Recording your trading · Windows 10/11
Recap vs. OBS: both record your screens. Only one knows when you traded.
OBS Studio is a superb free recorder, and for some traders it is all the film room they need. This page says when that is true, and when a clip per trade cut from your platform’s fills is the difference between reviewing and meaning to.
OBS records a session. Recap records a session and knows where the trades are.
Both capture the screens you choose. The difference is what happens when you go flat. OBS keeps rolling into one file, or saves the last few seconds if you press a hotkey. Recap listens to your trading platform and cuts a labeled clip for the trade you just closed.
| Capability | OBS Studio | Recap |
|---|---|---|
| Records monitors and windows | Yes | Yes |
| Whole-session recording | Yes | Yes Kept as raw footage that ages out (7 days / 200 GB by default) |
| Save a clip on a hotkey | Yes Replay Buffer saves the last N seconds | Partly: Drop Marker records the moment on a hotkey; you cut the clip from the Timeline afterwards |
| Clip per trade from your fills, labeled instrument · side · points · time | No Not built in (scriptable via plugins/API) | Yes With a platform connector |
| Search clips by instrument, result, tag, hold time | No Files on disk | Yes Library filters |
| Replay several monitors in sync with one scrubber | No One composited canvas or separate files | Yes One tile per feed, one set of controls |
| Trade stats next to the footage | No | Yes Points, size, hold, peak, heat vs. your averages |
| Streaming, scenes, overlays, webcam | Yes | No |
| Operating systems | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows 10/11 only |
| Price | Free, open source | Not announced yet; free 30-day trial |
OBS facts are from the OBS Project’s own site: the home/download page (platforms, streaming, free and open source), the instant replay guide and the frontend API reference, retrieved 2026-09-05. “Not built in” means exactly that: OBS is extensible, and a plugin or script can save the replay buffer on an external event. Recap facts describe the shipped Windows app.
When OBS is enough
- You take a handful of trades a day and are happy to note the times and scrub to them later.
- You review whole sessions, not individual trades, and the raw file is the product.
- You already stream or publish and want scenes, overlays, a webcam and a mic in one tool.
- You trade on macOS or Linux, or on a platform Recap has no connector for and you do not want to cut clips by hand.
- You are comfortable scripting. OBS’s API can be driven by an external event; if your platform can raise one, you can build your own trigger.
When one clip per trade changes whether you review at all
- Many trades, little time. Nine round trips in a session is nine labeled clips in the Library within seconds of each exit, not nine timestamps to hunt through a six-hour file.
- You want the ugly ones. The impulsive entry is the trade you least want to press a hotkey for. With the fill as the trigger, it is captured like every other.
- You want to search, not scrub. “Every losing NQ trade this week” is a filter, not an evening.
- You trade across monitors. Chart, DOM and order ticket replay side by side on one scrubber, and you can zoom any feed.
- You want the numbers beside the tape. Each review opens on this trade’s points, size, hold, peak and heat against your own averages for that instrument.
What each asks of you
- OBS setup: build a scene with your monitors as sources, pick an encoder, set a Replay Buffer length and a hotkey, and remember the hotkey mid-trade. Everything is a file; organisation is yours.
- Recap setup: install the app and one platform connector (a Sierra Chart study, a NinjaTrader AddOn, a MotiveWave strategy, or a Tradovate account link), pick the monitors or windows to record, and start Recap before your platform. Quick start.
- Recap’s limits: Windows only; needs a GPU encoder; NinjaTrader 8 chart windows should be recorded as a whole monitor; raw footage ages out while clips are kept; footage is stored unencrypted on your disk like any recorder’s. Full list: known limitations.
- Both: a recorder cannot capture a minimized window or a sleeping machine. Recap warns and leaves the gap on the record rather than pretending.
Keep OBS for your stream. Let the fill cut your film.
Recap is pre-release. Start a free 30-day trial with just an email; pricing isn’t announced yet.
Footage is stored on your machine. Recap reads trade events and has no capability to place, change, or cancel an order.
Recap vs. OBS FAQ
Can OBS record my trading session?
Yes. OBS Studio is a free, open-source recorder that captures monitors, windows, microphone and desktop audio on Windows, macOS and Linux, and it can stream at the same time. It records the whole session as one file, or saves the last several seconds when you press the Replay Buffer hotkey.
Can OBS clip my trades automatically?
Not on its own. OBS does not know when you entered or exited a trade, so a clip needs a hotkey press or an add-on. OBS exposes a frontend API and a plugin system, and the community has published replay-buffer plugins and scripts, so a developer could wire a platform event to a replay-buffer save. Recap ships that wiring: a connector for your trading platform reports fills, and Recap cuts and labels the clip when the position goes flat.
Does Recap replace OBS?
Only for trade review. Recap does not stream, has no scenes, overlays or webcam, and runs on Windows only. If you also stream or make videos, keep OBS for that. Both use the GPU encoder; running them at the same time is not something we have tested or documented.
What does Recap need that OBS does not?
A supported trading platform connection for automatic clips (stable for Sierra Chart, NinjaTrader and MotiveWave; beta for Quantower, ATAS X and a direct Tradovate account link), Windows 10 or 11, and a recent GPU with hardware video encoding. Without a connector Recap still records and you cut clips yourself from the Timeline.
How much does Recap cost?
Recap pricing isn’t announced yet. Anyone can start a free 30-day trial with just an email. OBS Studio is free.
Comparing journals instead of recorders? See six trading journals compared or the TradeZella alternative page. All supported platforms: Platforms.
OBS and OBS Studio are trademarks of their owner. Recap Trading LLC is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the OBS Project.