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Screen Recording

GitHubOfficialFirst committed by nohwndDistributed by GitHub

  • Skill
  • Tool integration
  • Design and creative
  • MIT
  • Low risk

From the author

Create annotated animated GIF demos and screen recordings for pull requests and documentation. Covers frame capture, timing, imageio-based GIF creation, and per-frame annotation workflows.
— the description by nohwnd

AutoGineer summary

Written by AutoGineer from the skill’s own files, not by the author

This skill provides a technical framework for generating animated GIFs that demonstrate software workflows or UI interactions. It covers the end-to-end process of capturing frames from web browsers or desktop applications, applying programmatic annotations, and assembling the final animation with variable timing. The approach emphasizes using specific libraries like imageio and Pillow to ensure compatibility across platforms like GitHub and VS Code.

What it does

  • Captures sequences of UI interactions from browsers using Playwright.
  • Records desktop application regions using mss for screen capture.
  • Assembles individual frames into animated GIFs with custom timing.
  • Applies programmatic annotations such as labels, arrows, and rectangles to frames.
  • Implements fade-in effects for annotations to improve visual clarity.
  • Detects changed regions between frames to identify areas for annotation.

When to use it

  • When you need to create visual walkthroughs for documentation or release notes.
  • When demonstrating a bug reproduction or a specific feature fix in a pull request.
  • When you require an animated format that is universally supported in markdown previews.
  • When you need to show multi-step UI interactions with clear, paced annotations.

Advantages

  • Ensures compatibility across VS Code, GitHub, and web browsers.
  • Allows for precise control over frame duration and pacing.
  • Supports programmatic annotation and visual effects like fade-ins.
  • Provides methods for both web-based and desktop-based screen recording.

Usage examples

“Create a 3-second animated GIF of my web application login flow.”
The agent uses Playwright to navigate the login page, captures frames at specified intervals, and compiles them into a GIF with appropriate timing.
“Add a fade-in label to the final frame of my demo GIF.”
The agent applies an alpha-blended annotation layer to the target frame and updates the GIF sequence to include the transition.

Install

  1. Download the skill as a ZIP:

    https://mp-staging.autogineer.com/agent-skills/github/screen-recording/download
  2. Unzip it into the cross-client skills folder of your project:

    mkdir -p .agents/skills && unzip screen-recording.zip -d .agents/skills

Documentation by nohwnd

Screen Recording

Create animated GIF demos that show a feature or workflow in action — with annotations, variable timing, and proper pacing. Useful for PR descriptions, documentation, and release notes.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when you need to:

  • Record a multi-step UI interaction as an animated GIF

  • Create a demo showing before/after behavior

  • Build annotated walkthroughs for documentation or release notes

  • Show a bug reproduction or fix in action

Prerequisites

pip install playwright Pillow imageio numpy scipy mss -q
playwright install chromium

Core Workflow

1. Capture frames

Use Playwright to step through the interaction and capture each frame:

from playwright.async_api import async_playwright

async def record_frames(url, steps, width=1400, height=900):
    """
    steps: list of dicts with 'action' (async callable taking page)
           and 'name' (frame filename)
    """
    async with async_playwright() as p:
        browser = await p.chromium.launch()
        page = await browser.new_page(viewport={"width": width, "height": height})
        await page.goto(url, wait_until="networkidle")

        for step in steps:
            if step.get("action"):
                await step["action"](page)
                await page.wait_for_timeout(step.get("wait", 500))
            await page.screenshot(path=step["name"])

        await browser.close()
2. Assemble GIF with imageio

Use imageio, not PIL, for GIF writing — PIL's GIF encoder merges visually similar frames, which kills animations.

import imageio.v3 as iio
from PIL import Image
import numpy as np

frames = []
durations = []

for frame_path, duration_ms in frame_list:
    img = Image.open(frame_path)
    frames.append(np.array(img))
    durations.append(duration_ms)

iio.imwrite("demo.gif", frames, duration=durations, loop=0)
3. Variable frame timing

Uniform timing makes everything feel either too fast or too slow. Use variable durations:

PhaseDurationWhy
Fast action (typing, clicking)100msFeels natural, keeps energy
Pause after action600-800msLet the viewer process what happened
Hero/final message500ms+Main takeaway needs time to land
4. Annotate frames

Apply annotations to specific frames using the image-annotations skill:

from PIL import Image, ImageDraw, ImageFont

def annotate_frame(frame_path, annotations, out_path):
    img = Image.open(frame_path)
    draw = ImageDraw.Draw(img)

    for ann in annotations:
        # Apply annotation (rect, arrow, label, etc.)
        pass

    img.save(out_path)
5. Fade-in annotations

For smooth annotation appearance:

def apply_fade(base_frame, annotation_layer, alpha):
    """Blend annotation onto frame at given alpha (0.0 to 1.0)"""
    blended = Image.blend(
        base_frame.convert("RGBA"),
        annotation_layer.convert("RGBA"),
        alpha
    )
    return blended.convert("RGB")

# 2-frame pop-in at 10fps: 50% then 100%
faded_frames = [
    apply_fade(base, annotations, 0.5),  # frame 1: half opacity
    apply_fade(base, annotations, 1.0),  # frame 2: full opacity
]

At 10fps, use 2 fade frames (0.2s total). At 30fps, use 3-4 frames. Easing curves look bad at low FPS — simple pop-in is snappier and more readable.

