LICEcap for Mac

Quick GIF Creation on macOS

LICEcap is a free utility for macOS that makes it easy to produce animated GIFs directly from your screen. It captures a selected region and records the activity within that area, exporting the result as a GIF suitable for tutorials, demos, or social posts.

What it does best

• Let you set the recording length and number of frames so output matches your needs.
• Offer precise sizing options, enabling capture of exact dimensions when required.
• Provide a simple rectangular frame you can resize and move to choose the capture area.
• Save or share the completed GIF immediately after recording for quick distribution.

How to use it

Start the app, position and resize the capture frame over the content you want to record, then press the record button. While recording, LICEcap captures each frame at the configured rate until you stop it or the duration is reached. The app then writes the animation to a GIF file that you can open, attach, or upload.

Reasons to pick LICEcap

• No cost and a lightweight footprint make it ideal for quick tasks.
• A minimal interface keeps the process straightforward and fast.
• Customizable frame rate and duration let you balance smoothness and file size.
• Useful for both casual screen clips and professional walkthroughs.

Recommended free alternative

• VLC media player — a versatile, free app primarily known for media playback, but also capable of capturing portions of the screen and exporting recordings if you need a different workflow or additional format options.