To stop screen recording on a Mac, press Command-Control-Esc, or click the Stop button in the menu bar at the top of your screen. Both work for recordings started with the Screenshot app (Shift-Command-5) and with QuickTime Player. A Screenshot app recording then saves to your desktop unless you picked another place in Options; a QuickTime Player recording opens in QuickTime instead.
If there is no Stop button, or something is recording your screen that you didn’t start, skip to the Stop button is missing or how to stop an app from recording your screen.
The fastest ways to stop a screen recording on a Mac
Apple gives two ways to end a recording made with the Screenshot app or QuickTime Player (Apple Support 102618, published 14 September 2026, checked 14 October 2026).
Press Command-Control-Esc
Hold Command and Control, then press Esc. You don’t need to find anything on screen, so this is the one to use when the menu bar is hidden or the button is out of view.
Click the Stop button in the menu bar
While a recording runs, a small Stop button sits in the menu bar at the top of the screen. Click it once. Apple’s guide to screenshots and screen recordings gives the same step (Mac User Guide, checked 14 October 2026).
If you haven’t started yet and only opened the toolbar by mistake, press Esc to cancel before you click Record.
How to stop a QuickTime Player screen recording
Stopping in QuickTime works the same way: click the Stop button in the menu bar, or press Command-Control-Esc. QuickTime then opens the recording in a window so you can play, edit or share it. Apple’s QuickTime Player guide (“Record your screen in QuickTime Player on Mac”, checked 14 October 2026) gives the menu bar step too.
Which app is actually recording. On current macOS, choosing File > New Screen Recording in QuickTime (or pressing Control-Command-N) may open the Screenshot toolbar instead of QuickTime’s own window. Apple’s rule: if the Screenshot toolbar appears, the Screenshot app is doing the recording; if a Screen Recording window appears, QuickTime is. The stop steps are the same either way, but where the file ends up differs (see where the file went).
Can you pause instead?
Apple doesn’t document a pause. Neither its Screenshot app steps nor its QuickTime screen recording guide describe a pause (checked 14 October 2026). If you need a break, stop, then start a second recording when you’re ready.
The Stop button is missing: how to end the recording anyway
The keyboard shortcut doesn’t depend on seeing the button, so try Command-Control-Esc first. If you’d rather find the button, here’s why it disappears.
You’re in a full-screen app
Full-screen apps can hide the menu bar, and the Stop button with it, depending on your Menu Bar setting. Move the pointer to the very top of the screen and the menu bar comes back. If you want the menu bar to stay put, open System Settings > Menu Bar and set “Automatically hide and show the menu bar” to Never (Apple’s “Change Menu Bar settings on Mac” guide for the current macOS, checked 14 October 2026; the setting sits elsewhere on older versions, and we list the menu bar pane for each macOS version).
Your menu bar is crowded
The Stop button is one icon among many at the right of the menu bar. With lots of menu bar apps, especially on a MacBook with a camera notch, icons can run out of room and get pushed out of view (9to5Mac reported this on 22 May 2026, before macOS 27). Quit a menu bar app or two, or use the shortcut.
You use more than one display
Look at the top of each screen. The menu bar you’re glancing at may not be the one with the button.
The recording seems stuck
Give it a few seconds after you stop. The Screenshot app shows a thumbnail in the bottom-right corner for a few seconds before it saves the file, so a recording that seems to hang may just be finishing.
If a QuickTime recording truly won’t stop, force QuickTime Player to quit: press Option-Command-Esc, select QuickTime Player and click Force Quit (Apple Support 102586, “How to force an app to quit on Mac”, checked 14 October 2026). Use this last. Apple notes that an app quitting normally can save its changes first; a force quit skips that, so the part you recorded may be lost.
You stopped it. Where did the file go?
By default, recordings from the Screenshot app save to your desktop, named “Screen Recording [date] at [time].mov”. If you chose another place under Options > Save to, look there. If you clicked the thumbnail before it disappeared, the recording opened for editing first. QuickTime recordings open in a QuickTime window when you stop.
Still can’t find it? Search Spotlight (Command-Space) for “Screen Recording”.
How to stop an app from recording your screen
Some people searching this aren’t trying to end their own recording. They want to know what is recording their screen and how to stop it. macOS puts this in two places.
Check what’s in use from Control Center
Look at the right of the menu bar, next to Control Center. A colored dot means something is in use: orange for the microphone, green for a camera and purple for system audio being recorded. Click Control Center to see which apps are using them, and click that field to open the Privacy window for more detail (Apple’s Control Center guide, checked 14 October 2026). Apple’s guide doesn’t list a separate dot for screen recording, so the list in the next step is the place to check which apps can record your screen.
