Steam Deck Game Recording: Your guide to recording, editing, and sharing gameplay clips

You know how it is: you take down an incredibly difficult boss, land a ridiculous headshot, or discover a funny glitch – and nobody saw it. Those days are over! With the latest update, Valve has finally added an integrated game capture function to the Steam Deck. No more fiddling with external software, no more complicated setups. Just play, record, and capture the best moments.

But how exactly does it all work? Which settings are right for you, and how do you get the clips from your deck to your phone or PC? Don't worry, we've taken a close look at this feature for you. In this guide, we'll walk you through everything you need to know, step by step. Buckle up, let's get started!

First step: Setting up game recording correctly

Before you can start your gaming career as a content creator, you first need to activate and configure the feature. Fortunately, Valve has provided us with some helpful options for this. Here's how:

1. Press the Steam button to open the main menu.
2. Navigate down to the settings (the small gear icon).
3. In the settings menu you will find the new tab "Game Recording" .
   
   
   

Here you can set the fundamental course. The most important decision first:

Recording mode: Manual or background?

You have the choice between two basic modes:

• Manual recording: You start and stop the recording yourself. Perfect if you want to record an entire match or a long gaming session.
• Background recording: This is your "Oh crap, that was awesome!" backup. Steam Deck automatically buffers the last few minutes of your gameplay. If something worth recording happens, you can save the clip later. You can set the buffer length yourself, up to 120 minutes. But be aware: This will, of course, continuously consume system resources.
  
  
  

Quality and further fine-tuning

In the advanced settings, you can adjust the quality of your recordings. The simple rule here is: the higher the quality, the more storage space is required and the more processing power is used.

• Quality: Everything from "Low" to "Ultra" is included. We recommend starting with "High" and seeing how it goes.
  
  
• Maximum video height: Here you can limit the resolution. For the best quality, select "No limit".
• Frame rate: Up to 60 FPS are possible, ensuring buttery smooth footage.
• Audio: Decide whether to record only the system sound, your microphone, or both.
  
  

Especially when recording in high quality, storage space can quickly become limited. If you notice your collection of epic clips growing, it might be worth considering a storage upgrade. It's actually easier than you think. :)

Record gameplay like a pro: The controls

The settings are configured, now it's time to get down to business! While you're playing, you control the recording with simple key combinations. A small notification in the bottom right corner of the screen confirms your action – this notification, by the way, is not recorded.

• To start/stop manual recording: Press Steam + A.
• To save a clip from a background recording: Press Steam + Up Arrow . This will save the last X seconds (depending on your settings) as a clip.
• Setting a timeline marker: Press Steam + Y to place a marker in the ongoing recording. This is extremely useful for quickly finding interesting sections later.
  
  
  

Pro tip for hobbyists: Assign functions to the backspace keys!

If the key combinations are too fiddly, you can also assign the actions to the convenient back buttons (R4/L4). Simply go to Controller Settings → System and assign actions like "Toggle Manual Recording" or "Create Clip" to a button of your choice. This way, you're guaranteed not to miss a single moment. If you want to further optimize your setup, [INTERNAL LINK TO: "Category: Spare Parts & Mods" - Meta-Description: "Make your Steam Deck unique! Discover high-quality spare parts and mods like custom buttons to personalize and optimize your gaming experience."] are a fantastic way to tailor your device even better to your needs.

From raw footage to highlight: Editing clips

Is your hard drive filling up with recordings? Perfect! To view and edit them, simply press the Steam button and switch to the "Media" tab . Here you'll find all your saved clips and timeline recordings.

The editing process is surprisingly intuitive:

1. Select a recording to view the timeline.
2. The triggers allow you to quickly scroll through the recording.
3. Use the dashed scissors icons to precisely define the start and end points of your clip.
4. Use the magnifying glass icon to zoom into the timeline for finer editing.
5. Save your masterpiece! You have the option to overwrite the original clip or create a new one.

In some supported games, highlights and events (e.g., goals, kills) are even automatically marked on the timeline. Pretty clever!

Divide and conquer: How to export your videos

What good is the best clip if you can't share it with your friends? There are quick, but limited, options directly from the media menu in gaming mode:

• Send to a network device: For clips up to 100 MB.
• Send to your phone: Via Steam Mobile App, but limited to 59 seconds.
• Share via QR code: Creates a link to the video, also limited to 59 seconds.

For the big things: Exporting in desktop mode

Is your clip longer than a minute, or do you want to process it in full quality for a YouTube video? Then desktop mode is your best friend.

1. Switch to desktop mode .
2. Open your Steam library and go to View → Captures and Screenshots .
3. Find your clip, right-click on it and select Share → Export video file .
4. Now you can choose the format: Select the original file (MP4), compress it, or manually adjust the bitrate and codec.
5. The clip is saved by default in the home/deck/videos folder. From there, you can drag it to a USB stick or send it to your PC using a tool like Warpinator.

And that's it! You're now fully equipped to capture your adventures on the Steam Deck and share them with the world. This feature is a true game-changer and makes content creation easier than ever before.

Have fun recording!