[Clacky](https://clacky.app/) / Guides # 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. On this page 1. [The built-in option: Show Mouse Clicks](#the-built-in-option-show-mouse-clicks) 2. [Editors that add clicks afterwards](#editors-that-add-clicks-afterwards) 3. [A live click visualizer](#a-live-click-visualizer) 4. [With Clacky, step by step](#with-clacky-step-by-step) ## 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](https://clacky.app/record-click-sound/). 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. [Try free, 7 daysTry free, 7 days](https://clacky.app/try/) ## With Clacky, step by step 1. Get Clacky at [clacky.app](https://clacky.app/try/) 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 - [Claude Code & Codex notificationsA sound or a notification when your agent is done or needs you.](https://clacky.app/claude-code-notifications/) - [Keep your Mac awake, lid closedClamshell mode, caffeinate, pmset and apps, and what each one really does.](https://clacky.app/keep-mac-awake-lid-closed/) - [Keyboard & click sounds on MacHow they work, the permission they need, the apps, and fixes.](https://clacky.app/mac-keyboard-sounds/) - [Click sound on MacNo built-in setting: how to add one, and the permission it needs.](https://clacky.app/mac-click-sound/) - [Teleprompter on MacRead your script under the camera, and keep it out of the recording.](https://clacky.app/teleprompter-mac/) - [Show clicks and record click soundsGet the click ripple and the click sound into any Mac screen recording.](https://clacky.app/record-click-sound/) - [Typing test with keyboard soundsA 30-second typing test you can hear, right in your browser.](https://clacky.app/typing-test/) New to Clacky? It’s a small Mac menu-bar app with sounds, a recorder, screenshots, Mac health and agent alerts in one dashboard. [See every tool](https://clacky.app/) · [Try it free for 7 days](https://clacky.app/try/) Checked on 11 October 2026. Something changed, or something here is wrong? Email hello@clacky.app.