ShellRec

Minimal screen recorder for Arch Linux with X11 and Wayland support. Uses FFmpeg (X11) or wf-recorder (Wayland) with optimized presets.

• Recording starts immediately after setup
• Stop with Ctrl+C
• Automatic file saving

Features

• Auto-detects X11/Wayland
• System audio recording
• 5 FFmpeg presets: web, compressed, nvidia, universal, lossless
• Keystroke display (screenkey)
• Record fullscreen, window, or selected area
• Auto-dependency setup on first run

Installation

git clone https://github.com/vifirsanova/shellrec.git
cd shellrec
chmod +x shellrec
sudo cp shellrec /usr/local/bin/

On first launch, ShellRec will check and install missing dependencies:

shellrec

Usage

Basic Recording

# Fullscreen recording (auto-detects X11/Wayland)
shellrec

# Show keystrokes
shellrec -key

# Select area with mouse
shellrec -area

# Record active window (X11 only)
shellrec -window

FFmpeg Presets

# Web/YouTube optimized (libx264, balanced)
shellrec -set web

# Compressed for sharing (fast encoding)
shellrec -set compressed -out bug_report

# NVidia hardware encoding (h264_nvenc)
shellrec -set nvidia -fps 144 -out gameplay

# Universal compatibility
shellrec -set uni -key

# Lossless quality for editing (large files)
shellrec -set lossless

All Options

-set PRESET     Preset: web, compressed, nvidia, uni, lossless
                Default: web
-key            Show keystrokes (screenkey)
                Default: off
-out NAME       Output filename (without extension)
                Default: YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_recording
-res WxH        Resolution (1920x1080, 1280x720)
-fps N          Frames per second (default: 30)
-area           Select area with mouse
-window         Record active window (X11 only)
-fullscreen     Record entire screen (default)
-dir PATH       Output directory
-deps           Check/install dependencies
-h, --help      Show help
-v, --version   Show version

Preset Details

• web - libx264, fast preset, CRF 28 (YouTube/streaming)
• compressed - libx264, ultrafast, CRF 32 (quick sharing)
• nvidia - h264_nvenc, p4 preset (hardware encoding)
• uni - libx264, medium, CRF 23 (universal compatibility)
• lossless - libx264, veryslow, CRF 0 (editing/archival)

Display Server Support

X11

• Full support via FFmpeg x11grab
• Audio via PulseAudio
• Window selection (xdotool)
• Area selection (slop)

Wayland

• Basic support via wf-recorder
• Audio via wf-recorder
• Area selection (slurp)
• Window selection not supported

Audio Recording

• X11: PulseAudio via FFmpeg
• Wayland: Via wf-recorder (auto-detected)

Testing

# Quick 5-second test
shellrec -set compressed -fps 10 -out test &
sleep 5
kill %1

Technical Details

Backends

• X11: FFmpeg with x11grab for capture and pulse for audio
• Wayland: wf-recorder for capture and audio

Example FFmpeg command for 'web' preset:

ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size 1920x1080 -framerate 30 \
       -i :0.0 -f pulse -i default \
       -c:v libx264 -preset fast -crf 28 \
       -c:a aac -movflags +faststart output.mp4

Dependencies

Automatically installed on first run:

X11:

• ffmpeg (core backend)
• slop (area selection)
• xdotool (window capture)
• screenkey (keystroke display)

Wayland:

• wf-recorder (core backend)
• slurp (area selection)
• screenkey (keystroke display)

Important Notes

Limitations

• Command-line only
• Primarily tested on Arch Linux
• Recording starts immediately after setup
• Stop recording with Ctrl+C
• Wayland: no window selection
• -window option only works in X11
• timeout command not directly supported (use shell workaround)
• -set uni preset might have issues in some configurations

File Locations

• Default: ~/Videos/shellrec/
• Format: YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_recording.mp4 (format varies by preset)

Troubleshooting

Screen Recording Permission

xhost +local:

NVidia Encoding Issues

sudo pacman -S nvidia nvidia-utils
nvidia-smi  # Verify driver installation

FFmpeg Problems

# Check FFmpeg installation
ffmpeg -version

# Test screen capture manually
ffmpeg -f x11grab -video_size 1920x1080 -framerate 30 -i :0.0 -t 5 test.mp4

No Audio Recording

# X11
pactl info  # Check PulseAudio

# Wayland
wf-recorder --audio  # Check audio support

Window Recording Issues (X11)

# Test xdotool
xdotool getactivewindow
# If empty, window recording may not work

Universal Preset Issues

If -set uni fails, try:

# Alternative presets
shellrec -set web
shellrec -set compressed

View Logs

cat /tmp/shellrec.log

Feedback

Created by @vifirsanova (missvector)

Issues and feedback welcome on GitHub.

Version: 2.1 (X11 and Wayland support)