Turn off an app’s screen recording access
- Choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Privacy & Security in the sidebar. You may need to scroll down.
- Click Screen & System Audio Recording.
- Turn off the switch next to any app you don’t want recording your screen or audio.
That’s the pane name on macOS Sonoma 14 and later (Apple’s “Control access to screen and system audio recording on Mac” guide, checked 14 October 2026). The list shows every app that has asked for access, and the switch is what decides whether each one can record. Apple adds that what a third-party app or website collects once you allow it is covered by that party’s own privacy policy.
When macOS asks you
When an app or website asks to record your screen or audio, macOS shows a dialog with Allow, Allow While Using the App and Don’t Allow (Apple’s “Allow apps to use screen and audio recording on Mac” guide, checked 14 October 2026). If you don’t recognize the app, or you didn’t expect the question, choose Don’t Allow. You can always grant access later from the same pane.
Stopping a recording in CursorClip
CursorClip is a native Mac screen recorder for tutorials and demos. It has no Stop button in the menu bar, and Command-Control-Esc is for Apple’s own recorders. While you record, CursorClip shows a small floating bar of recording controls that you can drag out of the way.
- Stop: click the red Stop button with the timer on it.
- Pause and resume: the button next to Stop pauses the recording, and the same button resumes it.
- Start over: the trash button discards the recording and restarts.
One gap: CursorClip 2.0.4 has no keyboard shortcut to stop or pause. You click Stop on the recording controls.
What happens when you stop. The recording opens in CursorClip’s editor with zooms already placed where you clicked, so there’s less editing to do before you trim and export. Zooms come from clicks only; a recording with no clicks has none, and you can add them on the Zoom lane. If a recording is interrupted or can’t be finished normally, CursorClip offers Recover Recording, which opens what was saved in the editor.
What it costs. Recording and editing are free; a license unlocks export. It’s $70 once, $29 a year or $9 a month, and one license covers up to 3 Macs. CursorClip runs on macOS 13.5 or later. Try it free.
Frequently asked questions
What is the shortcut to stop screen recording on a Mac?
Press Command-Control-Esc. Apple lists it as the keyboard way to stop a recording made with the Screenshot app (Shift-Command-5) or with QuickTime Player, alongside clicking the Stop button in the menu bar (Apple Support article 102618, checked 14 October 2026).
Why is there no Stop button in my menu bar?
Often the menu bar is hidden because you are in a full-screen app, so move the pointer to the top of the screen to bring it back. On a crowded menu bar, especially on a MacBook with a camera notch, icons can be pushed out of view. With more than one display, check the top of each screen. In every case you can skip the button and press Command-Control-Esc.
Does Command-Control-Esc work for QuickTime screen recordings?
Yes. Apple’s article on recording the screen gives the same two ways to stop a QuickTime Player screen recording as for the Screenshot app: click the Stop button in the menu bar, or press Command-Control-Esc. QuickTime then opens the recording so you can play, edit or share it (checked 14 October 2026).
How do I stop a screen recording on a MacBook Air?
The same way as on any Mac: press Command-Control-Esc, or click the Stop button in the menu bar at the top of the screen. If you started the recording from QuickTime Player, the same two steps apply.
Can I pause a screen recording on a Mac?
Apple’s guides to the Screenshot app and to QuickTime Player screen recording do not describe a pause (checked 14 October 2026). To take a break, stop, then start a new recording when you are ready. Some third-party recorders, CursorClip among them, have Pause and Resume buttons.
Is CursorClip free?
Free to record and edit. A license to export. CursorClip is a native Mac app for macOS 13.5 or later, and a license covers up to 3 Macs. See cursorclip.com/pricing for the lifetime, yearly and monthly prices.
Sources and dates
All Apple steps on this page are what Apple’s own support pages stated on 14 October 2026: “How to record the screen on Mac” (Apple Support 102618, published 14 September 2026), “Take screenshots or screen recordings on Mac” (Mac User Guide), “Record your screen in QuickTime Player on Mac” (QuickTime Player User Guide), “Change Menu Bar settings on Mac”, “Use Control Center on Mac”, “Control access to screen and system audio recording on Mac” (checked for macOS 14 and the current version), “Allow apps to use screen and audio recording on Mac” and “How to force an app to quit on Mac” (Apple Support 102586). The note on crowded menu bars and the camera notch follows a 9to5Mac report on menu bar items hidden behind the MacBook Pro notch (22 May 2026). Apple’s pages change with each macOS release, so if a step doesn’t match your screen, check the version selector on Apple’s page. CursorClip behavior is from CursorClip 2.0.4.
Related reading
- Record with sound: how to screen record on a Mac with audio.
- Every built-in way to record: how to screen record videos on Mac, the complete guide.
- Put your face in it: how to record yourself on a Mac.