Byzanz – free opensource Desktop Recording (command-line) tool

Byzanz is a free opensource GNOME based Command-Line utility to capture desktop recording software for linux. This should probably be the coolest command-line utility that I have seen in recent days. Byzanz records your desktop session to an animated GIF. You can record your entire screen, a single window, an arbitrary region or even follow the cursor. Given that it is only a GIF format makes it even more an intersting proposition as the file size is going to be very small.

Install Byzanz

To install Byzanz on your openSUSE, click one of the following 1-click installers based on your openSUSE Linux version

openSUSE 11.0

openSUSE 10.3

openSUSE 10.2

NOTE: Click here to enable 1-click install in openSUSE 10.2

This should download the YaST MetaPackage file (YMP) for Byzanz and launch the YaST Package manager for installation. Click next on the window showing the selected repositories and next again on the package selection window and finally click Next on the installation proposal window. This should add the required repositories (click import when prompted to import the GPG Keys) and install byzanz package and the required dependencies. Click Finish when the installation is completed succesfully.

This installs the executable byzabz-recorder under /usr/bin

opensuse11:/ # which byzanz-record
/usr/bin/byzanz-record

To record a simple 10 second clip on your desktop,

opensuse11:~ # byzanz-record desk.gif

NOTE: Click the above image to view the desktop recording
The default duration or the delay for the recording is 10seconds. However, this can be set to your required duration as follows:

opensuse11:~ # byzanz-record –delay=100 desk.gif

To follow the cursor where you can capture the windows opened by your mouse click as follows

opensuse11:~ # byzanz-record –delay=100 -c desk.gif

In the above the “-c” option follows your cursor

To customize the size of the final image (height & width)

opensuse11:~ # byzanz-record –delay=100 –height=300 –width=300 desk.gif

To set the starting point of your recording (X & Y co-ordinates on your screen),

opensuse11:~ # byzanz-record –x=100 –y=300 desk.gif

For more options use the help option

opensuse11:~ # byzanz-record –help
Usage:
byzanz-record [OPTION…] record your current desktop session

Help Options:
-?, –help               Show help options
–help-all               Show all help options
–help-gtk               Show GTK+ Options

Application Options:
-d, –duration=SECS      Duration of animation (default: 10 seconds)
–delay=SECS             Delay before start (default: 1 second)
-l, –loop               Let the animation loop
-c, –cursor             Record mouse cursor
-x, –x=PIXEL            X coordinate of rectangle to record
-y, –y=PIXEL            Y coordinate of rectangle to record
-w, –width=PIXEL        Width of recording rectangle
-h, –height=PIXEL       Height of recording rectangle
-v, –verbose            Be verbose
–display=DISPLAY        X display to use