How to Trim a Screen Recording on Mac

QuickTime Player has a basic but effective trim tool that requires zero setup and is already on your Mac.

Steps: 1. Open your screen recording in QuickTime Player (double-click the .mov file). 2. Go to Edit → Trim (or press ⌘T). 3. A yellow trim bar appears at the bottom of the window. Drag the left handle to set the new start point. Drag the right handle to set the new end point. 4. Click Trim. 5. Save: File → Save (overwrites original) or File → Export As to keep both versions.

The trim handles snap to exact frames. Scrub slowly near your target point for precision.

Limitation: QuickTime trim is destructive — after you save, the trimmed portions are gone. Always export to a new file (File → Export As) if you want to keep the original.

QuickTime can also remove a section from the middle: Edit → Split Clip to create segments, select the unwanted segment, and press Delete. Then File → Save.

iMovie is free from the Mac App Store and gives you a timeline editor, which is more precise than QuickTime's handles.

Steps: 1. Open iMovie and create a New Movie project. 2. Click the Import button and add your screen recording. 3. Drag the clip to the timeline. 4. To trim the start: hover over the left edge of the clip in the timeline until you see a resize cursor, then drag right. 5. To trim the end: hover over the right edge and drag left. 6. To cut from the middle: position the playhead where you want to cut and press ⌘B (Blade). This splits the clip. Select and delete the unwanted segment. 7. Export: File → Share → File.

iMovie also lets you adjust clip speed (right-click → Show Speed Editor), add titles, and mix audio tracks — all for free.

iMovie export defaults to H.264. For higher quality, choose ProRes 422 in the export settings if you plan further editing.

If you recorded with Limelight, the recording opens in Limelight's editor after you stop. This is the fastest path for trimming Limelight recordings because you skip the export-and-reimport step.

In Limelight's editor, drag the start and end markers on the timeline to set your trim points. Preview the result, then export.

Limelight's editor is purpose-built for screen recordings, so it preserves the auto-zoom regions you set during recording — they remain intact after trimming.

If you recorded with a different tool and want to trim in Limelight: Limelight's editor is designed for recordings made with Limelight. For external recordings, use QuickTime or iMovie instead.

QuickTime: ⌘T = open Trim; after trimming, ⌘S = Save.

iMovie: ⌘B = Blade (split clip at playhead); Delete = remove selected clip segment; ⌘Z = undo.

General: ⌘Z = undo any trim action before saving. Use this liberally.

Playback in QuickTime: Space = play/pause; ← and → = step one frame back/forward. Use arrow keys to find your exact trim point.

QuickTime: File → Save overwrites the original with the trimmed version. File → Export As → 1080p (or higher) saves a new compressed file. The exported file is typically much smaller than the raw recording.

iMovie: File → Share → File. Choose resolution (same as original or lower), quality (High, Best), and format (.mp4 or .mov). For web sharing, .mp4 at 1080p High is a safe default.

For the smallest file size without visible quality loss, use HandBrake (free, handbrake.fr) with the H.265 codec. A 500 MB raw recording often compresses to under 100 MB with no perceptible quality change.

Trimming removes the start and end of a video. It cannot remove a section from the middle in QuickTime (for that, use iMovie's Blade tool or a more advanced editor).

Trimming does not fix audio sync issues, color problems, or encoding artifacts. If your recording has these issues, address them with a dedicated video editor.

You cannot trim with the ⇧⌘5 tool itself — trimming always requires opening the file in QuickTime, iMovie, or another editor afterward.