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How do I show mouse clicks in a screen recording on Mac?

Updated 11 October 2026

Short answer: macOS can draw a plain circle on each click, but only in its own screen recorder (Shift-Command-5 → Options → Show Mouse Clicks) and with no sound; for clicks that show in any recorder, call or stream, or a click you can hear, you need a click visualizer app.

Here are the honest options, from free to paid, and how to set it up with Clacky.

The short version

  • Built in, free: Shift-Command-5 → Options → Show Mouse Clicks. A plain circle, only in Apple’s recorder, no sound.
  • Editors can add click highlights after you record. Good for a polished video, no help on a live call.
  • A click visualizer draws the click on your real screen, live, so every recorder, call and stream sees it.
  • Use one circle at a time: with Apple’s option and a visualizer both on, every click gets two.

The built-in option: Show Mouse Clicks

  1. Press Shift-Command-5 to open the screenshot and recording toolbar.
  2. Click Options and pick Show Mouse Clicks.
  3. Choose Record Entire Screen or Record Selected Portion, and record.

Each click gets a circle in the video. It’s free and needs nothing installed. The limits: it only works inside Apple’s recorder (not in OBS, Loom, a video call or a live stream), you can’t change how it looks, and there’s no click sound.

Editors that add clicks afterwards

Some screen recording apps and video editors add click highlights, or zoom in on clicks, after you record. That suits a polished video. But it happens in the edit: it doesn’t help on a live call or stream, and it’s one more step for every clip.

A live click visualizer

A click visualizer is an app that draws a ripple under the pointer on every click, on your actual screen. Because it’s really there, any recorder captures it, and so does everyone watching a call or a stream. Some also play a click sound. The sound ends up in your video only if your recorder records the Mac’s audio: see how to record click sounds.

Clicks you can see and hear, live

Clacky draws a ripple on every click and plays a click sound, in any app and any recorder, and has its own recorder on macOS 15 or later. Free for 7 days, no card.

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With Clacky, step by step

  1. Get Clacky at clacky.app and open it. It lives in the menu bar.
  2. Allow Input Monitoring when the welcome tour asks, so Clacky can hear your clicks.
  3. Click anywhere: a ripple appears under the pointer, with a click sound. Pick the ripple’s style, size and colour in Settings.
  4. Record. On macOS 15 or later, menu → Record Screen… records the screen or an area with the ripples and click sounds in the video. Any other recorder works too: record the whole screen or an area (a single-window recording leaves the ripple out).
  5. Presenting live? Turn on Presenter Mode in Settings → Presenter for a cursor halo that keeps your pointer easy to follow.

If Apple’s Show Mouse Clicks is on too, turn it off, or every click gets two circles.

Questions

Does QuickTime show mouse clicks?

QuickTime’s New Screen Recording opens the same toolbar as Shift-Command-5, so its Options menu has Show Mouse Clicks too. It draws a plain circle, only in that recording, with no sound.

Why is the click ripple missing from my recording?

You probably recorded a single window. A click visualizer draws on its own layer above your apps, so record the whole screen or an area.

Can I add click sounds to a video I already recorded?

Not with Clacky: it plays sounds live, as you click. To add them afterwards, use a video editor.

More guides

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Checked on 11 October 2026. Something changed, or something here is wrong? Email hello@clacky.app.