Three ways to stop a screen recording
These work for any recording started with ⇧ ⌘ 5 or with File → New Screen Recording in QuickTime Player — both use the same recorder.
1. The stop button in the menu bar
While the Mac is recording, a small stop button — a circle with a square inside — sits on the right side of the menu bar, near the clock. Click it and the recording ends. If you're in a full-screen app and the menu bar is hidden, move the pointer to the top edge of the screen to bring it back.
2. The keyboard: ⌃ ⌘ ⎋
Press Control + Command + Esc together. This is the quickest way, and it works when the menu bar is out of reach. Don't confuse it with ⌥ ⌘ ⎋ (with Option), which opens the Force Quit window.
3. The screenshot toolbar
Press ⇧ ⌘ 5 again. During a recording the toolbar shows a Stop Recording button; click it.
Using a Touch Bar MacBook Pro? The stop button also appears on the Touch Bar during a recording.
Where the recording is saved
When you stop, a thumbnail slides into the bottom-right corner. Leave it and after a few seconds the video is saved. Click it to trim the start and end before saving; drag it into an app to put the video there instead.
- Started with ⇧ ⌘ 5: saved to the Desktop as a
.movnamed Screen Recording followed by the date and time — unless you chose another place in Options → Save to. - Started from QuickTime: the video opens in a QuickTime window and isn't saved yet. Choose File → Save (⌘ S) to name it and pick a folder.
Can't find it? Check the Save to setting first (⇧ ⌘ 5 → Options). Our guide on where screenshots and recordings go on a Mac walks through every place they can end up, including iCloud Drive.
When a recording won't stop
It's rare, but the recorder can hang, especially after waking from sleep or unplugging a display. Go through these in order:
- Press ⌃ ⌘ ⎋, then wait a few seconds. Long recordings take a moment to finish writing.
- Press ⇧ ⌘ 5 and look for the stop button.
- If the menu bar stop button is missing, open Activity Monitor, search for
screencapture, select the process and click the ✕ button to quit it. Whatever was recorded may be lost. - If nothing responds, restart the Mac from the Apple menu.
If recordings regularly stop on their own, check free disk space — a few minutes of Retina video can take gigabytes — and keep the Mac from sleeping during long sessions.
Stopping a recording in ShotDock
ShotDock, a screen recorder and screenshot app for the Mac, gives you several ways to stop, all visible while you record:
- Press the same shortcut you used to start: ⌃ ⌘ 0 (area), ⌃ ⌘ 9 (window) or ⌃ ⌘ 8 (full screen).
- Click Stop in the small bar next to the recorded area.
- Click the ShotDock icon in the menu bar, which shows pause, stop and the elapsed time while recording.
- Pause and resume with ⌃ ⌘ P instead of stopping and starting a new file; the final video comes out continuous.
Nothing is saved behind your back. When you stop, you see a preview with the duration and file size, and you choose: save the MP4 (↩), copy the file, or upload it and get a link on your clipboard. Recordings also come out much smaller than the built-in ones, because by default ShotDock records at one pixel per point instead of full Retina resolution.
Unlike ⇧ ⌘ 5, ShotDock can record the sound playing on your Mac, mixed with your microphone if you like, and put your webcam in a corner. It's $12 once, with a 14-day trial. For a side-by-side with a subscription recorder, see the Loom comparison.
Quick reference
| ⇧⌘5 / QuickTime | ShotDock | |
|---|---|---|
| Stop with the keyboard | ⌃⌘⎋ | The same shortcut that started it |
| Stop with the mouse | Menu bar stop button | Stop button by the area, or menu bar icon |
| Pause and resume | No | ⌃⌘P |
| Default location | Desktop (.mov) | You choose after stopping (.mp4) |
| Trim after stopping | Click the thumbnail | No; trim in QuickTime |
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop screen recording on a Mac?
Click the stop button in the menu bar, at the top right of the screen, or press Control-Command-Esc (⌃⌘⎋). You can also press Shift-Command-5 and click the stop button in the toolbar.
What is the shortcut to stop screen recording on a Mac?
Control-Command-Esc (⌃⌘⎋) stops a recording started with Shift-Command-5 or QuickTime.
Where did my screen recording go?
Recordings started with Shift-Command-5 are saved to the Desktop by default as .mov files named Screen Recording with the date and time, or to the folder chosen in Shift-Command-5 → Options → Save to. Recordings started from QuickTime open in a QuickTime window and must be saved with File → Save.
My Mac screen recording won't stop. What do I do?
Try Control-Command-Esc, then Shift-Command-5 and the stop button. If the menu bar is hidden by a full-screen app, move the pointer to the top edge to reveal it. As a last resort, quit the recording process in Activity Monitor; the recording made up to that point may be lost.
Why did my screen recording stop by itself?
The usual causes are a full disk, the Mac going to sleep, or switching displays during the recording. Free up space and keep the Mac awake for long recordings.
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