Captions that carry the message

Most screen recordings are watched with the sound off — in an open office, a Slack thread, or a docs page. ScreenTailor is a native macOS screen recorder with captions built into the editor, so the viewer never has to guess what they're looking at.

Why caption a screen recording

A caption does the narrator's job when there's no narrator: it names the step ("Open Settings → License"), points out the result ("The key is now active"), or adds the call to action at the end. Captions also make tutorials easier to follow for non-native speakers and viewers who can't turn the sound on.

Text exactly where you want it

Add a caption anywhere on the timeline and it shows for exactly the seconds you choose. Multi-line text is fine, and you position it anywhere on the frame — a lower-third for narration, a big center title for the intro, a small label next to the thing you're demonstrating.

Style presets and animation

• Style presets — save the font, size and colors you use, then apply them with one click so every caption in the video (and the next video) matches.
• Animated entrances — pop in, typewriter, or zoom, with adjustable speed, so a caption draws the eye instead of just appearing.
• Stay on top — captions can sit above frame effects like fades, which keeps titles and CTAs readable over transitions.

Emoji stamps

Sometimes the right caption isn't words. Drop an emoji stamp — a 👆 next to the button, a ✅ on the finished step, a ⚠️ on the gotcha — timed on the timeline just like text.

How it works

1. Record your screen, or open an existing recording in ScreenTailor.
2. On the timeline, add a caption at the moment it should appear.
3. Type the text, position it on the frame, and pick a preset or style it once.
4. Choose an entrance animation, preview it live, then export a share-ready MP4.

Prefer a step-by-step walkthrough? See how to add captions to a screen recording.

Part of a full editor

Captions are one part of ScreenTailor's built-in editor — zoom and emphasis, effects, trimming and Checkpoint Recording live in the same window. New to recording on macOS? Start with how to screen record on a Mac.

Frequently asked questions