How to Record Your Stream with Streamlabs Desktop

Streamlabs Desktop lets you record your stream locally while you broadcast, or record without going live at all. You get a high-quality MP4 or MKV file of your gameplay, webcam, and mic, ready to edit or upload. Before you start, make sure you have Streamlabs Desktop installed, a decent amount of free hard drive space, and a microphone and camera connected if you want them in the recording.

What You’ll Need

• Streamlabs Desktop installed (free from the official site)
• A computer that can run Streamlabs without lag (dual-core CPU or better, 4GB RAM minimum)
• Enough free disk space for the video file (a 1-hour 1080p recording is roughly 3-5 GB)
• Optional: microphone, webcam, and a game or application to record

Step-by-Step

1. Open Streamlabs Desktop and log in with your streaming account (Twitch, YouTube, or Facebook). You can use it without an account, but logging in lets you sync your scenes and settings.
2. Set up your sources. On the main screen, you’ll see the “Sources” box. Click the plus (+) icon to add what you want to record: “Display Capture” to record your whole screen, “Game Capture” for a specific game, “Window Capture” for a single window, or “Video Capture Device” for your webcam. For each source, give it a name, then select the display, window, or device in the pop-up.
3. Add audio sources. Click the plus (+) icon again and choose “Audio Input Capture” for your microphone and “Audio Output Capture” for your computer’s sound. Select your mic and speakers/headphones from the dropdowns.
4. Arrange your scene. Drag the sources in the preview window to position them. Resize by dragging the corners. Make sure your webcam is in a corner and your game or display fills the rest.
5. Open Settings. Click the gear icon (Settings) in the bottom-left corner. Go to the “Output” tab on the left.
6. Choose recording quality. In the “Recording” section, set the “Recording Quality” to “Same as Stream” (uses your stream settings) or “High Quality, Medium File Size” (good for local recordings). For advanced users, you can set a custom bitrate (e.g., 6000 Kbps for 1080p) and encoder (x264 for CPU, NVENC for NVIDIA GPUs).
7. Set the recording format. In the same Output tab, find “Recording Format.” Choose MP4 if you want a file that plays anywhere, or MKV if you want a file that survives a crash (MKV won’t corrupt if Streamlabs freezes). You can always remux MKV to MP4 later.
8. Choose where to save. Scroll to “Recording Path.” Click “Browse” and pick a folder on your hard drive with plenty of space. Avoid saving to the same drive as your game if possible.
9. Turn on recording. Close Settings. On the bottom-right of the main window, you’ll see a “Record” button (a red circle). Click it to start recording. The button will turn into a red square (Stop).
10. Stop recording. Click the red square when you’re done. Streamlabs will finalize the file and save it to your chosen folder. You can click the “Record” button again to start a new recording.
11. Check your file. Open the folder you chose and play the video to confirm everything looks and sounds right.

Common Mistakes

• Recording the wrong source: If you pick “Display Capture” but your game is in fullscreen, you might get a black screen. Use “Game Capture” for games, or set your game to “Windowed” or “Borderless” mode.
• No audio: Forgetting to add an audio source, or having the wrong device selected, results in silent recordings. Check the mixer bars in Streamlabs—they should move when you speak or play sound.
• File too large: Recording at ultra-high bitrate (like 20000 Kbps) fills your drive fast. Use a moderate bitrate (6000-12000 Kbps) for 1080p.
• Recording to the system drive: Saving to your C: drive can slow your computer and cause dropped frames. Use a secondary internal drive or an external SSD.
• Not stopping the recording properly: Closing Streamlabs while recording can corrupt the file. Always click the Stop button first.

Tips

• Use the “Replay Buffer” if you want to save the last 30-60 seconds of gameplay after something cool happens. Set it in Settings > Output > Replay Buffer, then press a hotkey (default Ctrl+Alt+R) to save the clip.
• Separate your audio tracks: In Settings > Output > Recording, set “Audio Tracks” to 2. Then in your audio sources, set your mic to track 1 and game audio to track 2. This lets you edit them separately in video software.
• Test before a long session: Record 5 minutes, watch it, and adjust volume and quality before recording a 3-hour stream.
• Use hotkeys: Set a hotkey for Start/Stop Recording in Settings > Hotkeys (e.g., Ctrl+F9). It’s faster than clicking and avoids mouse clicks being recorded.
• Keep your scenes organized: Name your scenes (e.g., “Starting Soon”, “Gameplay”, “BRB”) and switch between them while recording. Only the active scene’s sources are recorded.

Troubleshooting

• Black screen in recording: If you’re using Game Capture and see black, run your game in Windowed/Borderless mode, or try Display Capture instead. Also, disable “Hardware Acceleration” in your browser if recording a browser window.
• No sound in the recording: Check that your audio sources are added and not muted. In the mixer, make sure the sliders aren’t at zero. Also, in Windows, right-click the speaker icon > Sounds > Recording tab, and ensure your mic is set as default.
• Recording lags or drops frames: Lower the recording quality (bitrate) or switch the encoder. If you have an NVIDIA GPU, use NVENC (new). If you have a strong CPU, use x264 with a faster preset (e.g., “veryfast”). Close other programs that use CPU/GPU.
• File is corrupted or won’t open: If you recorded in MKV, you can remux it to MP4 in Streamlabs: click the “File” menu > “Remux Recordings”, select the MKV file, and it will convert it to MP4. If it’s already MP4 and corrupted, the recording was interrupted—use MKV next time.
• Streamlabs won’t start recording: Make sure you have at least 1GB of free space on the recording drive. Also, try running Streamlabs as administrator (right-click > Run as administrator).
• Webcam not showing: Check that the webcam is plugged in and not used by another app (like Zoom). In the source settings, try a different resolution or frame rate (e.g., 720p at 30fps).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I record without going live?

Yes. Just click the Record button without starting a stream. Streamlabs records whatever is in your current scene, and you can go live later if you want.

What’s the best recording format?

Use MKV while recording because it’s crash-resistant. After you’re done, remux it to MP4 for editing and uploading. MP4 is more compatible but can corrupt if Streamlabs crashes.

How do I record my mic and game audio separately?

In Settings > Output > Recording, set Audio Tracks to 2. Then, click the gear on your mic source > Advanced, and check only Track 1. Do the same for game audio but check Track 2. Your video editor will show two audio tracks.

Why is my recording so large?

High bitrate and resolution create large files. Lower the bitrate (e.g., to 4500 Kbps for 720p) or use a more efficient encoder like NVENC. Also, shorter recordings and lower frame rates (30fps instead of 60fps) reduce file size.

Can I record in 1440p or 4K?

Yes, but you need a powerful GPU and a fast hard drive (SSD). Set the base and output resolution in Settings > Video, and increase the bitrate to 12000-20000 Kbps for 1440p, 30000+ for 4K. Test to avoid dropped frames.

Does recording affect my stream quality?

It can, if your computer is not powerful enough. Recording uses extra CPU/GPU. If you notice lag, lower the recording quality or use a different encoder. Streamlabs lets you set separate stream and recording bitrates, so you can record at a lower quality than you stream.

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