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How to Record GitHub

Record GitHub pull request reviews with readable diffs. Guide for PR walkthroughs, repo onboarding, and Actions debugging recordings.

When you’d need to record GitHub

Pull request review walkthroughs

Record yourself reviewing a PR — scroll through the diff, leave inline comments, request changes or approve. Reviewees hear your reasoning instead of deciphering terse one-line comments.

Repository onboarding for new contributors

Record a tour of your repo — folder structure, key files, CI/CD workflow, how to fork and submit a PR. Pin the video in the README or CONTRIBUTING.md.

Issue triage and project board management

Record your issue triage process — labeling, milestone assignment, project board moves. Maintainers who share triage duty can align on process by watching the recording.

GitHub Actions debugging

Record a failing Actions workflow — show the workflow YAML, the run logs, the error, and your fix. CI debugging context is impossible to convey in an issue comment.

Recommended settings

Resolution

1920x1080

Frame rate

30fps

Audio

Microphone only

Capture mode

Window Capture

Things to know

•GitHub's diff view renders code in small monospace font — line numbers and change indicators need zoom to be readable
•Notification bell shows unread counts and repository names that may reveal private project involvement
•GitHub Copilot chat sidebar and Code Spaces may auto-open and show prior conversation history
•Repository names in the URL and header reveal org structure — private org names are visible

Step-by-step

1
In Screenify Studio, select Window Capture and pick the GitHub window.
1080p is sufficient — GitHub's layout is fixed-width and doesn't benefit from higher resolution.
2
Open GitHub in Chrome. Check your notification bell (top right) — it shows repo names and issue titles that may be private. Clear notifications or ignore the bell during recording.
3
Navigate to the repository and specific page (PR, issue, Actions tab) before recording. GitHub's URL shows the org name, repo name, and page — ensure these are acceptable to show publicly.
4
For PR reviews, expand the Files Changed tab. GitHub collapses large diffs by default — click 'Load diff' on collapsed files so they're visible during recording instead of loading mid-demo.
5
When reviewing code in the diff view, click a line number to start an inline comment. Pause after clicking — GitHub's comment box animation takes 0.5 seconds. Start typing after the box fully renders.

For Actions and Projects demos

6
For Actions debugging, navigate to the specific failed run. Click the failed job, then the failed step. GitHub auto-scrolls to the error — pause here so viewers can read the error message before you explain the fix.
7
When demonstrating GitHub Projects (beta board), drag cards between columns slowly. The board animates card movement — fast dragging causes cards to jump unpredictably on video.
8
For repo settings walkthroughs (branch protection, secrets, webhooks), navigate each settings page individually. GitHub's Settings has 15+ sections — clicking through them rapidly loses viewers.

Pro tips

Auto-zoom on inline PR comments. GitHub's diff view shows code at ~13px with inline comments in a narrow thread below. When you click a line to add a review comment, auto-zoom catches the click and zooms in — viewers can read both the code context and your comment text.

Expand all diffs before recording. GitHub collapses files with large diffs ('Large diffs are not rendered by default'). If you need to reference those files during your review, click 'Load diff' on each one before starting. Loading mid-recording pauses your flow and shows a spinner.

Use 'Viewed' checkmarks to track progress. In a PR with 20+ files, check the 'Viewed' checkbox on each file after reviewing it. This gives viewers a visual progress indicator and helps you keep track of where you are in a long review.

Start with the PR description, not the diff. Click the Conversation tab first. Read or summarize the PR description and linked issues. Then switch to Files Changed. Viewers need context before seeing code changes — a diff without context is meaningless.

Common mistakes

Jumping straight into the diff without context. You open Files Changed and start commenting on line 42. Viewers have no idea what this PR does, why the change was made, or what file they're looking at. Start with the Conversation tab — read the PR title, description, and linked issues.

Not expanding collapsed diffs. You scroll past a collapsed file saying 'this one's fine' — but the file was actually important. Viewers see a gray bar that says 'Load diff' and wonder what you skipped. Expand files you'll reference before recording.

Showing the notification bell dropdown. You accidentally hover over the bell and it drops down showing 'SecretOrg/internal-api: Fix critical auth bypass' — a private repo name and sensitive issue title. Avoid hovering over the notification area.

Recording repository Settings without checking for secrets. GitHub Settings > Secrets and Variables shows secret names (not values, but names like `PROD_DB_PASSWORD`, `STRIPE_SECRET_KEY`). Secret names reveal your infrastructure. Navigate away from the Secrets page before recording.