The 15 Best Linux Screen Recorder Tools: The Experts’ Recommendation

Screencasting is an important task for many people for many reasons, including making a video tutorial, creating a presentation, compiling a how-to tutorial, doing a software review, or having the fun of streaming while playing pc games. Moreover, nowadays, many users are making an earning opportunity for themselves through YouTube, Facebook video, or any other video hosting sites by making many helpful how-to guide videos. There are lots of Linux screen recorders available in the market. Still, here I am only going to share a list of the best Linux screen capture and Live video streaming software and install those on Ubuntu as this site focuses solely on Ubuntu Linux.

Best Linux Screen Recorder

This list of best Linux screen recorder is not listed in any specific order. I could not include all the features, and all the points are also collected from their respective official websites.

1.  Kazam

Kazam is one of the best lightweight screen recorders available for Linux desktops. It’s a very simple and nifty tool for screencasting. Kazam comes with little configuration and is best for newbie users who need to capture the screen content and record a video file. It supports audio recording and various video file formats.

Install on Ubuntu

Run the following command into the Terminal:

sudo apt install kazam

New Version With Broadcast Feature Instruction from Mark Button ( Admin of FB Ubuntu Group page)

I have 3 different PPA’s for Kazam; 2 of the 3 are basically the same. The 3rd one is by a different developer that adds ‘broadcast’ as one of the features. It might be worth looking into; however, I forgot to grab the URL while searching on the launchpad.

New Version With Broadcast

sudo apt-add-repository ppa:sylvain-pineau/kazam
sudo apt update
sudo apt install kazam
sudo apt upgrade

How to Remove Kazam

sudo add-apt-repository --remove ppa:sylvain-pineau/kazam
sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

We can perform all tasks in the steps mentioned above from a command line and Shortcut Keys.

• Use the below keys to Start the Recording

SUPER-CTRL-R

• Use the below keys to Finish the recording

SUPER-CTRL-F

• Use the below keys to Pause the recording

SUPER-CTRL-P

• Use the below Keys to Quit the recording

SUPER-CTRL-Q

Note: SUPER key refers to the windows key, which is available in most computers.

2.  SimpleScreenRecorder

As its name implies, SimpleScreenRecorder is a simple and easy-to-go Linux screen recorder software. It’s a Qt-based screencasting application. Like Kazam, it also supports various video output formats and audio recordings. This Linux screen capture software is very lightweight that works smoothly on an old system.

Install on Ubuntu

This Ubuntu screen capture software is available via PPA. Run the following command one by one into the Terminal:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:maarten-baert/simplescreenrecorder
sudo apt update
sudo apt install simplescreenrecorder

3.  RecordMyDesktop

RecordMyDesktop is a screencasting app that can make videos with synchronized audio, and users can select either any selected desktop area or the entire screen. It’s basically a CLI-based Linux screen capture app created on top of the C programming language. It offers two different GUI based on GTK and QT4. Users can pause the screencast and resume at any time. It let you highlight the important section of your video tutorial or screencasting.

Install on Ubuntu

It’s available on the Ubuntu official repository. So just run the below command:

sudo apt install gtk-recordmydesktop

4.  Vokoscreen

Vokoscreen is a very simple and easy-to-use Linux screen capture app for screencasting. It also supports multiple video output formats and suitable audio input. Vokoscreen can record and specific area or the whole desktop screen.

Install on Ubuntu

sudo apt install vokoscreen

5.  Open Broadcaster Software (OBS)

OBS is the most advanced and feature-rich Linux screen recorder available out there. This screencasting application can stream directly via Youtube, Twitch, DailyMotion, and much more. Open Broadcaster Software, a full-fledged best screen capture software for Ubuntu Linux. It’s suitable for advanced users who really need to do some tech videos or live game streaming. But anyone can use it after knowing all the plugin and configuration settings.

Install on Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:obsproject/obs-studio
sudo apt update
sudo apt install obs-studio

6.  Peek

Peek is a simple tool that lets us create an animated gif for the desktop screen. The main features of this app are that it let you set up the frame rate and delay time. It offers a modern and sleek graphical user interface.

Install on Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:peek-developers/stable
sudo apt update
sudo apt install peek

7.  ScreenStudio

ScreenStudio is yet another easy-to-go but powerful screencasting software for Linux. It provides a simple option for recording the desktop as a video format, which, later on, can be directly streamed through Youtube, Twitch, or any other video host services.

Install on Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:soylent-tv/screenstudio
sudo apt update
sudo apt install screenstudio

8.  Byzanz

Byzanz is a CLI-based screencasting app for Linux. This tool can record video and audio in OGG and FLV formats. It also can be used to create an animated gif.

Install on Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:fossfreedom/byzanz
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install byzanz

9.  Gifine

Unlike Peek, Gifine is a screencasting tool for Linux used to record and stitch together small animated gifs or videos. It supports both GIF and MP4 video output.

Install on Ubuntu

git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/lolilolicon/xrectsel.git
cd xrectsel
./bootstrap && ./configure
sudo make install
sudo apt install gifsicle luarocks libgirepository1.0-dev
sudo luarocks install --server=https://luarocks.org/dev gifine

For running gifine, type the following command:

gifine

10.  VLC

There might be none who have not heard the name of VLC – the most powerful and popular Linux Multimedia Player. It comes prepacked with lots of features, and screencasting is one of them. You need to change the capture mode into a desktop mode in the options setting. You can also save the recording video or live-streaming it online.

Install on Ubuntu

sudo apt-get install vlc

11.  Wink

Wink is mainly used for creating interactive tutorial content. This Linux screen capture software comes with very competitive features for screen recording. It also supports all the major OS platforms, including Windows, Linux, and other Unix-based systems.

Download for Linux

12.  Freeseer

Freeseer is created for making distant conference streaming simple and easy. Both video and audio streaming are supported simultaneously. It’s a free screencasting app and offers cross-platform resources.

Install on Ubuntu

Download App Package  Quick Start Guide

13.  Shutter

Shutter is one of the best Linux screen recorders but yet simple and offers a modern user interface. It also provides an image editing tool that can be used for customizing the captured image. You can capture the entire portion of the desktop screen or just a selected area.

Install on Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:shutter/ppa
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install shutter

14.  Krut

Though the interface of Krut doesn’t look nice, it’s one of the lightest Linux screen recorders available in the market. This Linux screen capture software is developed with Java, and that’s why it portable and simple to use on other systems. You can do all the tasks that a full-fledged Linux screen recorder should do without any hassle.

Install on Ubuntu

Download from Official site

15.  Green Recorder

Screen Recorder is an essential productivity tool to record your screen. There are several screen recorder apps for Linux that work really well. But, at present, Green Recorder will provide you some great features which will blow your mind. It is a simple screen recorder app that supports Xorg as well as Wayland – Gnome Session. It’s built on top of Python, GTK+ 3, and ffmpeg.

Install on Ubuntu

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:fossproject/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install green-recorder

Final Thought

So, at last, which one is the best Linux screen recorder? It depends on the users’ specific needs. Before choosing any Linux screen capture app from the above list, please install it on your system and see the features on your own and compare your requirements.

If I forget to include any amazing Ubuntu screen capture software in this list, do let me know. What do you use for screencasting your desktop? Have you used any amazing screen capture software from this list? Let me know in the comment section below.