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This is a text-only version of the following page on https://raymii.org:
---
Title : Record your Linux Desktop with ffmpeg and slop to any format
Author : Remy van Elst
Date : 17-03-2021
URL : https://raymii.org/s/snippets/Record_your_Linux_Desktop_with_ffmpeg_and_slop.html
Format : Markdown/HTML
---

This two-line shell script allows you to record a region of your linux desktop to a video file, or a `.gif`, using `slop` and `ffmpeg`. I use it often when a screenshot is not enough, or when you need to explain a sequence of events to someone.

Here is a `.gif` recorded of my current KDE desktop:

![desktop][3]

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This script was adapted from the examples given in the `slop` [README][1].

### Recording with slop and ffmpeg

By combining two programs, `slop`, to get the screen region to record, and `ffmpeg`
to do the actual recording, you can select a region of your screen to record, in
any format `ffmpeg` supports. I often do it as a `gif` or `.mp4`.

[slop][1] is a small and simple tool that does one thing, the [manpage][2]
describes it best:

slop is an application that queries for a selection from the user and prints the region to
stdout. It grabs the mouse and turns it into a crosshair, lets the user click and drag to
make a selection (or click on a window) while drawing a pretty box around it, then finally
prints the selection's dimensions to stdout.

`ffmpeg` is a very fast audio and video converter, also able to do live stuff and in this case, record
the desktop. Both tools are in the Ubuntu repository, so you can install them with the package manager:

apt install slop ffpmeg

Place the following in a script, I named it `recgif.sh`:

#!/bin/bash
geometry=$(slop -f "-video_size %wx%h -i :0.0+%x,%y")
ffmpeg -framerate 30 -f x11grab $geometry "$1"

Make sure it is in your `$PATH` so you can execute it in any terminal. I have the folder
`$HOME/bin` in my `$PATH`, which is where all my scripts live, including this one. You can
set the `$PATH` in multiple places, but I have it in my `~/.bashrc` file:

PATH="/usr/local/bin:/bin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/usr/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/snap/bin:$HOME/bin:$HOME/.bin:$PATH"

Try it out in your shell, by typing:

recgif.sh test.gif

Your cursor changes to a crosshair which you use to select a region. Then recording starts, until you
kill the shell command with `CTRL+C`.

If you specify a different extension, the video save format will reflect that:

recgif.sh test.mkv

`.gif` files are rather large, the image at the top of this page is almost 50 MB whereas the same
recording in `.mkv` is about 0,5 MB.

[1]: https://github.com/naelstrof/slop
[2]: http://manpages.ubuntu.com/manpages/bionic/en/man1/slop.1.html
[3]: /s/inc/img/recgif.gif

---

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