LICEcap is a minimal screen recording tool that captures a portion of your screen and saves it directly as an animated GIF. It’s free, tiny (under 500KB), and does one thing well: record GIFs without fuss. Designers use it to create quick demos, bug reports, interaction showcases, and tutorial snippets. Made by Cockos (the company behind REAPER audio software), LICEcap has been around since 2012 and still works perfectly.
Key Specs
| Price | Free (open-source, GPL) |
| Platform | macOS, Windows |
| Best for | Quick GIF recordings, interaction demos, bug reports |
| Learning curve | 2 minutes; it’s extremely simple |
How Designers Use LICEcap
LICEcap’s simplicity makes it useful for quick, informal recordings that don’t need post-processing.
For Interaction Demos and Feedback
Designers record short clips showing hover states, transitions, or micro-interactions to share with developers or stakeholders. Drag LICEcap’s frame over your prototype, click record, demonstrate the interaction, and stop. The GIF is ready to drop into Slack, email, or a GitHub issue without conversion.
For Bug Reports
When filing bugs, a GIF shows the issue better than screenshots or written descriptions. Record the broken behavior, attach the GIF to your bug report, and developers can see exactly what’s happening. This works in Jira, Linear, GitHub Issues, or any tool that displays inline GIFs.
For Quick Tutorials and Documentation
Creating documentation? Record a 5-second GIF showing “how to access this menu” or “what this animation looks like.” Embed GIFs in Notion, Confluence, or README files. GIFs auto-play, so viewers don’t need to click a video player.
For Sharing Work in Progress
Share design iterations with your team by recording your Figma canvas or prototype. The GIF format works in Slack previews and email without requiring recipients to click through to a video player. Quick and low-friction for async feedback.
LICEcap vs. Alternatives
| Feature | LICEcap | Kap | CleanShot X | ScreenToGif |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free | $29 one-time | Free |
| Platform | Mac, Windows | Mac only | Mac only | Windows only |
| Output formats | GIF, LCF | GIF, MP4, WebM, APNG | GIF, MP4, PNG | GIF, MP4, WebM |
| Built-in editor | No | Basic trim | Yes (annotations) | Yes (full editor) |
| File size | ~400KB | ~70MB | ~30MB | ~3MB |
| Complexity | Minimal | Low | Medium | Medium |
Choose LICEcap if: You want the simplest, smallest GIF recorder with no learning curve. Record, stop, done.
Choose Kap if: You’re on Mac and want more export formats, better compression, and a nicer interface. Worth the extra download size.
Choose CleanShot X if: You’re a Mac user who wants an all-in-one screenshot and recording tool with annotations, scrolling capture, and cloud hosting. The $29 price is worth it for heavy use.
Choose ScreenToGif if: You’re on Windows and want a full-featured GIF editor with frame-by-frame control, drawing tools, and export optimization.
Getting Started with LICEcap
You’ll be recording GIFs in under 2 minutes.
Step 1: Download and open LICEcap
Download from cockos.com/licecap. On Mac, drag to Applications. On Windows, run the installer or use the portable version. Open LICEcap. You’ll see a transparent frame with a title bar.
Step 2: Position the capture frame
Drag and resize the LICEcap window to cover the area you want to record. The transparent interior shows exactly what will be captured. Position it over your prototype, browser, or app.
Step 3: Record and save
Click “Record…” and choose where to save the GIF file. Click Save to start recording. Perform your demo. Click “Stop” when done. The GIF is saved immediately, ready to share.
LICEcap in Your Design Workflow
LICEcap fits into the communication and documentation parts of design work.
- Before LICEcap: Design in Figma, build prototypes, test interactions
- During design: Record interactions to share with team, capture bugs, create quick demos
- After LICEcap: Share GIFs in Slack, embed in Notion, attach to issues or emails
Common tool pairings:
- LICEcap + Figma for recording prototype interactions to share with developers
- LICEcap + Slack for quick async feedback (GIFs preview inline)
- LICEcap + GitHub/Linear for visual bug reports that show the issue
- LICEcap + Notion for embedding interaction demos in documentation
Common Problems (and How to Fix Them)
“My GIF file is too large to upload”
Slack, GitHub, and other services have file size limits (often 10-25MB). Reduce the capture area, lower the framerate, or record a shorter clip. After recording, run the GIF through ImageOptim (Mac) or ezgif.com (web) to compress further. For very long recordings, consider MP4 with a different tool.
“The recording is blurry or low quality”
LICEcap records at screen resolution, so blur usually means the capture area is being scaled after recording. Share the GIF at its native size. If you need higher quality, try Kap or record to LCF format and convert later. GIF format is limited to 256 colors, so gradients may look banded.
“I can’t find LICEcap’s settings”
Click the “…” button next to the Record button to access settings like framerate, title frame, and mouse click recording. Settings are minimal because the tool is minimal. For more options, use Kap or ScreenToGif instead.
“LICEcap doesn’t work on macOS Ventura/Sonoma”
Newer macOS versions require screen recording permission. Go to System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen Recording and enable LICEcap. If it doesn’t appear in the list, try recording once (it will fail) and it should appear. Restart LICEcap after enabling.
“Can I pause and resume recording?”
Yes. Click “Pause” during recording to temporarily stop. Click again to resume. You can also insert text frames (like “Step 2:”) during pauses. Use Shift+Space as a global hotkey to toggle pause without clicking in the LICEcap window.