1. [Clacky](https://clacky.app/) 2. › 3. [A–Z](https://clacky.app/features/#a-z) 4. › 5. [Answers](https://clacky.app/answers/) 6. › 7. Stop a screen recording on a Mac Answer # How do I stop a screen recording on a Mac? Click the **Stop** button (a small square in a circle) in the menu bar, or press **Command-Control-Esc**. That stops a recording made with Shift-Command-5 or QuickTime Player. The video is saved as “Screen Recording \[date\] at \[time\].mov” on your desktop, or wherever you picked under Options → Save to. If you recorded with QuickTime Player, it opens the video for you. [Try free for 3 days](https://clacky.app/try/)[Pricing](https://clacky.app/#pricing) ![Clacky’s recording pill with the time, Resume, a red Stop button and a trash can to discard the take](https://clacky.app/features27/record-pause-light.webp)![Clacky’s recording pill with the time, Resume, a red Stop button and a trash can to discard the take](https://clacky.app/features27/record-pause-dark.webp) ## Stop Apple’s recorder 1. Move the pointer to the top of the screen if the menu bar is hidden (in a full-screen app, for example). 2. Click the **Stop** button in the menu bar, or press **Command-Control-Esc**. 3. Wait a moment for the thumbnail in the bottom-right corner. Click it to trim or share, or let it slide away and the file is saved. 4. Find the file on the desktop, or in the place you chose under **Options → Save to**. ## If the recording won’t stop or the file is missing - **No Stop button?** Some menu bar tools hide icons. Use Command-Control-Esc instead. - **Can’t find the file?** Look in the Save to place under Options. It could be Documents, or the video opened in Preview or QuickTime Player. - **Mac froze while recording?** A recording that never stopped may be lost. Keep long recordings short, and leave free disk space: see [how big a screen recording is](https://clacky.app/blog/how-big-is-a-screen-recording-on-mac/). ## Stop a Clacky recording Clacky’s Screen Recorder (macOS 15 or later) gives you three places to stop: the **Stop** button on the small recording pill, **Stop** in the notch at the top of the screen (Clacky draws one on screens without it), and **Stop Recording · 0:42** in Clacky’s menu-bar menu, with the time so far. The pill also has a trash button to throw the take away. When you stop, a preview slides in at the bottom right: rename it, Make a Clip, Share, Copy, Show in Finder, Save As… or Move to Trash. The file is already in Movies › Clacky. ## Where these facts come from Checked on 5 November 2026. - [Apple: How to record the screen on Mac](https://support.apple.com/en-us/102618) (Stop button, Command-Control-Esc, file name, QuickTime opens the recording) - [Apple: Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac](https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/take-a-screenshot-or-screen-recording-mh26782/mac) (Options, Save to) ## Questions ### What is the keyboard shortcut to stop a screen recording on a Mac? Command-Control-Esc. It stops a recording made with the Screenshot toolbar or QuickTime Player. ### Can I pause instead of stopping? Not in Apple’s recorder. Clacky’s recorder pauses and resumes into one file. See [can I pause a screen recording](https://clacky.app/answers/pause-screen-recording-mac/). ### Where do Clacky recordings go? Movies › Clacky in your home folder. Nothing is uploaded. Facts checked on 5 November 2026. ## Related - [Pause a screen recording on a MacNot with the built-in tools: Shift-Command-5 and QuickTime only stop. Stop and join the clips, or use a recorder with Pause, like Clacky’s.](https://clacky.app/answers/pause-screen-recording-mac/) - [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/) - [Where does Clacky save my screen recordings and screenshots?Recordings go to Movies › Clacky (~/Movies/Clacky) and screenshots to Pictures › Clacky Screenshots. You can change both folders. Nothing is uploaded.](https://clacky.app/answers/where-clacky-saves-files/) - [Stop from the notchWhile you record, the notch shows a red dot and the time, with Pause and Stop beside it. They never show up in the video.](https://clacky.app/features/notch-stop/) - [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/)