Prequel

Prequel is a macOS screen recorder and video editor designed to turn screen captures into polished demos and tutorials. It automatically builds zooms around clicks and typing, then opens an editable timeline where the framing, webcam, and audio can all be adjusted after recording.

Record first, refine the shot later

• Capture an entire display, one window, or a selected area, with optional webcam, microphone, and system audio on separate tracks.
• Adjust automatically placed zooms, or direct them toward the cursor, a fixed region, or a text field. Control timing, perspective tilt, and focus effects.
• Choose from 14 screen-and-camera layouts, reposition or crop the webcam, and customize backgrounds, shadows, cursor styles, and click effects.
• Trim clips, balance audio, correct on-device transcripts, and style captions. A voice-following teleprompter helps with scripted takes.

Export and share

Export MP4 video in H.264 or HEVC at up to 4K, with landscape, square, and vertical presets; GIF export is also supported. Recording, transcription, editing, and rendering happen locally. Sharing a finished video through a watchable link is optional and uploads that export. A command-line tool supports recording and rendering in scripted workflows.

Requirements and licensing

Prequel requires an Apple Silicon Mac running macOS 14 or later; there is no Intel version. Screen Recording permission is essential. Accessibility enables click tracking for automatic zooms, while Input Monitoring supports typing effects; camera and microphone permissions apply when those sources are used.

The full 7-day trial has no watermark. After it expires, recordings remain editable but exporting requires a paid license: $39 once for Lifetime or $9/month for Pro. Both include the editor and export features; they differ in hosted sharing storage. Lifetime includes 5 GB with shared videos retained for three months, while Pro offers unlimited hosted storage during the subscription. Local exports have no storage quota. The code is source-available under FSL-1.1-ALv2, not an open-source license.