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Overview
Kap is an open-source macOS screen recorder launched from the menu bar for quickly capturing a selected region. It is built with Electron and web technologies and exposes a plugin model for extending recording workflows.
Features and best fit
Based on official documentation; not hands-on tested · Content checked:
Key features
Record only the screen region you need
Choose a capture area from the menu-bar application and start or stop recording quickly; v3.6.0 also added pause and resume during a recording.
Ship native builds for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs
Official downloads distinguish arm64 and x64 builds, and the package configuration defines macOS targets for both architectures.
Extend post-recording workflows with plugins
Plugin documentation allows recording output to be connected to additional processing and sharing workflows.
Sources: [2]
Best fit
Fits Mac users sharing short demos and reproducible bug recordings
It is better suited to fast, focused screen capture than to full streaming or large-scale video-editing workflows.
Sources: [2]
Before adoption
GitHub release activity has been quiet for an extended period
The latest GitHub Release is v3.6.0 from October 2022 and the repository's last push was in November 2024. On 2026-era macOS, verify screen-capture permissions, notarization, and Electron compatibility before relying on it.
Kap is macOS-only
The build configuration targets macOS x64 and arm64, and the README documents Mac downloads and Homebrew installation rather than Windows or Linux packages.
Use and redistribute it under MIT terms
Kap is licensed under MIT. Redistributions should retain the copyright notice and license text.
Sources: [5]
Official sources
- [1]wulkano/Kap repository(2026-09-30)
- [2]Kap README(2026-09-30)
- [3]Kap v3.6.0 release(2026-09-30)
- [4]Kap package configuration(2026-09-30)
- [5]Kap MIT license(2026-09-30)
Supplemental curator note
Kap is a macOS-only menu-bar recorder focused on quickly capturing a selected screen region. Its latest GitHub Release is v3.6.0 from 2022 and the repository was last pushed in November 2024, so verify screen-capture permissions, signing, and compatibility on current macOS versions.
Try it in 3 steps
- 1
Install Kap with Homebrew
Install Kap on macOS using the Homebrew Cask path documented by the project.
brew install --cask kap - 2
Launch Kap
If macOS requests screen-recording permission on first launch, grant it in System Settings.
open -a Kap - 3
Record a short screen clip
Choose a region from the menu bar and start recording. Option-click the menu-bar icon to pause or resume while recording.
Use the Kap menu-bar icon to select an area and start recording
Growth
Growth trends · Last 30 days
19,381 Stars
Trend data is still being collected.
Built with
Categories and tags
Categories
GitHub data
GitHub dataView detailed GitHub data
GitHub Topics
- aperture
- app
- capture
- communication
- electron
- javascript
- kap
- mac
- macos
- nextjs
- open-source
- oss
- Stars
- 19,381
- Forks
- 902
- Watchers
- 178
- Open issues
- 260
- Owner type
- Organization
- Primary language
- TypeScript
- License
- MIT
- Repository last updated
- Nov 12, 2024
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