Recording Won't Start
Possible causes:
- Screen Recording permission not granted — ScreenKite verifies the permission before every recording. If denied, it opens System Settings for you. Grant the permission and restart ScreenKite.
- Another recording is active — Stop any active recording before starting a new one.
- Audio permission missing — For audio-only recording, grant Microphone permission if you're recording with a mic.
iDevice recording aborted — camera could not start
When you record an iPhone or iPad screen with the Camera overlay enabled, ScreenKite runs a preflight check before AVCapture starts. If the camera cannot be secured in time, the recording is aborted and a Camera Unavailable toast appears with one of these messages:
| Toast message | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Camera access denied. Enable in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera. | Camera permission denied or restricted. | Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Camera and enable ScreenKite. |
| Camera could not start. It may be in use by another app — please close other camera apps and try again. | Another app holds the camera and won't release it in time (FaceTime, Zoom, Photo Booth, etc.). | Quit the conflicting app, then start the recording again. |
| The selected camera is unavailable. Choose another camera to continue. | The previously selected camera has disconnected (lid closed, USB unplugged). | Open the Recording Hub, choose an available camera, and retry. |
| No cameras are currently available. | No camera device is visible to macOS at all. | Reconnect a camera or open the MacBook lid, then retry. |
Camera Unavailable toast showing the camera-permission-denied message
After a preflight failure the recording stops cleanly before any file output begins. ScreenKite automatically disables the camera toggle for the current session so a subsequent retry without a working camera starts normally instead of looping.
Camera Won't Start
Possible causes:
- Camera in use by another app — macOS grants exclusive camera access, so only one app can use a camera at a time. If ScreenKite shows the Camera Unavailable toast with the message "Camera could not start. It may be in use by another app — please close other camera apps and try again.", quit FaceTime, Zoom, Photo Booth, or any other app that may be holding the camera, then try again.
- Camera initializing when recording stops — When a recording ends, ScreenKite automatically tears down any camera preview that was started during a preflight. No user action is needed; the camera releases itself within a few seconds.
Black Screen in Recording
Possible causes:
- DRM-protected content — Apps with DRM (streaming services) block screen capture at the macOS level. This is an OS restriction.
- Wrong display selected — On multi-monitor setups, verify you selected the correct display.
- App window minimized — For window recording, the target window must not be minimized.
No Audio
Possible causes:
- System Audio not enabled — Check that the system audio toggle is on in the Recording Hub
- Microphone not enabled — Mic recording requires the microphone toggle and Microphone permission
- Audio track muted in editor — In the Project Editor, check that audio track visibility/volume isn't zero
Export Issues
- H.264 grayed out for large canvas — H.264 maxes out at 3840×2160. Use HEVC for larger resolutions.
- HEVC unavailable — Requires macOS 13+. Update your OS or use H.264.
- Export stuck — Close other GPU-intensive apps and try again. Check available disk space.
- Large file size after background removal — Projects created before ScreenKite added HEVC with Alpha support store the background-removed camera clip as ProRes 4444, which is substantially larger. Re-exporting the project encodes that clip with HEVC with Alpha (where hardware support is available), yielding a smaller processed file. This is a one-time saving per project — subsequent exports of the same project are already on the compact codec.
Recording Stopped Unexpectedly
If ScreenKite quits during a recording, crash recovery saves your footage automatically. The next time you open the app, it offers to restore the interrupted recording. No user action is needed — the recovered project opens normally and you can continue editing.
Low Disk Space
ScreenKite warns you before starting a recording if your disk is running low on space, and again when saving projects. If a recording runs out of disk space mid-capture, the recording stops gracefully and saves what was captured up to that point.
Bluetooth Microphone Quality
If ScreenKite detects that you are recording through a narrowband Bluetooth microphone, it shows a warning before the recording starts. Narrowband Bluetooth can produce lower-quality audio compared to a wired microphone or a wide-band Bluetooth device. You can choose to continue or switch to a different microphone.