Most people who want to record Palworld have the same goal: keep the rare Pal they finally caught, the boss they beat after a string of wipes, or the base they spent an evening building. In practice, a few things get in the way. Xbox Game Bar needs a shortcut press every time you want to record or save a moment, OBS asks you to build scenes and sources yourself, and recording an entire multi-hour Palworld session leaves you scrubbing through hours of footage to find one moment. This guide covers how to clip and save Palworld gameplay on a Windows PC. It starts with a short verdict on which approach fits your setup, then walks through using DOR to auto-record the Steam version while saving capture moments with a single F8 press. After that, it compares Steam Game Recording, Xbox Game Bar, the NVIDIA app and OBS Studio specifically for Palworld, and ends with a checklist for when recording won't start. If you installed Palworld through Game Pass or the Xbox app, the recording method is different, and those parts are called out separately. You can also see which DOR features work with Palworld on the Palworld game page.
The short answer: on Steam, let it auto-record and add F8 clips; on Game Pass, record with a hotkey
Palworld sessions tend to run for hours, so you're really choosing between recording everything and picking later, or saving only the moment as it happens. DOR does both at once. When you launch the Steam version, the whole session is recorded as one video, and pressing F8 at any point saves the previous 30 seconds as a separate clip. Moments you forgot to clip are still in the full recording, so you can cut them out afterward. The Game Pass (Xbox app) version isn't on DOR's detection list, so record it manually with F7 Screen Record or use Xbox Game Bar, which is built into Windows. If your frame rate drops once recording is on, adjust the graphics options in Palworld best settings for FPS before you lower recording quality. If you already use Steam's own Game Recording, it works too. Keep in mind that Steam stores recordings in its own format, so you need to turn the moments you want into clips and export them as video files, and if it starts warning about storage, see the Steam Game Recording low disk space fix. OBS Studio is the right pick when you want full control over scenes and layout and don't mind spending time on setup.
How to record Palworld with DOR, step by step
- 1Install DOR and check the app versionDownload DOR from dor.gg and install it. Palworld detection was added in app version 1.6.0, so if you installed DOR a while ago and haven't updated it, update first. On older versions, the Palworld entry under Settings > Game shows a message asking you to update the DOR app to the latest version to record this game. Trimming recordings and sharing them as links requires signing in with a free DOR account.
- 2Confirm Full gameplay recording is on for PalworldOpen Settings > Game in DOR and find Palworld. It's a Full gameplay recording game, which means it is recorded from launch to close as one video and no per-match highlights are created. The toggle is on by default on personal PCs, so you usually only need to confirm it. On days you don't want to record, switch it off in the same place; once it's off, Palworld won't be recorded automatically.
- 3Set quality, clip length and hotkey before launching PalworldPalworld starts recording the moment the game launches, and resolution, frame rate, clip length and hotkeys can't be changed while a recording is running, so make these changes before you start the game. Under Settings > Video, Video Resolution and Video Frame default to 1080p at 30 fps, and free accounts can choose 720p or 1080p at 30 or 60 fps (1440p and above, and 120 fps and above, are Pro settings). Under Settings > Highlight, set the clip key in Hotkey Setting (F8 by default) and the Highlight Length (15, 30, 45 or 60 seconds; 30 by default). Thirty seconds comfortably covers a capture animation. If you often save boss fights where the lead-up matters, 45 to 60 seconds is safer. Longer clips also mean bigger files.
- 4Launch Palworld from Steam and confirm recording startedWith DOR running, launch the Steam version of Palworld; DOR detects the game process and starts recording. If Auto Recording Notification is enabled under Settings > App Notifications and Palworld runs in windowed or borderless windowed mode, a short notice appears at the top left of the screen along with the clip hotkey. In fullscreen mode the notice isn't shown, but recording still runs. On your first day, play for a minute or two, quit, and check that a Palworld video appears in My Clips before you start a long session.
- 5Press F8 right after a capture, boss fight or base buildWhen you land a rare capture, take down a boss or finish a base, press F8 once. DOR saves the 30 seconds (or your chosen length) leading up to the key press as a separate clip, and the full session recording keeps going without interruption. Press too early and you miss the reaction that follows; press too late and the start of the scene falls outside the clip window, so right after the moment ends is the sweet spot. In windowed or borderless mode, a brief notice confirms the save. If you miss a moment, don't worry: it's still in the full recording, and you can pull it out later with Trim Section.
- 6After playing, review in My Clips and Like what you want to keepWhen you close Palworld, the session appears in My Clips as one group containing the full recording from launch to exit plus every clip you saved with F8. Like the videos you want to keep. With Automatic File Management on (the default), full gameplay videos are cleaned up oldest session first within their storage share, but liked videos are never deleted. To find the files on disk, check File Save Path under Settings > File.
