⚡ vrec

High-performance GPU hardware screen recorder & instant replay overlay for Linux (Wayland & X11) and Windows.

Engineered specifically for mid- and low-end PCs to deliver high-FPS, zero-lag gameplay recording without macroblock pixelation or dropped frames.

🚀 Key Features

🏎️ True Zero-Copy GPU Pipeline:
- Wayland: Linux PipeWire + DMA-BUF file descriptors imported straight into VAAPI without copying through system RAM.
- X11: Low-CPU MIT-SHM (xcb::shm) shared memory architecture (zero socket IPC serialization).
- Windows: DXGI Desktop Duplication (IDXGIOutput1) keeping textures 100% in GPU VRAM with zero PCIe bus readback.
🎮 In-Game HUD Overlay (Xbox Game Bar / GPU Screen Recorder Style):
- Borderless, frosted-glass top-centered HUD.
- Zero separate windows: 100% inline settings stack so tiling window managers (Hyprland, Sway) never tile it.
- Instant Replay toggle with 1-click Save button.
- Live ticking recording timer ([02:14]) synced directly with the background daemon over IPC.
- Microphone & audio live mute/unmute toggle.
💾 Ultra-Lightweight Instant Replay Buffer:
- Compressed H.264/AAC packets stored in a rolling RAM ringbuffer.
- 60 seconds of instant replay uses only ~110 MB of RAM.
💎 Studio-Grade Quality (No "Slop" or Macroblocks):
- Tuned VBR rate control with 1.5x burst headroom for rapid camera turns.
- Enforced quantization floor and ceiling (qmin=16, qmax=28) and H.264 High Profile.
- Accurate container timestamp rescaling (av_packet_rescale_ts) locked to clean 60.0 fps.
🎛️ Tailored for Low-End Rigs:
- 30 FPS / 60 FPS / 120 FPS Selector: Drop to 30 FPS to cut encoder workload by 50% on older hardware.
- Custom Save Directories: Defaulting to ~/Videos/vrec or any external hard drive.
- Audio Device Selector: Choose between your system default or specific USB headset/mic.
- Codec Selector: H.264 / AVC, HEVC / H.265, and AV1.
🌐 Universal GPU Support:
- NVIDIA: NVENC hardware acceleration.
- AMD: VAAPI & AMF hardware acceleration.
- Intel: QuickSync & VAAPI hardware acceleration.
- CPU Fallback: Multi-threaded libx264 if no hardware encoder device is found.

📥 Installation

Arch Linux (AUR)

cd packaging/aur
makepkg -si

From Source (Release Installer)

git clone https://github.com/oiupoyt/vrec.git
cd vrec
./install.sh

This compiles the release binaries and installs vrec-daemon and vrec-ui into ~/.local/bin/.

🎮 Compositor Keybindings

Hyprland (`~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf`)

# Start the recording engine automatically on login
exec-once = vrec-daemon

# Hotkeys for HUD Overlay and Instant Replay
bind = ALT, Z, exec, vrec-ui --menu
bind = CONTROL SHIFT, R, exec, vrec-ui --save
bind = CONTROL SHIFT, F9, exec, vrec-ui --toggle

Sway (`~/.config/sway/config`)

exec vrec-daemon
bindsym Mod1+z exec vrec-ui --menu
bindsym Control+Shift+r exec vrec-ui --save

⌨️ Command-Line Usage

You can control vrec directly from scripts, stream decks, or terminal:

vrec-daemon           # Starts background recording engine (run once)
vrec-ui --menu        # Toggles the in-game HUD overlay
vrec-ui --save        # Saves the rolling replay buffer immediately
vrec-ui --toggle      # Starts or stops normal recording
vrec-ui --start       # Starts recording
vrec-ui --stop        # Stops recording and finalizes MP4
vrec-ui --reload      # Reloads configuration from disk
vrec-ui --quit        # Shuts down the background daemon cleanly

⚙️ Configuration (`~/.config/vrec/config.json`)

Settings can be changed graphically in the HUD overlay or edited in config.json:

{
  "replay_enabled": true,
  "replay_duration_sec": 60,
  "replay_bitrate_kbps": 18000,
  "record_enabled": false,
  "record_bitrate_kbps": 20000,
  "fps": 60,
  "video_codec": "h264",
  "output_directory": "/home/user/Videos/vrec",
  "audio_device": "default",
  "autostart": false,
  "language": "en",
  "ui_color_theme": "dark",
  "save_hotkey": "Ctrl+Shift+R",
  "menu_hotkey": "Alt+Z"
}

🧪 Automated Testing

vrec includes an automated integration test suite that tests recording, replay slicing, and file verification:

./tests/e2e_test.sh

📜 License

Licensed under MIT or Apache-2.0.

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