Screen Recording on Wayland: GNOME, OBS, and Kooha

Wayland screen recording has matured significantly. Here are the tools that actually work well in 2026, with their tradeoffs and setup.

GNOME Built-in Screen Recording

GNOME 40+ includes integrated screen recording on Wayland. Press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R to start. A red dot appears in the top-right corner. Press the same shortcut again or click the indicator to stop.

Recordings save as WebM in ~/Videos/ by default.

Extending Recording Duration

The default 30-second limit is usually too short. Increase it:

gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.media-keys max-screencast-length 600

Replace 600 with your desired duration in seconds. For a 10-minute recording, use 600.

Check the current setting:

gsettings get org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.media-keys max-screencast-length

Reset to default:

gsettings reset org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.media-keys max-screencast-length

Converting Output Format

Recordings come out as WebM. If you need MP4 or another format, convert with ffmpeg:

ffmpeg -i input.webm -c:v libx264 -crf 23 -c:a aac output.mp4

This is good enough for quick demos and documentation. Skip it if you need fine-grained control over quality, bitrate, or multiple audio sources.

OBS Studio

OBS 29+ has solid Wayland support and is the right choice for streaming, multi-source recordings, or custom encoding.

Install it:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install obs-studio

# Fedora
sudo dnf install obs-studio

# Arch
sudo pacman -S obs-studio

Launch and add a screen source. OBS supports:

• Multiple audio tracks
• Custom bitrate and codec selection
• Direct streaming to Twitch, YouTube, or RTMP servers
• Scene switching and transitions
• Advanced filters and effects

Basic OBS Wayland Setup

When you launch OBS on Wayland for the first time, it may prompt for screen access permissions. Grant them. Then:

1. Click the + button under Sources
2. Select “Screen Capture (PipeWire)”
3. Choose your monitor
4. Adjust resolution and bitrate in Settings > Output

For CPU-efficient recording on older hardware, use the VP9 codec with quality crf 32. For streaming, use H.264 with bitrate 4000–6000 Kbps depending on your upload speed.

Kooha

Kooha is a lightweight GTK app built specifically for Wayland. It handles basic recording without the complexity of OBS.

Features:

• Simple GUI with sensible defaults
• MP4 and WebM output
• Frame rate and resolution control
• Optional audio capture from microphone or system

Install via Flathub:

flatpak install flathub io.github.seadve.Kooha

Or from distro repositories:

# Ubuntu 24.04+
sudo apt install kooha

# Fedora 40+
sudo dnf install kooha

# Arch
sudo pacman -S kooha

Kooha is faster to set up than OBS and uses less CPU. Useful for quick recordings when you don’t need streaming or advanced editing.

Programmatic Recording with GNOME’s Screencast API

For automation or scripts, trigger GNOME’s recorder via D-Bus:

dbus-send --session \
  --dest=org.gnome.Shell \
  --object-path=/org/gnome/Shell/Extensions/ScreenshotUI \
  org.gnome.Shell.Extensions.ScreenshotUI.Screencast

This starts recording without opening a GUI window. Useful in CI/CD pipelines or unattended recording workflows. Stop it by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R or send another D-Bus call.

Wayland-Specific Gotchas

PipeWire for Audio

Modern recorders use PipeWire instead of PulseAudio for audio capture. If audio doesn’t record, check that PipeWire is running:

pactl info | grep "Server Name"

Output should include “PipeWire”. If it shows PulseAudio, your distro hasn’t migrated yet. Check your distro’s documentation for enabling PipeWire.

Multi-Monitor Recording

Wayland doesn’t expose monitors via simple X11-style APIs. Most tools capture only the focused monitor. To record a different display:

• OBS: Add multiple screen sources, one per monitor
• GNOME built-in: Move the window to the target monitor before recording
• Kooha: Select the target display in settings before starting

Recording a specific window (not the whole screen) works well with GNOME built-in and OBS. Kooha is primarily for full-screen capture.

Permissions

GNOME handles permissions automatically. Flatpak apps (including Kooha) may prompt for screen casting permissions on first use—grant them.

Choosing the Right Tool

Tool	CPU Overhead	Best For	Setup Time
GNOME Built-in	Minimal	Quick clips, demos	10 seconds
OBS	Moderate	Streaming, multi-source, complex encoding	5 minutes
Kooha	Minimal	Lightweight standalone app, MP4 export	1 minute

Use GNOME built-in for quick clips and demos. Use OBS if you’re streaming or need fine-grained control over quality and encoding. Use Kooha if you want a lightweight app with MP4 output out of the box.