Often times, we find ourselves in a position where we have to record our desktop screen such as broadcasting your live streams, for tutorial purposes and more.

So how do you do that with Ubuntu? Well, by using software, of course.

The importance of a screen recorder is especially important for people who make a living through streaming on YouTube, Twitch or any live streaming website.

For everyone interested, we have come up with a list of 5 such software which will help you record your screen and the best part is that they are all free and open source (FOSS).

1. Kazam

Kazam is a very simple tool utilized for the purpose of screen recording. It also provides the feature for the screenshot as well. This tool is most suitable for people who are beginners and want to get their work done without getting into too many details or options. It also supports audio recording and various video file formats.

The standout features of the app include:

• Simplistic UI
• Multiple video formats supported
• Audio recording option
• Delay timer support

In order to run Kazam on your device, you will need to run the following command on your device's terminal:

sudo apt install kazam

2. Open Broadcaster Software Studio

This software is ideal for users who want to get the most out of a screen recording software. It packs a number of advanced-level tweaking features. OBS is perhaps the most advanced and feature-rich Linux screen recorder in this list.

OBS has the capability to stream directly via YouTube, Twitch, DailyMotion and much more. It is most suited for people who have been streaming for a while and want to shift to something that provides the flexibility to do as they please. However, for learners, it will take some time before they can use the software smoothly and to its fullest potential.

• Live streaming support
• Video source filters
• Advanced configuration options
• Audio mixer with various filters

Here's how to install the software:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:obsproject/obs-studio
sudo apt update
sudo apt install obs-studio

3. Simple Screen Recorder

Although it has a rather unappealing user-interface, the software is still great for simple usage. The app's interface is Qt-based and has the ability to support multiple video output formats. This software may lack in the feature but provides the users the ability to run it on even older devices which do not possess the capability to run heavier software.

Here are some additional features of it:

• Support for recording selected screen area
• Live preview while recording
• Providing statistics while recording

4. Record My Desktop

This lightweight tool is mainly a command-line tool. The app is developed in C-language and provides two separate graphical user-interfaces based on GTK and QT4. The software is primarily aimed towards people who are comfortable using the CLI because it is a CLI-based Linux screen capturing software. The main drawback of Record My Desktop is that it does not provide alternate video output formats. Other features include:

• Recording video through the command line
• Very light software

Run the following command one by one on Terminal to install the program:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:maarten-baert/simple screen recorder
sudo apt update
sudo apt install simplescreenrecorder

5.Voko Screen

Last but not the least, Voko Screen, is arguably one of the simplest and cleanest screen recorders out there for Linux users. Voko Screen has the ability to support multiple video output formats and suitable audio inputs. Unlike the majority of the previous mentions, Voko Screen does provide Webcam preview support which is a huge addition to its features, additional features are as following:

• Hotkey support
• Webcam preview support
• Audio recording from a suitable source

To install Voko, run the following command on Terminal:

sudo apt install vokoscreen

Bonus Mention: Green Recorder

This software gets a special mention because it is one of the oldest screen recorders in Linux to provide support for Wayland. The software utilizes GTK3 and similar to other recorders, it uses FFmpeg in the background processes. So what are its main features?

• Supports formats such as avi, mkv mp4 and more
• Option to create screen gifs
• Supports both Xorg and Wayland

To install, use the following commands:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:fossproject/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install green-recorder

Concluding Thoughts:

So, which of them is the ideal or the best screen recorder? Well, it completely relies on your requirements and specific needs. The best way to asses is to install all the recorders and judge for yourself which software you liked the best. Otherwise, choose the one with the simplistic configurations and best interface because, as always, simplicity is the best option.