Rolltape is a push-to-hold screen clip recorder for Windows designed to capture high-quality video clips with system audio. By holding a hotkey (F9 by default), users can record their chosen monitor and release the key to save an editor-safe, constant-60fps H.264 MP4 file in their clips folder. Quick-tap functionality allows hands-free recording, making it easy to capture content without interrupting workflow.
Key Features:
Hotkey Recording: Hold F9 to start recording and release to stop, saving clips instantly.
High-Quality Output: Generates 60fps H.264 MP4 files suitable for video editing.
Hands-Free Mode: Quick-tap the hotkey to lock recording and tap again to stop.
No On-Screen Indicator: The on-screen recording pill is excluded from captures.
Target Audience and Benefits:
Ideal for content creators, educators, and anyone needing quick, reliable screen clips. Rolltape simplifies capturing videos for editing without extra steps or delays. Available via the Windows Package Manager, install Rolltape using winget for seamless deployment.
README
rolltape
Hold a key. Tape rolls.
Push-to-hold screen clip recorder for Windows. Hold F9 → the chosen monitor
records with system audio. Release → an editor-safe constant-60fps MP4 lands in
Videos\Clips. Quick-tap F9 instead to lock recording hands-free; tap again to
stop. Lives in the tray; the on-screen recording pill is excluded from the
capture itself.
Shorts mode (v0.2)
Set a capture region (Settings → Set region…, with 9:16 snap) and enable
Captions: every release of the key then produces both clip .mp4
(clean, full-frame — the file other tools should consume) and
clip captioned.mp4 — cropped to your region (1080×1920 when snapped),
with TikTok-style word-highlight captions burned in, plus .srt/.txt
transcript sidecars. Transcription runs locally (whisper.cpp, downloaded with
SHA-256 verification on first use — nothing bundled, nothing uploaded). If any
caption step fails, the clean clip is always there; the captioned file is
simply absent. Fonts: Montserrat (OFL). Known limits: no caption editing
(the save toast quotes the transcript so mishears are visible), CPU engine
skips clips over 10 minutes, silent or near-silent clips simply don't get
captioned (loudness gate before transcription).
Run
npm install
npm start
Develop
npm test # vitest: state machine, finalize queue, settings, keys
npm run typecheck
Capture changes can't be covered by unit tests — run
docs/manual-smoke-checklist.md before calling capture work done.
Design
Spec: docs/superpowers/specs/2026-08-02-holdclip-design.md (architecture,
state machine, known limitations — DRM blackout, loopback captures system
notification sounds, elevated-window hotkey deadzone). The design docs use the
project's working title, holdclip.
