How to Record Roblox Studio (2026): F12 Video Capture, OBS and Playtest Footage

People look up how to record Roblox Studio for four different jobs: showing a teammate a bug that appeared during a playtest, keeping a devlog of a build, sharing an animation preview from the Animation Editor, or capturing trailer footage for a game page or YouTube. As of October 16, 2026, Roblox's creator documentation lists F12 as the key for “Record video (Windows)”, and the older Studio shortcuts page described F12 as Video Record, adding that it is not functional on Mac. What the current docs do not say is which folder those recordings land in or whether there is a length limit. Roblox's help center separately describes in-experience video capture for players, opened from Captures in the Roblox menu: clips of up to 30 seconds, with no game sound or voice chat, kept in Roblox app storage until you save them to your Videos folder. That article lists no key and does not mention Studio. So this guide shows how to test F12 first, then covers the alternatives by purpose: OBS window capture when you want only the Studio window, Xbox Game Bar when you want to record in Roblox Studio without OBS or any install, and replay tools (DOR's blackbox and NVIDIA Instant Replay) for bugs that already happened before you pressed record. One thing to sort out before anything else: Studio uses F7 and F8 to start tests, and DOR's default keys are also F7 (screen record) and F8 (clip and blackbox). When two programs listen for the same key, both react, so changing your recorder's hotkeys is step one. This guide is written for creators building in Studio on a Windows PC. If you are a player who wants video evidence of someone breaking the rules, how to report someone on Roblox covers that instead.

Quick answer: how to record Roblox Studio depends on what you need to capture

For a quick capture to check something, F12 is convenient because there is nothing to install; just run one short test first so you know where the file goes. If you want only the Studio window, with no notifications or other apps in the shot, add a Window Capture source in OBS. Roblox's own help center notes that OBS game capture is known to have issues with Roblox and recommends window or desktop capture instead. To record without OBS or any extra software, Xbox Game Bar's Windows logo key + Alt + R starts and stops a recording of the app you are using. The hard case is a bug that shows up while nothing is recording. A normal recording cannot reach back before you pressed the button, so you need a replay feature that keeps recording in the background and writes the last few dozen seconds to a file when you press a key. DOR's blackbox is on by default and saves the last 30 seconds of your screen with one key even when no recording has been started. On an NVIDIA graphics card, the NVIDIA app's Instant Replay plays a similar role, but test once whether it saves while you are in Studio. For trailers that need a player's-eye view, you can film with free camera mode during a Studio playtest, or publish the place and record yourself actually playing it in the Roblox app. A newly published game is only open to you, users with Edit access and group members with the right permissions. If you build as a team, playtest and publish rights on group games follow group roles, so confirm that whoever handles footage has them. If you are still looking for a group to build with, see how to find a Roblox group.

