How to Record Your Windows Screen With the Xbox Game Bar

Windows 11 has a built-in screen recorder called Xbox Game Bar that captures video of your screen — no extra software needed.

In this guide (5 steps):

1.Open Xbox Game Bar
2.Open the Capture Widget
3.Start Recording
4.Stop the Recording
5.Find Your Recordings

Open Xbox Game Bar

~18s

Press Win + G (the Windows key and G key simultaneously). The Xbox Game Bar overlay appears over your screen with several widgets. If this doesn't work, go to SettingsGamingXbox Game Bar and make sure it's enabled. You may need to enable it in Settings if it was disabled.

Open the Capture Widget

~17s

In Xbox Game Bar, click "Capture" (the camera/video icon) to open the Capture widget if it's not already visible. The Capture widget shows buttons for taking screenshots and recording video. If you don't see it, click the grid icon at the top of Game Bar and select "Capture" from the menu.

Start Recording

~28s

In the Capture widget, click the round dot (record) button to start recording. A small recording timer appears in the corner of your screen showing the duration. Everything happening in the current active app is recorded. The fastest way: use the keyboard shortcut Win + Alt + R to start recording without opening the Game Bar overlay.

Quick Tip

Win + Alt + R is the most efficient shortcut — it starts and stops recording instantly. You don't need to open Game Bar at all once you know this shortcut.

Stop the Recording

~15s

Click the stop button (square) in the recording toolbar, or press Win + Alt + R again. A notification appears: "Game clip recorded" with the file location. Your recording is saved as an MP4 file.

Find Your Recordings

~23s

Recordings save to C:\Users\[your name]\Videos\Captures by default. Open File Explorer → navigate to VideosCaptures. Double-click any MP4 file to play it. Share by attaching to an email or uploading to cloud storage like OneDrive or Google Drive.

Quick Tip

You can also find recent recordings by pressing Win + G again and looking in the Capture widget — it shows recent clips with the option to open the Captures folder.

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Windows 11 includes a built-in screen recorder called Xbox Game Bar. Despite the gaming name, it works for any on-screen activity — not just games. You can record a tutorial, capture a video call, document a tech problem, or save content from any app using this free, built-in tool.

Xbox Game Bar is included with Windows 10 and Windows 11 at no extra cost. You open it with a keyboard shortcut (Win + G) and use its Capture feature to record. Recordings save to the VideosCaptures folder on your computer as MP4 files.

One limitation: Xbox Game Bar records one app or window at a time. It records the active foreground window. If you switch windows during recording, it records the new active window. For recording your entire desktop or multiple windows simultaneously, you'd need a third-party tool.

There's also the Snipping Tool in Windows 11 (updated from Windows 10), which has a basic screen recording option in addition to screenshots — access it from the Start menu or with Win + Shift + S. The Snipping Tool's recording is simpler but doesn't include microphone audio.

For most recording needs, Xbox Game Bar's Capture widget is the right choice. Set it up once (enable it in Settings if it's not working), and Win + Alt + R becomes your quick keyboard shortcut to start and stop recording from anywhere.

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