AEShot

AEShot Studio Help

From a recording to a finished video or guide, step by step.

Getting started

Install

Open the disk image you downloaded and drag AEShot Studio to the Applications folder.

Run the installer you downloaded. It installs AEShot Studio for your account, without administrator rights, and adds it to the Start menu.

Choose the package for your Linux under Download on the AEShot Studio page and install it with the command shown there.

If Edge or Windows warns because the installer isn’t code-signed yet, here is what to do.

First launch

The Welcome Guide opens the first time and asks for the Screen Recording permission. Click Try a Sample to explore a finished project.

The Welcome Guide opens the first time. Click Try a Sample to explore a finished project, or Get Started.

Permissions

AEShot Studio needs Screen Recording; a change there applies after AEShot Studio restarts. The camera, the microphone and Speech Recognition are asked for when you first use them, and Input Monitoring only for typing sounds. Settings › Permissions shows each one.

Recording the screen needs no permission on Windows. Camera and microphone access is set in Windows Settings › Privacy & security; Settings › Privacy in AEShot Studio shows it.

The first time you record, your desktop asks which display or window to share. For automatic zooms, AEShot Studio needs your clicks: add yourself to the input group with sudo usermod -aG input $USER, then sign in again.

Where to find it

AEShot Studio is an app in the Dock with a home window for recording and your projects. While you record, a red timer in the menu bar stops the recording when you click it.

AEShot Studio opens to its home window; Settings, Help and the Welcome Guide are under More. While you record, its icon in the notification area stops the recording when you click it.

AEShot Studio opens to its home window, with a File and a Help menu. While you record, a red icon in the system tray stops the recording.

Updates

AEShot Studio looks for a new version about a minute after it starts, then once a day. When one is out, a window shows what’s new. Click Update: it downloads the update, checks its signature, installs it and opens again, and your settings and projects stay. A critical update reminds you until it’s installed. To look now, choose Check for Updates… in the AEShot Studio menu, under About AEShot Studio, or click Check Now in Settings › General › Updates, which also has Check for updates automatically. AEShot Studio 1.1 gets its next update once through its older update window.

AEShot Studio looks for a new version about a minute after it starts, then every hour. When one is out, a window shows what’s new. Click Update: it downloads the update, checks its signature, installs it and opens again, and your settings and projects stay. A critical update reminds you until it’s installed. To look now, choose Check for Updates… in the … (More) menu, next to About AEShot Studio, or click Check Now in Settings › General › Updates, which also has Check for updates automatically.

On Linux, AEShot Studio looks for a new version about a minute after it starts, then once a day. When one is out, a window shows what’s new. Click Update: it downloads the update, checks its signature, installs it with your system’s package manager (apt, dnf, zypper or pacman) after asking for your password, and opens again; your settings and projects stay. A critical update reminds you until it’s installed. To look now, choose Check for Updates… in the Help menu, or click Check Now in Settings › General › Updates, which also has Check for updates automatically. A copy not installed from the packages on aeshot.com only shows Download. Versions before 1.1.1 can’t do this yet: install the newer package from the AEShot Studio page once.

Installation ID and reviews

Settings › General shows this installation’s Installation ID with Copy, and Write a Review on aeshot.com opens the review page with it filled in. Reviews need Count this installation turned on. How reviews work

You can also write one in the app: choose Write a Review… in the AEShot Studio menu.

You can also write one in the app: choose Write a Review… under More.

You can also write one in the app: choose Help › Write a Review….

Step by step

Record a video

Record your screen once; AEShot Studio adds the zooms and the cursor afterwards.

Record a video
  1. In the home window, choose Record Video.
  2. Turn on Camera, Computer audio or Microphone if you want them.
  3. Click Record Display or Record Window.
  4. Click Record Display or Record Window. Your desktop asks what to share.
  5. After the countdown, do your task. The control bar has Pause and Stop.
  6. Click Stop, the red timer in the menu bar or AEShot Studio in the Dock. The editor opens.
  7. Click Stop, or the AEShot Studio icon in the notification area. The editor opens.
  8. Click Stop, or the red icon in the system tray. The editor opens.

Adjust an automatic zoom

AEShot Studio zooms in where you click. Change, move or remove any zoom.

Adjust an automatic zoom
  1. Open the Edit page of the inspector.
  2. Click a zoom in the timeline to select it. Drag it to move it, or drag an end to make it longer or shorter.
  3. Under Selected Zoom, set its Depth and what it focuses on.
  4. To remove it, click Delete Zoom or press ⌘⌫.
  5. To remove it, click Delete Zoom or press Delete.
  6. To add one, choose Add › Zoom. Reset to Automatic brings back a zoom for every click.
  7. No zooms at all? Check that you are in the input group (see Permissions above).

