How-to

How to stop screen recording on Mac.

Updated October 10, 2026 · macOS Sonoma 14 to macOS 27

The quick answer: click the Stop button in the menu bar, at the top right of your screen, or press Command-Control-Esc. That works whether you started with Shift-Command-5 or with QuickTime Player. The recording is then saved to your desktop as a .mov file.

If you can’t see the Stop button, the shortcut still works. Below: stopping each kind of recording, what to do when the button is missing, how to cancel before you start, and how to stop an app from recording your screen at all.

Stop a recording you started with Shift-Command-5

1. Click the Stop button in the menu bar, or press Command-Control-Esc.
2. A thumbnail of the recording appears in the corner of your screen. Click it to trim or share the recording, or wait for it to save.
3. The file lands on your desktop, named “Screen Recording [date] at [time].mov”, unless you chose another place under Save to in Options.

Want it saved straight away? Swipe the thumbnail to the right. Can’t find it afterwards? See where screen recordings go on Mac.

Stop a QuickTime screen recording

On current versions of macOS, QuickTime Player’s File › New Screen Recording opens the same Screenshot toolbar, so you stop it the same way: the Stop button in the menu bar, or Command-Control-Esc.

If QuickTime opened its own Screen Recording window instead, stopping works the same, but the recording then opens in QuickTime Player rather than being saved for you. Choose File › Save to keep it. Step-by-step QuickTime instructions are in our QuickTime screen recording guide.

Can’t see the Stop button?

Press Command-Control-Esc. It stops the recording even when the button is hidden. These are the usual reasons the button isn’t where you expect:

• You’re in a full-screen app. The menu bar hides in full screen. Move your pointer to the top edge of the screen and it slides back down, with the Stop button in it.
• The menu bar is full. On a MacBook with a camera notch, menu bar icons that don’t fit can end up hidden behind the notch, and the Stop button can be one of them. Quit a few menu bar apps, or just use the shortcut.
• You pressed Esc. Esc on its own only cancels before you click Record. Once the recording has started, it does nothing.
• The recording is from another app. Apps like Zoom, OBS or Framecast have their own stop controls, and Apple’s shortcut doesn’t stop them. See below for Framecast.

Cancel a recording before it starts

If the Screenshot toolbar is open and you haven’t clicked Record yet, press Esc or click the × on the toolbar. Nothing is recorded or saved.

Pause instead of stopping

Apple’s Screenshot toolbar has a Stop button but no Pause. To leave a part out, stop, then start a new recording when you’re ready, or trim the recording afterwards: click the thumbnail, or open the file in QuickTime Player and choose Edit › Trim.

Framecast can pause: press Option-Command-P to pause and the same keys to carry on, all in one recording.

Stop a Framecast recording

• Shortcut: press Option-Command-Return from any app, the same keys that start a recording.
• Recording controls: click the red stop button in the small controls in the corner of the screen. They never appear in the video.
• Menu bar: while you record, Framecast’s menu bar icon turns red and shows the time. Click it and choose Stop Recording.
• Throw it away: Option-Command-Esc cancels the recording, after asking first.

When you stop, Framecast opens the recording in its editor with zooms on your clicks already in place, or, if you chose Record & Copy, Share or Save, makes the finished video right away. See After recording. All the shortcuts are in Recording shortcuts, and the controls are explained in While you record.

Stop an app from recording your screen

Some people searching for this mean something else: an app is recording their screen, and they want it to stop. On recent versions of macOS, a purple indicator appears in the menu bar while an app records your screen or your Mac’s sound. Click it, or open Control Center, to see which app it is.

1. Choose Apple menu › System Settings, then click Privacy & Security.
2. Click Screen & System Audio Recording.
3. Turn off the app you don’t want recording. macOS may ask you to quit the app first.

Video calls in apps like FaceTime, Zoom or Teams also show the indicator while you share your screen. It goes away when the sharing ends.

Stop Shift-Command-5 from opening by accident

If you keep starting the Screenshot toolbar without meaning to, change or turn off its shortcut. Choose Apple menu › System Settings, click Keyboard, click Keyboard Shortcuts, then click Screenshots. Untick Screenshot and recording options, or double-click its shortcut and press new keys.

Recordings that are easier to watch

A raw screen recording shows your whole screen at once, so viewers squint at small text and hunt for the pointer. Framecast is a native Mac app that fixes that for you, on macOS 14 Sonoma or later:

• Automatic zoom. It zooms in where you click and type. See Automatic zoom.
• Cut the bad take as you go. Press Option-Command-O while recording to drop the last take, instead of stopping and starting again. See Oops: cut a bad take.
• Your Mac’s sound on macOS 14 or later. System audio from every app or only the apps you choose. See System audio.

Framecast is free to try, with every feature. Exporting needs a license: $79 $39 once for up to 3 Macs with lifetime updates, or $15 a month. See pricing, or download Framecast. New to recording? Start with how to screen record on Mac.

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