How to Screen Record on a Chromebook With Sound

Yes, a Chromebook can record your screen with sound, and you don't need to install anything. Its built-in Screen capture can record the Chromebook's own sound, your microphone or both. The catch is that audio starts switched off.

It works the same on any Chromebook, whatever the brand, because it's part of ChromeOS.

1. Pick one of two free ways

• Built-in Screen capture: nothing to open, and it saves a .webm file.
• Chrome, with nothing to install: adds your camera in a floating bubble, records the mic and tab or screen sound together, and can make a transcript.

2. Turn on sound in Screen capture

1. Press Shift + Ctrl + Show windows, or open Quick Settings and select Screen capture.
2. At the bottom, select Screen record.
3. Choose Record the full screen, Record a partial screen or Record a window.
4. Select Settings. Under Audio input, pick Device audio, Microphone or Device audio and microphone.

Audio input starts on Off, so check it before every recording. To show your face, turn on Front camera. To show what you press, turn on Show clicks and keys. Google's Chromebook help page on screen recording has the full list.

Device audio picks up everything the Chromebook plays, including notification sounds, so turn on Do Not Disturb first.

3. Start, stop and find the file

To start, click anywhere for the full screen, drag over the part you want, or select a window. To stop, select Stop recording at the bottom right, or press Search + Shift + X.

The video is saved as a .webm file in your Downloads folder. You can choose another folder with Select folder.

For a partial screen you can also choose Record GIF. Don't, if you need sound. Google says "GIFs don't capture audio or video input."

4. No sound options?

If you only see Off, your Chromebook is probably managed by a school or workplace. The administrator can turn audio recording off, and then the sound options don't appear. Ask them, or try the browser route below, though that may be blocked too.

If Device audio is missing on your own Chromebook, update ChromeOS and look again.

5. Record in Chrome without installing anything

Open the free in-browser recording tool and choose Screen, Screen + camera or Camera. Microphone and Tab/system audio start on.

When Chrome asks what to share:

• A tab: keep Also share tab audio on.
• Your entire screen: tick the system audio box. Depending on your Chrome version it says Share with system audio or Also share system audio. On ChromeOS, Chrome can capture all of the computer's sound this way.
• A window: it may not include sound, so pick a tab or your entire screen instead.

If you share without sound, the recorder warns you and offers Pick again. For every click in Chrome's prompt, see record your screen in Chrome without installing anything.

6. Save it, and get the words if you want them

When you stop, download the video as MP4 or WebM, whichever Chrome supports. If the recording has sound, you can turn it into a TXT, SRT or VTT transcript on your device.

What stays on your Chromebook

Your files never leave your device, and nothing is uploaded. If you transcribe, your browser downloads a speech model from Hugging Face and its code from jsDelivr. The site uses Google Analytics.

Next step

Open the free in-browser recording tool, share a tab or your entire screen with sound switched on, and record a short test first. It's free, with no signup.