btahir / reelbird
git clone https://github.com/btahir/reelbird.git
v0.2.3 · today
Free, open-source screen recorder for macOS. A share link the moment you stop, then auto-zoom, smooth cursor and captions under the same link. Native Swift, your own S3/R2 bucket, CLI and MCP server. A Loom and Screen Studio alternative.
—
stars, 24h
+40
stars, 7 days · #1,075
+40
stars, 30 days · #7,276
40
★ total · +40% this week
7
forks · 0 open issues
Star history starts 2026-10-20; the chart appears after the second daily snapshot.
LanguageSwift
LicenseMIT
Created2026-10-13 (7d ago)
Last pushtoday
Watchers1
OwnerUser
GitHub topics
auto-zoomcaptionscloudflare-r2loom-alternativemacosmacos-appmcpmcp-servermetalproduct-demos3screen-capturescreen-recorderscreen-recordingscreen-studio-alternativescreencapturekitscreencastswiftswiftuivideo-recording
Links
- GitHub: github.com/btahir/reelbird
- Homepage: https://reelbird.app
- Releases · Issues · Hacker News mentions
README excerpt
Reelbird is a free, open-source screen recorder for macOS that copies a share link the moment you stop recording, then lets you polish the same take with auto-zoom, a smooth cursor and captions without changing the link. Website · Download · Compare · CLI · MCP · Sharing setup · Troubleshooting · Support It's a native Swift app with no account needed and no telemetry: share links point at a storage bucket you own, such as Cloudflare R2, or, if you'd rather not set one up, at Reelbird Pro's hosting ($5 a month, with viewer analytics). It includes a command-line tool and an MCP server, so coding agents can record and share demos too. You can download it, signed and notarised by Apple, or build it from source, on macOS 15 or later. **Why not just use Loom or Screen Studio?** Loom's free plan stops each video at 5 minutes and won't let you download it; Screen Studio costs $29 a month and gives you a link only after you export. Reelbird gives you the link when you stop and the auto-zoom polish later, under the same link, for free. How it compares. ## How it works 1. **Record.** Pick a display, a window or an area, with camera, microphone and system audio if you want them. Press ⌥⇧R from any app. Press ⌥⇧M to drop a marker at a moment you want to find again. 2. **Stop.** The link is already on your clipboard. Reelbird streamed the take to your bucket (or to Reelbird Pro's hosting) while you recorded, so it plays in any browser a moment later. A small card in the bottom-left corner offers **Copy video** (an MP4 to paste into Slack, Messages or Finder), **Save** and **Edit**. 3. **Polish it later.** Open the same take. Reelbird has planned zooms on your clicks and typing, smoothed the cursor and levelled your voice. Trim, add captions, pick a background, then choose **Update link**. Everyone you sent the link to now sees the polished version. ## What it does **Records what you need, as separate tracks.** A display, a window or an area, plus camera, microphone and system audio, with no virtual audio driver. Camera and audio stay on their own tracks, so you can move the camera bubble or mute system sound after recording. **The camera goes where you put it.** Drag the camera bubble while you record and the video follows: it starts where the bubble was and glides each time you moved it. In the editor, drag it anywhere on the preview (it snaps to the edges and centre lines), pick a corner, delete single moves or keep it in one place. Circle, rounded square or a 3:4 portrait tile. **The camera makes room for zooms.** While the screen is zoomed in, the bubble shrinks (to 70% by default) on the same curve as the zoom, and if the zoomed cursor would pass under it, it glides to the nearest free corner and back. Both can be turned off in the Camera panel. **Camera layouts.** For any part of the video, show only the camera, the screen and camera side by side (stacked on a 9:16 canvas), or only the screen, with a short spring between layouts. Add them on th