How to Import a Screen Recording Into CapCut on Mac

To import a screen recording into CapCut, record your screen to a video file, open CapCut on your computer, create a project, and click Import. CapCut's help pages describe the same flow for any video file, so a Mac screen recording works like any other clip.

The free route needs two tools: the recorder that comes with your Mac and CapCut. This guide shows that route first. Then it shows where Quibble saves you steps, mainly captions.

Step 1: Record your screen on the Mac

Your Mac can record the screen without any extra app.

1. Press Shift-Command-5 to open the screenshot tools.
2. Choose to record the entire screen or a selected portion.
3. Click Options. Under Microphone, pick a microphone if you want to talk during the take. The built-in tool lists microphones only, so you cannot add the sound that plays inside your Mac here.
4. Click Record. To stop, click the Stop Recording button in the menu bar.

You can also open QuickTime Player and choose File > New Screen Recording. The result is a video file. Use Options > Save to to pick where it lands, so you can find it again.

Step 2: Import the recording into CapCut

These steps follow CapCut's own help pages for the desktop app.

1. Open CapCut on your Mac and choose Create project.
2. Click Import and select your screen recording file.
3. Drag the imported clip onto the timeline.

If the clip does not appear, CapCut's help center suggests restarting CapCut and checking the clip's opacity and visibility settings.

That is the whole answer to "how to add a screen recording to CapCut." The rest is editing.

Step 3: Edit the recording on CapCut

Once the clip is on the timeline, you edit it like any other video. A screen recording usually needs the same few fixes:

• Cut out the waiting, the false starts, and the "um" moments.
• Make small buttons and text readable by showing them larger, or by pointing at them.
• Add captions so the video works with the sound off.
• Check that the file plays at a size viewers can read on a phone.

CapCut is a general video editor. It works with the finished video file, so zooming into a button or drawing attention to a spot is something you add by hand.

Adding captions: the slowest part

Captions are where this workflow takes the most time. CapCut can read a subtitle file. Its help page says that on the desktop app you open the project, go to Captions > Add Captions, choose Import file, and select an .srt or .txt file. CapCut then creates an editable text block for each subtitle on the timeline. Save the file with UTF-8 encoding if it has special characters.

That means you need an SRT file first. If you do not have one, you have to make captions some other way before you get to CapCut. For a ten-minute recording that is a real chore.

The shorter route: record in Quibble, then Send to CapCut

Quibble is a Mac screen recorder. It makes captions while you record, so the SRT file already exists when you stop.

1. Open Quibble and press Option-Command-R to record. Talk as you click through your steps.
2. Stop the recording. Captions are ready in English or Korean, transcribed on your Mac.
3. In the editor, fix anything you want: highlights, zooms on your clicks, split cuts, an aspect ratio such as 9:16.
4. Click Send to CapCut at the bottom right of the editor (needs a license). Quibble makes a folder inside your recordings folder, CapCut/<recording name>, with "1 Video for CapCut.mp4" and "2 Captions.srt", and opens it in Finder.
5. In CapCut, create a project, click Import, and pick the video from that folder.
6. Then go to Captions > Add Captions > Import file and pick the SRT from the same folder.

You still do the final polish in CapCut. The difference is that the video and its captions arrive together, and you did not type or generate the captions yourself.

Do I need CapCut at all?

Not always. Quibble can finish a video by itself: press Done Editing for an MP4. CapCut makes sense when you want its other tools, for example music, effects, or editing the screen recording together with other footage.

Quick comparison

What Quibble does not do

• It runs only on Macs with Apple silicon (M1 or later). It does not run on Intel-based Macs.
• It has no cloud upload or share links. Videos are saved on your Mac.
• It has no team plan. One license covers one Mac.
• Captions are in English and Korean only.

Price

Record and edit for free. Saving the finished video and exporting need a license: $7.99 per month, $79 per year, or $129 once. Every plan has a 14-day full refund.

Frequently asked questions

How do I import a screen recording into CapCut?

Record the screen, open CapCut on your computer, create a project, and click Import to select the file. Then drag the clip to the timeline.

Why won't my screen recording import into CapCut?

CapCut's help center suggests restarting CapCut and checking the clip's opacity and visibility settings.

How do I add captions to a screen recording in CapCut?

Import an SRT file through Captions > Add Captions > Import file. CapCut puts each subtitle on the timeline as an editable text block. Quibble makes the SRT while you record.

Can I edit a Mac screen recording in CapCut for free?

You can record with the Mac's built-in tool and import the file into CapCut. Check CapCut's current plans for which export features are free.

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