ScreenToGif — Windows 10/11 Screenshot GIF Recorder: Download, Setup, and Easy Editing

ScreenToGif is a lightweight screen recording tool with instant editing and export to GIF/MP4/WebM. Ideal for short demos for articles, tutorials, and social media: record an area, trim the silence, add captions—and you’re done.

Quick facts about the program ScreenToGif

So, what do we know?

What is it and who benefits from it

ScreenToGif records a screen region, a window, or the entire display, as well as the webcam and Sketchboard. The built-in editor lets you quickly crop, remove pauses, show clicks/keystrokes, add captions, and export the result as a GIF, APNG, video, or PNG sequence. Suitable for content creators, support, product/QA teams, and anyone who needs live illustrations without the hassle of heavy video editors.

Key Features

• Record a region/window/entire screen, webcam, and drawing board.
• Built-in editing: trimming, removing duplicate frames/silence, changing FPS.
• Annotations: captions, arrows, shapes, cursor and click highlighting, keystroke preview.
• Export: GIF, MP4 (H.264), WebM (VP9/AV1 if available), APNG, PNG frames, PSD.
• .stg projects: you can return to editing later.
• Multilingual interface and hotkeys Keys.

How to download and install (safely)

1. Download the installer or portable version from official sources (buttons are in the “Download” section below). Check the file’s digital signature and hash if you’re using a third-party directory.
2. For initial runs in Windows 10/11, nothing extra is usually required, but current builds require .NET Desktop Runtime 9+. If the program prompts, install the Microsoft runtime.
3. Installer: run as a standard user, uncheck any unnecessary shortcuts. Portable – just unzip it to a convenient folder (for example, “Documents\Tools\ScreenToGif”).

First Launch and Basic Settings

At startup, select Recorder mode. Drag the frame to set the capture area. Click record and play back the actions you want to show.

• FPS: 12-15 for GIF, 24-30 for MP4/WebM.
• Cursor & Clicks: Enable cursor and click visualization if you’re recording a tutorial.
• Hotkeys: Start/stop recording — Ctrl+Shift+R, pause — Ctrl+P, quick trim in the editor — Ctrl+T.

Practical Scenarios

1) “GIF” in an article/FAQ

Record 5-10 seconds, trim the “shaking” in Beginning/End, remove duplicate frames, add a caption. Export to GIF with a 64-128 color palette and 12-15 FPS—typically 1-3 MB. See also our article on quick preview QuickLook—conveniently check files before recording.

2) Mini-demo for landing page

Same, but export to MP4/WebM: higher quality, lower file size. On web pages, videos are much more bandwidth-friendly than GIFs.

3) Interface feedback

Record short clips, add arrows/tooltips, highlight clicks—instead of long emails. Works great in task trackers.

4) “Meme Format”

600–800 px square, large captions, loop without sharp “jumps.” Export to GIF or WebM—the latter is usually easier. Live wallpapers and visual effects can be tested with Lively Wallpaper.

5) Technical Support and Tutorials

Show the sequence of actions: enable display of keys and clicks. If you need help saving/compressing a PDF, related software will come in handy—for example, PDF24 Creator.

Tips, life hacks, and advanced features

• Reduce GIF size by 2-5x: trim silence (Reduce), palette 64-128, Error Diffusion with low strength, scale 0.75× or 0.5×, width 600-800 px.
• APNG/MP4/WebM instead of GIF: this is cleaner and lighter for the website; Save GIFs for chats and reactions.
• Loop without a “jump”: Trim the beginning/end, add a slight crossfade if necessary.
• .stg Projects: Save drafts and return to them if you need to translate captions or adjust the palette.
• Portable mode: Conveniently carry on a flash drive; no system clutter or default startup.

Limitations and nuances

• Short recordings are perfect: The tool is ideal for clips ranging from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. For longer videos, use full-featured recorders (OBS, etc.).
• .NET Requirements: Recent versions use .NET Desktop Runtime 9+—make sure it’s installed.
• Compatibility: Requires Windows 10 (build 17763+) and newer.

Alternatives and when to choose not ScreenToGif

• Need a long video/audio capture/stream: use OBS.
• Need heavy frame-by-frame editing: use a video editor (DaVinci Resolve, etc.).
• Need cloud publishing and sharing: use specialized services. For fast, local GIFs, ScreenToGif is better than many.

In everyday use, ScreenToGif covers 80% of “micro-demo” needs: fast, local, without telemetry or cloud dependency, and with reasonable file sizes when using the right presets.

FAQ

Which format should I choose for my website?
For the web, MP4/WebM are preferred: higher quality, lower file size. Save GIFs for short reactions.

Why is the GIF so heavy?
Reduce the FPS to 12-15, trim pauses (Reduce), reduce the palette to 64-128 colors, and scale the width to 600-800 px.

Where can I get a portable version?
There’s an official portable package that’s easy to use on a flash drive and runs without installation. See the links in the “Download” section.

What about privacy?
The app is offline-friendly and open source; see the privacy policy on the project website, and the source code is on GitHub.

Notes: At the time of writing, the current release is 2.42.1 (see the release log on GitHub). .NET Desktop Runtime 9+ is required; the minimum Windows version from the Microsoft Store is Windows 10 (17763+). Portable builds are available from PortableApps.

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