Build as a Script

The annotation logic gets complex for anything beyond trivial demos. Write a dedicated script (e.g., annotate_gif.py) with functions instead of inline code. You'll iterate on timing and placement.

Testing Animations

Always test in isolation first — don't rebuild the full demo to test a fade tweak:

# Small test GIF: 10 bare frames → fade frames → 15 hold frames
# Add a frame counter overlay for debugging:
draw.text((10, height - 30), f"F{i}/{total} a={alpha:.0%} FADE",
          fill="white", font=small_font)

Desktop Screen Recording (mss)

For recording desktop apps, terminals, or anything outside a browser. Uses mss for fast screen capture.

import mss
from PIL import Image
import time

def record_gif(output_path, region=None, duration=5, fps=8):
    """Record screen region to GIF. region = {left, top, width, height} or None for full screen."""
    with mss.mss() as sct:
        if region is None:
            region = sct.monitors[1]  # primary monitor

        frames = []
        t_end = time.time() + duration
        while time.time() < t_end:
            t0 = time.time()
            shot = sct.grab(region)
            frames.append(Image.frombytes('RGB', shot.size, shot.rgb))
            time.sleep(max(0, 1 / fps - (time.time() - t0)))

    frames[0].save(output_path, save_all=True, append_images=frames[1:],
                   duration=int(1000 / fps), loop=0, optimize=True)
    return len(frames)

record_gif('demo.gif', region={'left': 0, 'top': 0, 'width': 800, 'height': 500}, duration=3)

Tested: 3s at 8fps → 24 frames, ~31KB. Keep fps ≤ 10 for reasonable file sizes.

Note: PIL.save(save_all=True) works for simple recordings but merges visually similar frames. For annotated GIFs with fade effects, use imageio.v3.imwrite instead.

Combining with window capture
# Find window rect, then record it as a GIF
# Reuse find_window() from the ui-screenshots skill
import ctypes
from ctypes import c_int, Structure, byref, windll

class RECT(Structure):
    _fields_ = [('left', c_int), ('top', c_int), ('right', c_int), ('bottom', c_int)]

hwnd = find_window('My App')[0][0]
rect = RECT()
windll.user32.GetWindowRect(hwnd, byref(rect))
region = {'left': rect.left, 'top': rect.top,
          'width': rect.right - rect.left, 'height': rect.bottom - rect.top}
record_gif('app-demo.gif', region=region, duration=5, fps=8)

Diff-Based Cluster Detection

Programmatically find changed regions between frames to decide what to annotate:

import numpy as np
from scipy import ndimage

def find_changed_clusters(frame_a, frame_b, threshold=30, min_pixels=300, dilate=5):
    """Find bounding boxes of changed regions between two frames."""
    diff = np.abs(frame_b.astype(float) - frame_a.astype(float)).max(axis=2)
    mask = diff > threshold
    dilated = ndimage.binary_dilation(mask, iterations=dilate)
    labeled, n = ndimage.label(dilated)
    clusters = []
    for i in range(1, n + 1):
        ys, xs = np.where(labeled == i)
        if len(ys) < min_pixels:
            continue
        clusters.append((xs.min(), ys.min(), xs.max(), ys.max(), len(ys)))
    return sorted(clusters, key=lambda c: -c[4])  # largest first

Format Compatibility

FormatVS Code PreviewGitHubBrowser
GIF✅ Animates✅✅
WebP⚠️ Static only✅✅
MP4❌ Broken⚠️✅

GIF is the only universally supported animated format across VS Code preview, GitHub markdown, and browsers.

Guidelines

  1. Type → pause → annotate — during fast action, show NO annotation. Pause first, then annotate

  2. Hero message gets the biggest font — 64pt+ for the main takeaway, 38pt for details

  3. GIF palette does NOT kill gradients — 20 distinct alpha steps survive 256-color palette

  4. 10fps minimum for typing/interaction — lower looks stuttery

  5. Build iteratively — get the frame sequence right first, add annotations second, tune timing last

Limitations

  • GIF is limited to 256 colors per frame — fine for UI screenshots, may show banding on photographic content

  • Large GIFs (50+ frames at high resolution) can be several MB — consider cropping to the relevant area

  • No audio support in GIF — use MP4 for narrated demos (but lose VS Code preview support)

Files

Requirements and compatibility

Written for: GitHub Copilot

Works with: Claude Code, Claude apps, OpenAI Codex, GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Gemini CLI, Kiro, OpenCode, Goose, Amp, Roo Code, JetBrains Junie, Factory Droid, Devin (ex-Windsurf), Mistral Vibe, OpenHands, Letta

“Works with” means the tool reads the open Agent Skills format; a skill written for one tool may use features others lack.

Needs: Needs Python

Security

What our scanner noticed· Low risk

  • Instructions that use the network

A static scan is not a guarantee. Skills are third-party content: review a skill before you let an agent use it.

Attribution and licence

First committed by
GitHub avatar of nohwndnohwnd
Publisher
GitHub (Official)
Distributed by
GitHub
Source
github/awesome-copilot · skills/screen-recording · commit 797337f
Licence
MIT License (redistribution allowed)
  • LICENSE (added by AutoGineer from LICENSE)
  • ATTRIBUTION.md (written by AutoGineer)
Synced
Contributors
nohwnd

AutoGineer is not affiliated with or endorsed by nohwnd or GitHub.

Download ZIP

The ZIP holds the skill’s files, its licence files and an ATTRIBUTION.md. Download screen-recording.zip