[opensourcedex]

Screenity is a free, open source browsers & extensions project written in JavaScript and released under GPL-3.0. It has 18,703 GitHub stars, 1,521 forks and 8 open issues, and was last pushed 34 hours ago. On this registry it ranks #22 of 65 tracked projects in Browsers & Extensions, with 5 head-to-head comparisons available. It gained 17 stars over the last 6 tracked days.

Screenity — Free, private screen recording for Chrome

What is Screenity?

What it is

Screenity is a JavaScript Chrome extension under the GPL-3.0 license that records the screen and supports annotation in the browser. It lives in the Chrome extension ecosystem and is distributed through the Chrome Web Store, while its source code is available on GitHub.

The project addresses the problem of creating screen-based videos for work, education, feedback, product demos, tutorials, and presentations without a sign-in for the basic local workflow. It provides unlimited recordings of a tab, a specific area, the desktop, an application, or a camera, and it keeps videos private by default. The README states that only the user can see the videos, no user data is collected, and the extension can be used offline.

Key capabilities

  • It records a browser tab, a selected area, the desktop, an application, or a camera feed without a stated recording limit.
  • It captures microphone audio and internal audio, and it includes push to talk.
  • It provides annotation tools for drawing, text, arrows, and shapes during or after capture.
  • It includes editing functions that let a user cut, trim, crop, remove or add audio, and export mp4, gif, or webm files.
  • It supports privacy and presentation controls such as sensitive-content blur, AI-powered camera backgrounds, smooth zoom, click highlighting, spotlight mode, countdown, alarms, and movable interface controls.
  • It can save videos to Google Drive for link sharing when the user configures the integration.

Who uses it and how

  • Teams and individuals can produce product demos, tutorials, presentations, or feedback videos from Chrome without creating an account.
  • Educators and students can capture a tab, an application, or a camera view and annotate the result with text, arrows, shapes, and highlights.
  • Users who need to share a recording can export a file locally or configure the extension to save the video to Google Drive.

Getting started

Install it from the Chrome Web Store and record without signing in. For local use, download the latest Build.zip from the GitHub releases page, unzip it, enable developer mode at chrome://extensions, and load the unpacked folder.

When to use it — and when not to

Screenity is a good fit when the user needs a free, privacy-friendly Chrome extension for local screen recording, annotation, and basic editing without an account. It is less suitable when the user needs hosted platform features such as link sharing, multi-scene editing, zoom keyframes, or captions, because the README places those features in Screenity Pro and states that self-hosted builds run in local-only mode with no API calls, sign-in flows, or platform features enabled. A self-hoster must also load the extension manually and configure Google Drive separately if Drive export is needed.

project readme (upstream, from github) — read inline

Screenity

✨ Screenity's open source work is sponsored by

Recall.ai - API for desktop recording

If you’re looking for a hosted desktop recording API, consider checking out Recall.ai, an API that records Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, in-person meetings, and more.

jiewjjc232

The free and privacy-friendly screen recorder with no limits 🎥

Get it now - it's free!

Screenity is a powerful privacy-friendly screen recorder and annotation tool to make better videos for work, education, and more. You can create stunning product demos, tutorials, presentations, or share feedback with your team - all for free.

Screenity - The most powerful screen recorder for Chrome | Product Hunt Featured on HackerNews

Want to support the project (and the solo developer behind it)?

Check out Screenity Pro: a privacy-friendly, EU-hosted platform with link sharing, multi-scene editing, zoom keyframes, captions, and more ❤️

Made by Alyssa X

Table of contents

Features

🎥 Make unlimited recordings of your tab, a specific area, desktop, any application, or camera
🎙️ Record your microphone or internal audio, and use features like push to talk
✏️ Annotate by drawing anywhere on the screen, adding text, arrows, shapes, and more
✨ Use AI-powered camera backgrounds or blur to enhance your recordings
🔎 Zoom in smoothly in your recordings to focus on specific areas
🪄 Blur out any sensitive content of any page to keep it private
✂️ Remove or add audio, cut, trim, or crop your recordings with a comprehensive editor
👀 Highlight your clicks and cursor, and go in spotlight mode
⏱️ Set up alarms to automatically stop your recording
💾 Export as mp4, gif, and webm, or save the video directly to Google Drive to share a link
⚙️ Set a countdown, hide parts of the UI, or move it anywhere
🔒 Only you can see your videos, we don’t collect any of your data. You can even go offline!
💙 No limits, make as many videos as you want, for as long as you want
…and much more - all for free & no sign in needed!

Self-hosting Screenity

🛠️ Note: When self-hosted, the extension runs entirely in local-only mode.
No API calls, sign-in flows, or platform features are enabled, nothing is sent anywhere.
Some internal code paths connect to Screenity Pro, but these are only active in the official Chrome Store version.

You can run Screenity locally without having to install it from the Chrome Store. Here's how:

  1. Download the latest Build.zip from the releases page
  2. Load the extension by pasting chrome://extensions/ in the address bar, and enabling developer mode.
  3. Drag the folder that contains the code (make sure it's a folder and not a ZIP file, so unzip first), or click on the "Load unpacked" button and locate the folder.
  4. That's it, you should now be able to use Screenity locally. Follow these instructions to set up the Google Drive integration.

Self-hosting is totally fine for personal, educational, or internal use. If you’re thinking of building a commercial product from this, feel free to reach out, I’m open to chatting 💜

Creating a development version

❗️ Note that the license has changed to GPLv3 for the current MV3 version (Screenity version 3.0.0 and higher). Make sure to read the license and the Terms of Service regarding intellectual property.

  1. Check if your Node.js version is >= 14.
  2. Clone this repository.
  3. Run npm install to install dependencies.
  4. Run npm start to start the local development server.
  5. Open chrome://extensions/ in your browser and enable developer mode.
  6. Click Load unpacked and select the build folder.
  7. The extension should now be available locally.
    To rebuild after code changes, run npm run build.

Enabling Save to Google Drive

To enable the Google Drive Upload (authorization consent screen) you must change the client_id in the manifest.json file with your linked extension key.

You can create it accessing Google Cloud Console and selecting Create Credential > OAuth Client ID > Chrome App. To create a persistent extension key, you can follow the steps detailed here.

Acknowledgements

If you need any help, or want to become a Screenity expert, you can browse articles and guides in the help center. You can also submit any feedback or ideas in this form, or contact through this page

Frequently asked questions

Is Screenity free to use?

Screenity is open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. There is no licence fee and no seat count — you can self-host it or, where the project offers one, pay a vendor for a managed version instead.

What does Screenity do?

Free, private screen recording for Chrome

What is Screenity written in?

Screenity is primarily written in JavaScript. Its source is publicly available at https://github.com/alyssaxuu/screenity, and it has 18,703 GitHub stars.