Screenshot and Video Capture
Rostyman includes built-in screenshot and video recording with microphone audio support, allowing you to capture your API testing sessions, create demos, and record tutorials without switching to external tools.
Taking Screenshots
Screenshot to Clipboard
Press Ctrl+Shift+P to instantly capture the app window and copy it to the clipboard. No file is saved — the image is ready to paste into Slack, Notion, GitHub issues, emails, or any other app.
Screenshot to File
Click the camera icon in the status bar at the bottom of the window to open the screenshot mode selector. Choose from three capture modes:
| Mode | What it captures |
|---|---|
| App Window | The entire Rostyman window |
| Full Screen | Your entire display |
| Region | A rectangular area you draw with your mouse |
The screenshot is saved as a PNG file to your Pictures folder.
Screenshot File Location
Screenshots are saved to:
- Windows:
C:\Users\<username>\Pictures\Rostyman\ - macOS:
~/Pictures/Rostyman/ - Linux:
~/Pictures/Rostyman/
Recording Video
Click the video icon in the status bar to open the Recording Settings dialog.
Recording Settings
Before each recording, a settings dialog lets you configure:
Video Settings
| Setting | Options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Resolution | Native (full), 1080p, 720p, 480p | 1080p |
| Frame rate | 30 fps, 60 fps | 30 fps |
| Quality | Low (1 Mbps), Medium (2.5 Mbps), High (5 Mbps), Ultra (8 Mbps) | Medium |
Audio Settings
| Setting | Options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Microphone | On / Off toggle | Off |
| Device | Select from available microphones | System default |
| Audio quality | 128 kbps, 192 kbps, 256 kbps | 128 kbps |
- Click the Refresh button next to the device selector to detect newly connected microphones (e.g., Bluetooth headphones) without reopening the dialog
- Settings are remembered between sessions — you don't need to reconfigure every time
- Echo cancellation and noise suppression are applied automatically to the microphone input
Click Start Recording to begin.
Recording Controls
Once recording starts, a floating recording toolbar appears as an always-on-top pill — it stays visible even when you switch windows:
| Control | Description |
|---|---|
| Red dot + Timer | Shows elapsed recording time |
| Mic icon | Click to mute/unmute the microphone during recording (only shown when audio is enabled) |
| Pause | Temporarily pause the recording. Click again to resume |
| Stop | End the recording and save the video file |
Muting During Recording
When recording with audio, a microphone icon appears in the recording controls. Click it to mute — the icon changes to a crossed-out mic. Click again to unmute. Muted sections will have silence in the final video.
Video File Location
Videos are saved as WebM files to:
- Windows:
C:\Users\<username>\Videos\Rostyman\ - macOS:
~/Movies/Rostyman/ - Linux:
~/Videos/Rostyman/
Codec Selection
Rostyman automatically selects the best available codec:
- VP9 is preferred for High/Ultra quality settings (better compression)
- VP8 is used as a fallback (wider compatibility)
- Audio uses the Opus codec when available
Permission Requirements
| Platform | Permission | When |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | Screen Recording | First time recording video |
| macOS | Microphone | First time enabling mic |
| Windows | Microphone | First time enabling mic |
| Linux | Works automatically on X11. Wayland may require PipeWire | — |
Convert WEBM → MP4
Recordings are saved as .webm for size and quality, but a one-click MP4 export is built in for tools that prefer MP4 (Slack uploads, email attachments, some legacy editors). Conversion uses system FFmpeg — Rostyman does not bundle the FFmpeg binary, which keeps the installer small.
Where to Find It
Click the film icon on any .webm file in:
- The Media sidebar panel
- The Sent Files or Received Files tab inside any device or group in File Sharing
- The in-app media viewer tab
Conversion Presets
Before conversion runs, a dialog lets you pick:
| Setting | Options | Maps to |
|---|---|---|
| Quality | Low / Standard / High | CRF 28 / 23 / 18 |
| Resolution | Original / 720p / 1080p | -vf scale=… (odd dimensions auto-corrected with scale=trunc(iw/2)*2:trunc(ih/2)*2) |
| Audio | On / Off | Drop the audio stream entirely with the toggle off |
Defaults are remembered between conversions — no need to re-pick every time.
Live Progress
A progress bar shows real-time progress with elapsed time and ETA — not a frozen "converting…" toast. Errors during conversion never get swallowed: a "Show FFmpeg log" expander surfaces the full FFmpeg stderr with a Copy button so you can paste it into a search.
Output Location
Converted files are written to your Downloads folder with the same base name and an .mp4 extension. If a file with the same name already exists, Rostyman appends _1, _2, etc. so nothing is overwritten.
Missing FFmpeg
If FFmpeg isn't on your system PATH, the conversion dialog shows a platform-specific install hint instead of attempting to run:
| Platform | Install command |
|---|---|
| Windows | winget install Gyan.FFmpeg (or any FFmpeg distribution on PATH) |
| macOS | brew install ffmpeg |
| Linux | sudo apt install ffmpeg / sudo dnf install ffmpeg / sudo pacman -S ffmpeg |
After installing, click Try again in the dialog — Rostyman re-detects FFmpeg without restart.
Media Sidebar Panel
All captured screenshots and videos are accessible from the Media panel in the sidebar.
Viewing Captures
Click any capture to open it in an in-app viewer tab. Screenshots display as full-resolution images, videos play within the application.
Kebab Menu
Each capture has a menu with:
| Action | Description |
|---|---|
| Open | Opens in an in-app viewer tab |
| Open Folder | Opens the containing folder in your file manager |
| Share | Triggers the OS share dialog |
| Properties | Shows file details: name, size, creation date, path |
| Delete | Moves to Trash (soft delete, recoverable) |
Tips
- Use 1080p + Medium quality for YouTube-ready tutorial recordings
- Enable the microphone to narrate while demonstrating API testing workflows
- Mute the mic when you need silence (e.g., during typing) and unmute to narrate
- Use Open Folder to locate files for uploading to YouTube or sharing externally
- If your mic isn't showing up, click the Refresh button to rescan devices