R44VC0RP / isocast

# Isocast
**A free, open-source OBS alternative for Mac that records every source as its own file.**
Isocast is a screen recorder and streaming app for macOS on Apple silicon.
It works like OBS, with scenes, sources, transitions and an audio mixer,
and it also saves each screen, window and camera as a separate
full-quality file (ISO recording), all on one clock. It uses about half
the CPU of OBS for the same recording, imports your OBS scene
collections, and answers the obs-websocket tools you already use. Written
in Rust, MIT or Apache 2.0.
isocast.xyz
Download for Mac ·
Getting started ·
Isocast vs OBS · FAQ
## Why switch from OBS
- **Every source in its own file.** Fix a shot in your editor without
 re-recording: the program video plus one file per screen, window and
 camera, lined up by a session file. No plugin, no syncing by hand.
- **Lighter on your Mac.** In our benchmarks Isocast used 25–29% of a core
 where OBS used 58–71%, and 88–356 MiB of memory where OBS used
 619–1344 MiB (how it was measured).
- **Edit what you recorded.** The editor window lays every ISO file out
 on one timeline: trim, split, switch angles and crop (9:16 too), then
 export frame-accurately without re-encoding what you didn't change,
 or hand the edit to Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro or Resolve with every
 angle on its own track. Each project folder carries an `.isoprj` that
 reopens your edits anywhere.
- **Bring your OBS setup.** On first launch Isocast finds your OBS scene
 collections and profiles and imports them; anything that can't come
 over is listed with the reason. Tools that speak obs-websocket (Touch
 Portal, community Stream Deck plugins, obs-websocket scripts) work
 unchanged.
- **Scriptable.** The app, the `isocast` command and AI agents (over MCP)
 drive the same engine, so anything you can click you can automate.
## Isocast vs OBS
| | Isocast | OBS Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Price and licence | Free, MIT or Apache 2.0 | Free, GPL |
| Platforms | macOS 14+, Apple silicon | macOS, Windows, Linux |
| Scenes, sources, transitions, Studio Mode | Yes | Yes |
| Each source as its own file (ISO), on one clock | Built in | Not built in (third-party Source Record plugin) |
| CPU for the same recording (benchmarks) | About half of OBS's | Baseline |
| Memory, 1080p60 on a base M2 | 88 MiB | 630 MiB |
| Edit the ISO files after recording | Built-in editor (trim, split, angles, crop), and export to Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro or Resolve | No, use another editor |
| Control | App, `isocast` CLI, MCP, and obs-websocket v5 (off by default) | App, obs-websocket and scripts |
| Stream Deck | Through obs-websocket (community plugins, Touch Portal); not Elgato's official OBS actions | Official Elgato plugin |
| Replay buffer | Yes | Yes |
| Virtual camera | Yes | Yes, mature |
| Several stream destinations at once | Built in (RTMP/RTMPS) | Third-party plugin |
| Per-app audio | Yes (macOS 14.2+) | Yes |
| Plugins | Early (process plugins, WebAssembly audio filters); no