Show your camera in a bubble

Your face in a bubble that moves out of the way of the pointer.

Show your camera in a bubble
  1. Before you record, turn on Camera in the home window.
  2. In the editor, open Look › Camera and choose its Shape, Size and Position.
  3. Turn on Move out of the way: the bubble glides to a free corner when the pointer or a zoom needs the space.
  4. Under Background, choose Blur or Studio to hide what is behind you.
  5. For a moment with only you, or you beside the screen, add a camera moment: Camera Only, Side by Side or Screen Only.

Add captions

Captions of what you say, made on your computer.

Add captions
  1. Install whisper.cpp first. Settings › Captions chooses the speech model, which downloads once.
  2. Open the Text page and go to Captions.
  3. Choose the Language you spoke and click Create Captions.
  4. Pick a Style, and click Edit Captions… to correct a line.
  5. To save them as a file, choose Export Captions (.srt) in the menu next to Export.

Trim, cut and speed up

Leave out the slow parts without cutting by hand.

  1. Drag the yellow handles at the ends of the timeline to trim the start and the end.
  2. To cut out a part, split at the playhead with ⌘B, select the part and press ⌘⌫. Restore brings it back.
  3. To cut out a part, split at the playhead with Ctrl+B, select the part and press Delete. Restore brings it back.
  4. To cut out a part, split at the playhead with Ctrl+B, select the part and press Ctrl+Delete. Restore brings it back.
  5. To speed up a part, select it and choose a speed in the Speed menu.
  6. On the Edit page, Speed Up Waiting and Tighten Pauses shorten the slow parts for you.
  7. ⌘Z undoes any step.
  8. Ctrl+Z undoes any step.

Export the video

Ready-made settings for every place you share videos.

Export the video
  1. Under Export for, choose where the video goes: YouTube, Shorts, Reels, TikTok, LinkedIn, X or Custom.
  2. Click Export (⌘E). The first time, choose the folder for your exports.
  3. Click Export (Ctrl+E). The first time, choose the folder for your exports.
  4. Click Export (Ctrl+E). Videos go to your Videos folder unless you choose another.
  5. For a GIF, choose Export GIF… in the menu next to Export.
  6. When it is done, click Show in Finder or Share.
  7. Show in File Explorer, in the menu next to Export, shows the file.
  8. When it is done, click Show in Folder or Open.

Make a step-by-step guide

Click through a task once and get a guide with a picture for every step.

Make a step-by-step guide
  1. In the home window, choose Create Guide, or Video + Guide for both.
  2. Click Capture Display or Capture Window, then click through your task: every click becomes a step.
  3. To add a step at any time, click Add Step on the control bar or press ⌃⌥⌘S.
  4. To add a step at any time, click Add Step on the control bar or press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S.
  5. Click Stop. In the guide editor, give each step a title and mark its picture with an arrow, a highlight or a redaction.
  6. Under Export as, choose PDF, Web Page (HTML) or Markdown, then click Export… (⌘E).
  7. Under Export as, choose PDF, Web Page (HTML) or Markdown, then click Export… (Ctrl+E).

Questions

Do I need to know video editing?

No. AEShot Studio does the zooms, the cursor and the background on its own. You change only what you want.

How is it different from AEShot Capture?

AEShot Capture is the quick screenshot and recording app, always one shortcut away. AEShot Studio turns screen recordings into finished videos and guides. They are separate apps, both free.

How do I uninstall it?

Quit AEShot Studio and move it from the Applications folder to the Trash. Your projects and exports stay where they are.

Uninstall AEShot Studio from the list of installed apps in Windows Settings.

Remove the package: sudo apt purge aeshot-studio (Debian, Ubuntu), sudo dnf remove aeshot-studio (Fedora), sudo zypper remove aeshot-studio (openSUSE) or sudo pacman -R aeshot-studio (Arch).

Where are my projects and settings?

Projects stay in AEShot Studio on this Mac until you choose a folder in Settings › Storage; exports go to the folder you choose the first time. Settings are in the app’s container, ~/Library/Containers/com.ckyr.AEShotStudio.

Projects are in Videos\AEShot Studio, exports in the folder you choose the first time. Settings are in %APPDATA%\AEShot Studio.

Projects are in ~/Videos/AEShot Studio, exports in ~/Videos. Settings are in ~/.config/AEShot Studio.

What does it need to run?

A Mac with Apple silicon and macOS 14 or later. Recording the microphone needs macOS 15.

Windows 11, 64-bit.

64-bit Linux with ffmpeg, GStreamer with PipeWire, and the desktop portal. KDE Plasma 6 is recommended. Captions need whisper.cpp.

What about my privacy?

Recordings, guides and exports stay on your computer and are never uploaded. The privacy policy has the details.

Still stuck? Email support@aeshot.com, or see AEShot Support for downloads and installing at work.