky.app/features/video-crop/) - [Vertical video from a screen recordingMake a 9:16 clip for TikTok, Reels and Shorts from a Mac screen recording, with the camera following your pointer. Also 4:5, 16:9 and 1:1.](https://clacky.app/use/vertical-video-from-screen-recording/) - [How big is a screen recording on a Mac? I measured itI saved four test recordings seven ways. A minute of typing was 2.5 MB, scrolling 49 MB, ProRes almost 1 GB. What decides the size, and how to shrink it.](https://clacky.app/blog/how-big-is-a-screen-recording-on-mac/) [A–Z](https://clacky.app/features/#a-z)[Pricing](https://clacky.app/#pricing)[Every feature](https://clacky.app/features/) ## Make something on your Mac today. 3 days free, every feature. Then $4.99 once. [Try free for 3 days](https://clacky.app/try/)