Your Mac is recording, but the window you used to start it no longer has an obvious stop button. For Apple's built-in recorder, click the Stop button in the menu bar or press Command-Control-Esc. Below are the controls for other recording apps, meeting recordings, and a recorder that won't respond.
Stop the recording from the menu bar
For a recording started with Screenshot or modern QuickTime Player, use the menu-bar control.
- 1.Find the Stop button in your Mac's menu bar, a square inside a circle.
- 2.Click Stop to finish the recording.
- 3.If you cannot reach the button, press Command-Control-Esc instead.
Use the keyboard shortcut when the button is hard to find
Press Command-Control-Esc, holding Command and Control while pressing Escape. This stops Apple's built-in screen recorder, including Screenshot recordings started through QuickTime Player.
Escape alone cancels Screenshot's capture setup before you click Record. An active recording needs the full Command-Control-Esc shortcut.
If the shortcut does not stop the recording, click the menu-bar Stop button. For a third-party recorder, use its own stop control or shortcut below.
Find the stop control in your recording app
Using Apple's shortcut in another recording app leaves you with the wrong control: Command-Control-Esc is not a universal stop command.
In Loom, click Stop on the left-hand recording control menu.
For a keyboard alternative, press Command-Shift-L in the Loom Mac desktop app. That's the default on QWERTY keyboards. In the current Loom app for macOS 15 or later, check or change bindings under Recording settings (cog icon) > All Settings > Shortcuts; the previous Loom app lists them under Settings > Preferences.
In Screen Studio, click Stop Recording in the recording control widget.
If the display notch conceals Screen Studio's menu-bar icon, right-click its Dock icon and choose Finish Recording.
In Camtasia, click Stop in the recorder.
For its keyboard alternative, press Command-Option-2.
Another option is to click the Camtasia menu-bar icon and choose Stop Recording.
In OBS Studio, click Stop Recording in the Controls dock. Recording shortcuts are configured under Settings > Hotkeys; there is no universal default stop combination.
With Clipchamp in Chrome or Edge, click stop sharing in the browser's horizontal capture toolbar.
Then choose save and edit in Clipchamp's preview.
In ScreenPal Online Recorder, click Pause.
Click Done to finish and upload the recording. The Trash icon discards it instead.
End a meeting recording with its own controls
A meeting's cloud recording is separate from local Mac capture, and stopping screen sharing does not reliably stop it. In Zoom, click Stop Recording for a computer recording; for cloud recording, an authorized host or co-host uses Record > Stop recording. Zoom normally converts computer recordings after the meeting ends.
In Google Meet, choose Meeting tools > Recording > Stop recording. Your account and meeting role must permit recording control.
In the confirmation window, click Stop recording.
For Teams work or school, choose More actions > Record and transcribe > Stop recording, which also stops live transcription. In Teams personal, choose More actions > Stop recording > Stop.
Close a recorder that will not respond
Try quitting the recording app normally before forcing it to close. For a separate Screenshot recording, use Apple's menu-bar Stop button or Command-Control-Esc; Apple does not document quitting QuickTime as a stop method for that capture.
Bring the recording app to the foreground.
Press Command-Q.
Respond to any recording or save confirmation the app presents. Save behavior depends on the app.
If the app is unresponsive, press Option-Command-Esc to open the force-quit window. This is different from the built-in recorder's Command-Control-Esc shortcut.
Select the recording application.
Click Force Quit. This puts unsaved recording data at risk, so reserve it for an app that will not respond.
If the recorder still will not close, choose Apple menu > Restart. Restarting ends local processes once it completes, but it is not a finish-and-save command or a reliable way to stop a cloud meeting recording.
If your Mac will not restart, hold its power button for up to 10 seconds until it turns off. On a laptop with Touch ID, use the Touch ID button. This emergency shutdown puts the recording at risk of loss or an incomplete file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I stop recording automatically in OBS Studio?
Yes. Open Tools > Output Timer. Set Hours, Minutes, and Seconds beside Stop recording after:. Click Start for the recording timer. Select Enable recording timer every time to reuse it automatically.
How do I pause or cancel a Loom recording?
In Loom's Mac desktop app or Chrome extension, press Option-Shift-P to pause or resume. Press Option-Shift-C to cancel. Pausing does not finish the recording, and cancellation differs from finishing it for sharing.
Will turning off screen-recording permission save the current recording?
Apple does not document permission changes as a finish-and-save command. Finish the recording with the app's stop control first. To prevent future access, open Apple menu > System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording. Turn off access for the app.
Does leaving a meeting stop its recording?
Google Meet and ordinary Teams work or school recordings stop when everyone leaves. One participant leaving is insufficient. In Teams personal, recording stops when the participant who started it leaves. Organizational compliance recording follows its applicable policy.