Record & export

This is the foundation of the screenify CLI: capture a screen or window, then turn it into a polished video — no app window required. (To turn a website into a demo instead, see Web demos.)

Record

# Record for a fixed duration, then export in one shot
screenify record start --screen 1 --duration 8 --export out.mp4 --json

# Or start in the background and stop later
screenify record start --screen 1 --detach --json   # -> { "type": "started", "recordingId", "path" }
screenify record stop --json                          # -> { "type": "stopped", "path" }

Use screenify targets --json first to list the screens, windows, cameras, and microphones you can capture — the id it returns feeds straight into record.

Useful options:

Each recording is saved as a .screenify project in your library, which you can re-export with different styling any time.

Export & style

This is what sets screenify apart from a raw recorder — any export can be styled straight from flags:

# Turn a plain recording into a vertical, branded clip
screenify export demo.screenify -o reel.mp4 \
  --aspect vertical --wallpaper mist --padding 60 \
  --rounding 24 --watermark "Made with Screenify" --music on

For full control over any setting, use --set <path>=<value> (repeatable) or merge a config file with --config <file.json>. Discover every settable field with:

screenify config schema --json

By default, exports keep the recording's native resolution and frame rate, and your original project is never modified — the styling is applied to a temporary copy unless you pass --save.

A recording you haven't styled exports with a random wallpaper and a watermark by default (the same look the app gives a new recording), so a one-step record … --export out.mp4 already looks polished. Choose your own with --wallpaper <id> / --background <#hex>, or get a plain frame with --no-background --no-watermark.

Output formats

Set --format, or just let the output's extension decide (-o demo.gif makes a GIF):

Platform presets

--platform is a one-word shortcut that sets the right aspect ratio for where the video is going:

screenify export demo.screenify -o tiktok.mp4 --platform tiktok --wallpaper orange

An explicit --aspect always overrides --platform.

iOS Simulator demos

Record a booted iOS Simulator straight from the terminal. You get a clean, full-screen capture — no surrounding window chrome — saved as a portrait .screenify project you can frame and style like any other recording.

# List booted simulators, then record one
screenify targets simulators --json            # -> [{ "udid", "name", "runtime" }]
screenify record start --simulator --duration 8 --json   # auto-picks the only booted device

# Frame it in a photoreal device mockup on export
screenify export demo.screenify -o demo.mp4 \
  --device iphone-17-pro-max --device-color cosmic-orange

A simulator recording automatically zooms into each tap so the demo feels guided (turn it off with --no-auto-zoom), and the watermark and styling adapt to the vertical frame. Pass --simulator <udid> when more than one device is booted.

Device frames are part of Screenify Studio. If a frame doesn't appear on export, open that device and color once in the app to fetch it, then re-run the export.

Script the taps

You don't have to touch the simulator by hand — hand screenify a list of taps and it performs them while recording, then builds the zoom from them. Perfect for automated, repeatable demos and AI agents:

# taps.json: [ { "tap": [0.5, 0.28] }, { "wait": 2000 }, { "tap": [0.3, 0.55] }, { "swipe": { "from": [0.5, 0.8], "to": [0.5, 0.3] } } ]
screenify record start --simulator --actions taps.json --path demo.screenify --json
screenify export demo.screenify -o demo.mp4 --device iphone-17-pro-max

Tap and swipe coordinates are fractions of the device screen (0–1, top-left origin). Keep the simulator window visible, and grant the terminal Accessibility permission (System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility) so it can drive the taps.

Next

That's recording your own screen or an iOS Simulator. To turn a website into a finished demo automatically, see Web demos.