How to record a Roblox Studio playtest, step by step

1. 1Move your recorder's hotkeys off Studio's F7 and F8According to Roblox's creator documentation, Studio uses F5 for Test, F8 for Run and Shift+F5 for Stop, and F7 starts the test when the testing mode is set to Server & Clients. DOR defaults to F7 for screen recording and F8 for saving clips, blackbox clips included. Left as is, one press of F8 triggers Studio's Run and a DOR blackbox save at the same time, and pressing F7 to start a screen recording can also launch a Server & Clients test. In DOR, change the screen record key under Settings > Record > Manual recording (Hotkey Setting) and the clip key under Settings > Highlight (Hotkey Setting) to combinations such as Ctrl+Shift+F7 and Ctrl+Shift+F8. Key combinations need the latest version of the app; older versions only accept F1 to F12, so update first. Mouse buttons and Ctrl or Shift on their own cannot be assigned, and keys cannot be changed while a recording is running. To check that your combination is free in Studio, look in the Customize Shortcuts window under Studio's File menu.
2. 2Set quality and sound before you startDOR records at 1080p and 30 fps by default. Up to 60 fps is free; 1440p and above and 120 fps and above are Pro features. Resolution and frame rate cannot be changed in the middle of a recording, so set them in Settings > Video before you open Studio. If the video shows build steps or controls, use your 10-second test to check that the mouse cursor looks the way you want. Screen recordings include the sound playing on your PC, so mute or lower Discord, music and notification sounds, and if the video should not include your voice, turn off Mic Recording in Settings > Audio (the mic is on by default). Game sound and mic are saved mixed into one track, so you cannot pull your voice out afterwards.
3. 3Start the playtest and press your record keyTidy the screen first. DOR's screen recording captures an entire monitor, not just the Studio window, so close chat apps, browsers and anything else that should not be seen, and consider pausing Windows notifications. On a multi-monitor setup, make a 10-second test to see which screen was captured and move Studio there. When you are ready, start a playtest with F5 (Test) or F8 (Run) and press the screen record key you set. Press it again to save and stop. With F12, record a few seconds, press F12 again to see whether it stops, then sort your Windows Videos folder by date modified and look for a new file. In OBS, pick the Studio window in a Window Capture source and click Start Recording. Shift+F5 stops the playtest.
4. 4Save bugs after they happen with the blackboxBugs tend to appear before you think to hit record. DOR's blackbox is on by default, so even without a screen recording running, pressing the clip key saves the last 30 seconds of your screen as a video. You can pick 15, 30, 45 or 60 seconds under Settings > Highlight. Press the key once right after the bug appears or right after you reproduce it, and keep the Output window with its error messages visible so whoever fixes it can see the cause. The blackbox also captures the whole monitor, so keep unrelated windows off screen while testing.
5. 5Capture animations and trailer shotsFor animation previews, open the Animation Editor from Studio's Avatar tab, turn on Looping and press the spacebar to play; the motion keeps repeating, which gives you time to start and stop the recording cleanly. For trailer camera work, use free camera mode, toggled with Left Shift + P during a playtest. Roblox's documentation says it detaches the camera from your character so you can fly it freely and automatically hides on-screen UI. If you need real player footage, publish the place with File > Publish and join it from the Roblox app downloaded from roblox.com. Free camera mode also works in the live game if you own it or have edit permission, so you can fly the camera there while DOR records. DOR automatically records from the moment you join an experience in the Roblox app until you leave, so the whole session becomes one video without pressing the screen record key. The Microsoft Store version of Roblox is not detected automatically.
6. 6Find, trim and keep your recordingsDOR recordings appear in My Clips, and the folder on disk is shown under File Save Path in settings; My Clips has no button that opens the file location. Screen recordings count toward the Full gameplay video allowance (5 GB by default), and when it fills up the oldest ones are cleared first, so right after recording, trim what you need with Trim Section and Like the clips you want to keep; trimmed clips are cleared along with the recording unless they are Liked. When a recording starts, DOR briefly shows a small notice in the top-left corner of the screen; because the whole monitor is captured, it can end up in the first seconds of the video, so trimming those seconds gives a cleaner start. In Export File, the original preset copies the file as is, while other presets add a DOR logo and ending on free accounts.

Ways to record Roblox Studio compared (checked October 16, 2026)

Before you hit record in Roblox Studio

• DOR's screen record and clip keys are moved to combinations that do not clash with Studio's F7 and F8.
• Resolution and frame rate (1080p at 30 fps by default) were set before recording.
• Windows and notifications that should not appear are closed, and Discord or music is turned down.
• Mic Recording is off if the video should not include your voice.
• A 10-second test confirmed the file location, the captured monitor, the sound and the mouse cursor.
• Recordings and trimmed clips worth keeping were Liked right after the session.

Recording Roblox Studio with DOR: Screen Record, blackbox and your published game

DOR is a free app for Windows PCs. For Roblox it automatically detects only the Roblox app downloaded from roblox.com (RobloxPlayerBeta.exe), so Roblox Studio is not recorded automatically. You record Studio with Screen Record, which, as the app puts it, records your screen with the hotkey when you're not in a game; press the key once to start and again to save and stop. It captures the whole monitor rather than the Studio window, so clear the screen first. Blackbox Record is on by default: even when nothing is recording, pressing the clip key saves the moment just before (30 seconds by default) as a video. That is how you keep a playtest bug you did not see coming, and it is also why DOR's default F7 and F8 have to be moved off Studio's keys first. When you play your published place in the Roblox app, it is recorded automatically from joining to leaving like any other experience, and inside the experience the clip key saves the last 30 seconds as a separate clip. In My Clips you can trim recordings and export them at 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1. To cut several scenes into one trailer or devlog, DOR Studio (dor.gg/studio), which opens in your browser with no install, lets you merge videos and add text, background music and effect templates. Despite the similar name, DOR Studio is a video editor and is a separate program from Roblox Studio, where you build games. The same save, trim and attach routine for bug reports is walked through with another game in how to record a Crimson Desert bug report video. Know the limits too: Roblox gets no automatic highlight clips of kills or big moments, Roblox Studio and the Microsoft Store version of Roblox are not detected automatically, DOR runs only on Windows so it cannot record Studio on a Mac, and game sound and mic are saved in one track.