Zight for Windows
Free screen recorder for Windows that ends in a link, not a saved file.
Windows 11 Snipping Tool already captures and annotates screenshots and records video snips. Zight adds a hosted link for every capture, a shared library, and request workflows for collecting someone else’s screen on Windows 10 and 11.
Free plan: recordings up to 5 minutes at up to 720p, 15-second GIFs and 5 video requests a month. No credit card. Compare plans
Trusted by 5m+ people who would rather show than tell
What is the best screen recorder for Windows?
Zight is a free screen recorder and snipping tool for Windows 10 and 11. It captures a region, a window or the full screen, records video or a GIF with system audio and your microphone, annotates with arrows, text and blur, and uploads each capture so the share link is already on your clipboard.
What it does on Windows
Five jobs, one app
The set that usually needs a screenshot utility, a recorder, an editor and a file-sharing account between them.
Screen recording
The full screen or a selected area, as video or a GIF, with or without a camera overlay. System audio and microphone together, and your recording preferences stay set between takes.
Learn moreSnipping and screenshots
Region, window, or the visible page — the same snips the built-in tool takes, except this one uploads them and hands you a URL instead of asking where to save.
Learn moreAnnotation
Arrows, text, highlights, shapes and blur, on a screenshot or drawn live mid-recording. Blur is the one that matters when the screen has a customer’s details on it.
Learn moreVideo editing
Trim takes the ends off, cut removes the middle, and split and merge handle the rest. The link stays the same when you re-share the tidied version.
Learn moreRequest links and optional Data Logs
Send a link so the other person records their screen in a browser, with no account or install. When a workspace administrator enables Data Logs, a video response can also include console, network, browser and system details.
Learn moreGetting started on Windows
Four steps, and the last one is paste
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1
Install it
The .appinstaller from downloads.zight.com keeps itself current. Signing up is free.
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2
Click the toolbar icon
Screenshot, GIF or Record. Pick a region, a window, or the whole screen — or set a keyboard shortcut in Settings first.
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3
Annotate, then stop
Arrows and text on a snip; draw live during a recording; trim or cut when you finish.
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4
Paste the link
Already on your clipboard. Drop it in Teams, the ticket, or the email you were about to write three paragraphs into.
Keyboard shortcuts
Zight ships without stealing your existing shortcuts — you set them in the toolbar icon → gear → Settings → Shortcuts. These are the copy and save keys once a capture exists.
- Copy the content
- Ctrl C
- Copy a direct link
- Ctrl ⇧ C
- Paste it
- Ctrl V
- Save the file locally
- Ctrl S
- Capture and record
- Set your own
Already on your PC
Built-in Windows screen recorders vs Zight
Microsoft gives you three ways to record your screen at no cost. All three end with a video file on your PC. Zight ends with a link.
| Tool | How you start it | What it records | What you end up with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Snipping Tool (Windows 11) | Record → New, or Windows + Shift + R | An area of the screen you select. | A recording you save as it is, or open in the Clipchamp editor. |
| Xbox Game Bar | Windows + Alt + R (Windows + G opens the bar) | A clip of the game or app you’re using. Windows + Alt + M turns the microphone on or off. | An MP4 in Videos › Captures, named after the app and the time. |
| Clipchamp | Record & create → Screen, inside the Clipchamp editor | A browser tab, a window or the entire screen, with your webcam if you want it, for up to 30 minutes a take. | A clip on the editing timeline. Export it and the video downloads to your device. |
| Zight for Windows (10 and 11) | The toolbar icon → Record, or a shortcut you set | The full screen or an area, as video or a GIF, with system audio, your microphone and an optional camera. Up to 5 minutes a recording on the free plan. | A link on your clipboard when you stop. Need a customer’s screen? Send a request link; they need no account and no install. |
If the recording never leaves your PC, Snipping Tool or Clipchamp will do. Use Zight when someone else has to watch it. How the Zight screen recorder works
Built-in tool details checked 6 October 2026 against each vendor’s own documentation: Microsoft Support: Snipping Tool; Microsoft Support: record your screen with Xbox Game Bar; Clipchamp: screen and camera recorder.
The other direction
Every capture app sends. This one also asks.
Whatever you install on your own machine, it cannot see what is happening on someone else’s — and “can you send me a screenshot?” is where the afternoon goes. Send a request link instead: they capture their screen from the browser, with no account and no install, whatever they are running.
How-tos
Screenshots and recording on Windows
The Snipping Tool, the shortcuts, and the laptops with their own key combinations.
FAQ
Questions people ask about Windows
Yes. The free plan covers screen recording, screenshots, video requests and 15-second GIFs, with recordings up to five minutes and no credit card. Unlimited recording time starts on the Create plan.
That comes down to what happens after you stop. If the recording stays on your PC, Snipping Tool on Windows 11 records an area of the screen, and Clipchamp is there if you need to edit it. If you’re about to send it, Zight’s free plan records up to five minutes at up to 720p, with system audio and your microphone, and the link is on your clipboard when you stop. Longer recordings start on the Create plan.
Windows 11 Snipping Tool can capture and annotate screenshots and record a video snip. On Windows 10, use its screenshot capture path. Zight adds a shared library and link for each capture, plus a request workflow for collecting another person’s screen.
Yes, both. The installer is an .appinstaller that keeps itself up to date, so there is no build to choose between.
Yes, together — which is what you want when the thing you are demonstrating makes a sound, or when you are talking over a video that has its own audio.
Yes. Share settings cover who can open a link and how long it stays live, so a capture that was only meant for one thread does not stay public forever.
Yes. Send a request link and they can submit their own screenshot or record their screen from the browser, with no account and no install. Diagnostic details are included only for video responses when a workspace administrator has enabled Data Logs; they are not attached to every screenshot request.
Show it, instead of typing it out.
Free on Windows. Capture, point at the thing, paste the link.