NAME

     wf-recorder — simple screen recording program for wlroots-based compositors

SYNOPSIS

     wf-recorder [-abcCdDefFghlmopPrRvxX] [-a, --audio [=DEVICE]] [-b, --bframes max_b_frames]
                 [-B, --buffrate buffrate] [-c, --codec output_codec] [-r, --framerate framerate]
                 [-d, --device encoding_device] [--no-dmabuf] [-D, --no-damage] [-f filename.ext]
                 [-F filter_string] [-g, --geometry geometry] [-h, --help] [-l, --log]
                 [-m, --muxer muxer] [-o, --output output]
                 [-p, --codec-param [option_param=option_value]] [-v, --version]
                 [-x, --pixel-format] [-C, --audio-codec output_audio_codec]
                 [-P, --audio-codec-param [option_param=option_value]]
                 [-R, --sample-rate sample_rate] [-X, --sample-format sample_format]

DESCRIPTION

     wf-recorder is a tool built to record your screen on Wayland compositors.  It makes use of
     wlr-screencopy for capturing video and ffmpeg(1) for encoding it.

     In its simplest form, run wf-recorder to start recording and use ‘Ctrl+C’ to stop.  This
     will create a file called ‘recording.mp4’ in the current working directory using the default
     codec.

     The options are as follows:

     -a, --audio [=DEVICE]
             Starts recording the screen with audio.

             DEVICE argument is optional.  In case you want to specify the PulseAudio device
             which will capture the audio, you can run this command with the name of that device.
             You can find your device by running
                   $ pactl list sources | grep Name

     -b, --bframes max_b_frames
             Sets the maximum number of B-Frames to use.
     -B, --buffrate buffrate
             Tells the encoder a prediction of what framerate to expect.  This preserves VFR and
             Solves FPS limit issue of some encoders (like svt-av1).  Should be set to the same
             framerate as display.

     -c, --codec output_codec
             Specifies the codec of the video. Supports GIF output as well.

             To modify codec parameters, use -p option_name=option_value

     -r, --framerate framerate
             Sets hard constant framerate. Will duplicate frames to reach it.  This makes the
             resulting video CFR. Solves FPS limit issue of some encoders.

     -d, --device encoding_device
             Selects the device to use when encoding the video.

             Some drivers report support for ‘rgb0’ data for vaapi input but really only support
             yuv.  Use the -x yuv420 option in addition to the vaapi options to convert the data
             in software, before sending it to the GPU.

     --no-dmabuf
             By default, wf-recorder will try to use only GPU buffers and copies if using a GPU
             encoder.  However, this can cause issues on some systems.  In such cases, this
             option will disable the GPU copy and force a CPU one.

     -D, --no-damage
             By default, wf-recorder will request a new frame from the compositor only when the
             screen updates. This results in a much smaller output file, which however has a
             variable refresh rate. When this option is on, wf-recorder does not use this
             optimization and continuously records new frames, even if there are no updates on
             the screen.

     -f filename.ext
             By using the -f option, the output file will have the name filename.ext and the file
             format will be determined by the provided extension.  If the extension is not
             recognized by your ffmpeg(1) muxers, the command will fail.

             You can check the muxers that your ffmpeg(1) installation supports by running
                   $ ffmpeg -muxers

     -F, --filter filter_string
             Set the ffmpeg filter to use. VAAPI requires
             `scale_vaapi=format=nv12:out_range=full` to work.

     -g, --geometry screen_geometry
             Selects a specific part of the screen. The format is "x,y WxH".

     -h, --help
             Prints the help screen.

     -l, --log
             Generates a log on the current terminal. For debug purposes.

     -m, --muxer muxer
             Set the output format to a specific muxer instead of detecting it from the filename.

     -o, --output
             Specify the output where the video is to be recorded.

     -p, --codec-param [option_name=option_value]
             Change the codec parameters.

     -v, --version
             Print the version of wf-recorder.

     -x, --pixel-format pixel_format
             Set the output pixel format.

             List available formats using
                   $ ffmpeg -pix_fmts

     -C, --audio-codec output_audio_codec
             Specifies the codec of the audio.

     -P, --audio-codec-param [option_name=option_value]
             Change the audio codec parameters.

     -R, --sample-rate sample_rate
             Changes the audio sample rate, in HZ. The default value is 48000.

     -X, --sample-format sample_format
             Set the output audio sample format.

             List available formats using
                   $ ffmpeg -sample_fmts

EXAMPLES

     To select a specific part of the screen you can either use --g geometry or use
     https://github.com/emersion/slurp for interactive selection of the screen area that will be
     recorded:
           $ wf-recorder -g $(slurp)

     You can record screen and sound simultaneously with
           $ wf-recorder --audio --file=recording_with_audio.mp4

     To specify an audio device, use the --a<DEVICE> or ---audio=<DEVICE> options.

     To specify a codec use the -c codec option. To modify codec parameters, -p
     option_name=option_value.

     To set a specific output format, use the -m, --muxer option. For example, to output to a
     video4linux2 loopback you might use:
           $ wf-recorder --muxer=v4l2 --codec=rawvideo --file=/dev/video2

     To use GPU encoding, use a VAAPI codec (for ex.  ‘h264_vaapi’ ) and specify a GPU device to
     use with the -d option:
           $ wf-recorder -f test-vaapi.mkv -c h264_vaapi -d /dev/dri/renderD128

     Some drivers report support for ‘rgb0’ data for ‘vaapi’ input but really only support yuv
     planar formats.  In this case, use the -x yuv420p option in addition to the ‘vaapi’ options
     to convert the data to yuv planar data before sending it to the GPU.

SEE ALSO

     ffmpeg(1), pactl(1)