- 7Trim, then share as a link or export a fileTo pull a scene out of a multi-hour recording, use Trim Section: set the start and end, choose 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1, and a new clip is created. This feature is available after signing in with a free DOR account, and on free accounts the 1:1 format adds a DOR logo and name tag. Send the finished clip to friends as a dor.gg link, or use Export File to save an mp4 for another editor or for uploading. Exporting with the original preset copies the file as is, while other presets add a DOR logo and ending on free accounts. Choose 9:16 when you need a vertical video for Shorts or Reels.
Ways to record Palworld on PC compared (checked October 16, 2026)
| Method | How it records and default keys | What to know for Palworld |
|---|---|---|
| DOR (Steam version) | Starts recording automatically when Palworld launches and saves the session as one video when you quit. Press F8 (changeable) while recording to save the previous 30 seconds (15/30/45/60) as a separate clip. | Requires app 1.6.0 or later; on by default on personal PCs (off by default in PC cafés). There are no automatic highlights that pick out captures or boss kills. Recording stops when free space drops to 20GB or less. |
| DOR (Game Pass / Xbox app version) | Not auto-detected. Press F7 to start Screen Record, which captures the whole monitor, and press F7 again to stop. With Blackbox Record on (the default), F8 saves the last moment even when nothing is recording. | Because the whole monitor is captured, close notifications and other apps first. In this mode F7 and F8 also reach the game, so make sure they don't clash with Palworld's key bindings. |
| Steam Game Recording | Choose Record in Background or Record on Demand under Steam > Settings > Game Recording. Ctrl+F12 drops a marker on the timeline. | Only records games played through the Steam client. Recordings are kept in Steam's own format and overwritten once the reserved space fills, so save the moments you want as clips and use Export Video File to get an mp4. |
| Xbox Game Bar | Windows logo key + Alt + R starts and stops recording; with background recording on, Windows logo key + Alt + G saves the last 30 seconds. | Built into Windows. Videos are saved as MP4 files to Videos\Captures. Saving the last 30 seconds only works after background recording (Record what happened) is turned on under Settings > Gaming > Captures. |
| NVIDIA app Instant Replay | Keeps recording in the background and saves the most recent stretch to a file when you press the save shortcut. | Needs an NVIDIA graphics card. Open the overlay with Alt+Z, turn on Instant Replay, check the save key in the shortcut list, and do a test save in Palworld. |
| OBS Studio | You build scenes and sources yourself and assign your own keys for starting and stopping recording or saving the replay buffer. | If Game Capture shows a black screen, OBS's own troubleshooting guide suggests running OBS as administrator for some games, or switching the game to windowed or borderless fullscreen and using Window Capture. On laptops, make sure OBS and the game use the high-performance GPU. |
What to check when Palworld won't record
- DOR is version 1.6.0 or later. Earlier versions can't detect Palworld, and Settings > Game shows a prompt to update.
- Full gameplay recording is on for Palworld under Settings > Game (on by default on personal PCs, off by default in PC cafés).
- The drive you record to has more than 20GB free. Below 30GB you get a warning; at 20GB or less DOR won't start a recording and stops one in progress.
- You launched the Steam version. The Game Pass (Xbox app) version isn't auto-detected, so record it manually with F7 Screen Record.
- You didn't press F7 mid-session. Pressing F7 while Palworld is being recorded saves and stops that recording, and a new recording only starts when you press F7 again or relaunch the game.
- Your save folder isn't a OneDrive or network folder. DOR warns you not to use these as a save path (Settings > File > File Save Path).
- F8 isn't used by another recording app or by Palworld's key bindings. If it clashes, pick a different key under Settings > Highlight (mouse buttons and Ctrl or Shift on their own can't be assigned).
Recording Palworld with DOR: the full session automatically, plus the last 30 seconds on F8
DOR is a free recording app for Windows PCs. When it detects the Steam version's executable (Palworld-Win64-Shipping.exe), it starts recording, and when you close the game it saves that session as one video. It's on by default on personal PCs, so there's no record button to remember, and you can switch it off per game with Full gameplay recording under Settings > Game. The same approach is used for other long-session games such as Crimson Desert. While recording, press F8 to save the previous 30 seconds as a separate clip; you can set the length to 15, 30, 45 or 60 seconds and change the key to one you prefer, as long as you do it before launching Palworld. The default quality is 1080p at 30 fps. Free accounts can choose 720p or 1080p at 30 or 60 fps, while 1440p and above and 120 fps and above are Pro settings. Game audio and your microphone are recorded together on one track, and with Record All Sounds on (the default), other PC audio such as a Discord call is included as well. In My Clips you can play recordings back, cut them to 16:9, 9:16 or 1:1 with Trim Section (sign-in required), and share them as dor.gg links or save them with Export File. There are limits worth knowing. DOR doesn't automatically detect captures or boss kills in Palworld and turn them into clips, so save those moments yourself with F8. The Game Pass (Xbox app) version isn't auto-detected, and in PC cafés Full gameplay recording is off by default.
