wf-recorder

A command-line screen recorder for wlroots-based Wayland compositors, using ffmpeg for encoding.

FreeOpen sourceLinuxCommand line
Official websitegithub.com

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About wf-recorder

wf-recorder records the screen on Wayland compositors built on wlroots, specifically those that support the wlr-screencopy-v1 and xdg-output protocols, such as sway and Wayfire. It runs from the terminal and uses ffmpeg for encoding.

It is packaged by several distributions, including Alpine, Arch, Debian and Fedora, and suits tiling window manager users who prefer to bind recording to a key or script rather than use a graphical app.

Strengths

  • Lightweight command-line recorder
  • Uses ffmpeg for encoding
  • Packaged in major distributions
  • Easy to script or bind to a key

Limitations

  • Only works on wlroots-based compositors
  • No graphical interface

Details

Pricing
FreeFree and open source.
License
Open source, license not stated
Developer
Ilia Bozhinov
Platforms
Linux, Command line
How it runs
Downloadable app
Account
Not required
Works offline
Yes
Best suited for
Recording the screen on sway, Wayfire or other wlroots compositors
Last verified
Added
Provenance
Facts checked against the developer's own pages and store listings, 1 sources on file.

Alternatives to wf-recorder

Compare all

Software that can replace wf-recorder for an important use case, and what changes if you switch.

  • wl-screenrec

    A command-line screen recorder for wlroots Wayland compositors that encodes video on the GPU.

    FreeProprietaryLinuxCommand line

    wl-screenrec also targets wlroots compositors from the command line but encodes on the GPU with dma-buf capture, needing hardware video encoding and not being open source.

  • OBS Studio

    The standard free tool for recording a screen and for live streaming, built around scenes and sources.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsmacOSLinux

    OBS Studio is a full graphical recorder and streaming tool on Linux, Windows and macOS, using the PipeWire source on Wayland, with a steeper learning curve.

  • Kooha

    A simple GTK screen recorder for Linux with a minimal interface, supporting Wayland and X11.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Kooha offers a graphical GTK interface for Linux and works on Wayland and X11 generally, rather than being limited to wlroots compositors and the command line.

  • Blue Recorder

    A simple desktop screen recorder built with GTK4 and FFmpeg, with Wayland support on GNOME and KDE.

    FreeProprietaryWindowsLinux

    Blue Recorder offers a GTK4 graphical recorder with Wayland support on GNOME and KDE rather than wlroots, and it is not open source.

  • SimpleScreenRecorder

    A Linux screen recorder for capturing programs and games, with live streaming and audio recording support.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    SimpleScreenRecorder is a graphical Linux recorder with live streaming and custom codec options, though it is not described as supporting Wayland compositors.

  • vokoscreenNG

    An open-source screencast recorder for Windows and Linux that captures the screen, an area or a window.

    FreeOpen sourceWindowsLinux

    vokoscreenNG gives a graphical interface with webcam overlay and click highlighting on Linux and Windows, instead of a scriptable command-line tool for wlroots compositors.

  • Spectacle

    KDE's screenshot and screen recording application for Linux desktops.

    FreeOpen sourceLinux

    Spectacle is KDE's graphical screenshot and recording app, fitting best on Plasma rather than wlroots compositors, and it also takes screenshots.

Similar software

Related functionality, not necessarily a direct replacement.

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