How to Record Your Screen Without Installing Anything

Screen recording should be simple — press a button, it records, you get a file. Most tools make that surprisingly difficult. The big names, Loom, Screencastify, Camtasia, all require installing an app or extension before you can do anything, which is fine if you use them daily but annoying for a one-off recording you need right now. The browser-based alternatives usually swap that problem for a different one: they upload your recording to their own servers so you get a shareable link, which is great for sharing but means whatever was on your screen is now sitting on a stranger's infrastructure. Then there's the sign-up wall — record something, and suddenly you need an email address just to get the file back.

The trick already built into your browser

Chrome's built-in screen capture API (getDisplayMedia) has been available since 2018. Any webpage can ask for screen access with it — no extension, no app to install. The recording never has to leave your device at all.

How to record your screen in 3 steps

Open the GetPlugzz Screen Recorder in your browser. No account needed, no extension to install.

1. Choose your settings. Pick your format (WebM or MP4), audio preference, and quality level. This takes about five seconds and you won't need to touch it again.
2. Click Start Recording — choose what to share. Your browser will ask what to share: your entire screen, a specific window, or a single browser tab. Pick one, click Share, and the recording starts immediately.
3. Stop and download. Click Stop when you're done. The file is ready instantly — preview it in the browser if you want, then download it straight to your device. Nothing is sent anywhere.

That's the whole process. From opening the page to having a file on your desktop takes about 30 seconds of setup.

WebM or MP4 — which to choose

The tool gives you two format options. Here's when to use each one.

WebM is the default, and the safer choice for most situations. It's recorded directly by Chrome with no conversion, which means it starts faster and is more reliable, and the file size is smaller for the same quality. The downside: some older video players and Windows apps don't handle WebM as well as MP4.

MP4 is the more universally compatible format. If you're sharing the recording with someone who might open it in Windows Media Player, embed it in a presentation, or upload it somewhere that expects MP4 — use this. Not all browsers support MP4 recording natively; the tool will show you if it's available in yours.

Quick rule: if you're keeping the file for yourself or uploading it to YouTube, WebM is fine. If you're sending it to someone else or need it to work in a specific app, use MP4.

Low, Medium, High — what quality to pick

Quality controls the video bitrate — essentially how much detail is preserved per second of recording. Higher quality means a sharper video and a larger file.

• Low (2 Mbps) — good for recordings where content barely moves: presentations, walking through a document, explaining a UI. File sizes stay small and the quality is perfectly fine for that kind of content.
• Medium (5 Mbps) — the default, and the right choice for most things. Smooth motion, clear text, reasonable file size. Start here unless you have a specific reason not to.
• High (10 Mbps) — use this when sharpness really matters: a tutorial where viewers will pause to read small text, a demo video for a product page, or anything you'll upload publicly. Files are larger but the difference is visible on a good screen.

For comparison: YouTube recommends 8 Mbps for a 1080p upload, and OBS Studio defaults to 2.5 Mbps for local recordings. Medium sits between the two — good quality without bloated files.

Recording with microphone audio

Switch the Audio toggle to Microphone and the tool will ask for mic access before starting. Any built-in laptop microphone, headset, or USB microphone works — whatever your operating system sees as the default audio input.

• The microphone permission is separate from the screen share permission — your browser will ask for both.
• If you're recording in a noisy environment, sit closer to the microphone than you think you need to. Quiet, muffled audio is much harder to watch than a bit of background noise.
• If the browser denies the microphone permission, click the lock/camera icon in the address bar and allow microphone access for the page.

When this is the right tool

This is a straightforward screen recorder. It does one thing well: records your screen, gives you a file, and keeps everything on your device. That makes it the right tool for a specific set of situations:

• Bug reports — "here's exactly what's happening" is more useful than a written description. Record the issue, send the file.
• Quick how-to videos — showing a colleague how something works in 90 seconds beats writing a five-paragraph explanation.
• Product demos — record a walkthrough before a call, so you're not relying on a live demo going smoothly.
• Anything you want to keep private — if you're recording internal systems, personal data, or financial information, tools that upload to the cloud are a risk. This one isn't.
• Quick captures with no setup time — open the page, record, close the page. Nothing installed, nothing to configure.

It's not the right tool if you need to edit the recording, add captions, create GIFs from clips, or collaborate on video — something like CapCut or DaVinci Resolve serves those better. But for capturing something quickly without bureaucracy, it's hard to beat.

FAQ