SegraDocs

Core Features

Recording

Learn how Segra's recording modes work and how to capture your gameplay

Segra offers three powerful recording modes to match your workflow: Full Session, Replay Buffer, and Hybrid. Each mode is optimized for different use cases.

Recording Modes

You can select your recording mode in Settings > Capture Mode. You can change the mode while a recording is active. The current recording keeps the mode it started with, and the new mode applies from the next recording.

Hybrid mode is the default and recommended setting for most users. It combines the best of both worlds.

Hybrid mode records your full gaming session while simultaneously maintaining a replay buffer. This means you can:

  • Save instant replays with a hotkey (default: F10) without interrupting your session
  • Access full game integration features for supported games
  • Create AI-generated highlights from your full session
  • Add manual bookmarks during gameplay (default: F8)
  • Review the complete session after your game ends

Use Hybrid when: You want the flexibility to save both short highlight moments and review your full session later.

Session Recording

Session mode records your entire gaming session from the moment you launch a game until you close it.

Features:

  • Full session video files saved automatically
  • Game integration support (Battlefield 6, Counter-Strike 2, Deadlock, Dota 2, Fortnite, Grand Theft Auto, League of Legends, Minecraft, Overwatch, PUBG: Battlegrounds, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, RuneScape: Dragonwilds, Rust, Valorant, War Thunder, and WARDOGS)
  • Automatic highlight generation from game-event bookmarks
  • Bookmark system with manual and automatic markers
  • Complete timeline for review and clipping

Storage: Uses more storage space since entire sessions are saved. You can manage this in Settings > Storage.

Use Session when: You're a content creator who needs complete gameplay recordings for editing or review.

Replay Buffer

Replay Buffer continuously records gameplay in the background but only saves clips when you press a hotkey.

How it works:

  • Segra records a rolling buffer (default: 30 seconds)
  • Press the save hotkey (F10) to save the last 30 seconds
  • Only saved clips are written to disk
  • The buffer resets after each save

Features:

  • Minimal storage footprint - only saves what you want
  • Perfect for capturing highlight moments
  • Quick saves without interrupting gameplay

Game integrations run in Replay Buffer mode too. When you save a replay, Segra copies the game-event bookmarks that fall inside it into the saved file. This includes bookmarks that integrations add after the save, such as Rainbow Six Siege events that arrive when the round ends.

Limitations:

  • No automatic highlight generation
  • No AI highlight generation
  • Cannot review full sessions

Use Replay Buffer when: You only want to save specific moments and don't need full session recordings.

How Recording Works

Automatic Game Detection

Segra automatically detects when you launch a supported game:

  1. Game Detection Service monitors running processes
  2. When a whitelisted game launches, Segra enters Pre-Recording state
  3. The game window is verified and capture hooks are prepared
  4. Recording starts automatically using Game Capture technology

If you click Stop while Segra is still waiting for the game window or capture hook (or, on Linux, for the screen-share dialog), the pending start is canceled. After you manually stop a game recording, Segra won't auto-start a new recording until the foreground window changes, for example when you switch to another window.

When a session ends, Segra finishes post-processing (metadata, thumbnail, and waveform) in the background. A new recording can start while this runs.

You can customize which games trigger automatic recording in Settings > Game Detection. Add games to the whitelist or blacklist as needed. To turn off automatic recording entirely, disable the Auto-record Games toggle in the same section. Games you added with recording enabled and manual recordings still work.

Capture Methods

Segra uses two capture methods:

Game Capture (Primary)

Game Capture hooks directly into your game for optimal performance:

  • Zero performance impact - runs at native game FPS
  • Only captures the game - overlays and desktop are excluded
  • Automatic window tracking - follows the game even if you alt-tab

If Game Capture fails to hook, Segra first tries Window Capture (WGC) targeted at the game window, then falls back to Display Capture. The recording card shows a game controller, window, or monitor icon depending on which method is currently active.

Only one app can hook a game at a time. When a recording starts, Segra skips Game Capture and uses Window or Display Capture if OBS Studio is streaming or recording, or if another app (such as OBS Studio's preview or Streamlabs) already holds the game's hook. When you tab back into the recorded game, Segra waits 2 seconds and then either hands the hook to OBS Studio (if OBS Studio has started streaming or recording) or retries Game Capture (if the hook is free). See OBS Integration.

Window Capture (Fallback)

Window Capture uses Windows Graphics Capture (WGC) to record just the game's window when the game hook can't attach:

  • Captures only the game window - other apps and the desktop are excluded
  • Automatically switches out when the window is minimized or in exclusive fullscreen (Display Capture takes over until the window is captureable again)

Display Capture (Fallback)

Display Capture records your entire monitor and is used when neither Game Capture nor Window Capture can deliver frames:

  • Works with all games including anti-cheat protected titles
  • Captures overlays like Discord, browser tabs, etc.
  • Uses DXGI Desktop Duplication on the game's monitor (or the monitor selected in Settings > Video for manual recordings)

Manual Recording

You can also start recordings manually from the home screen:

Click the Record button

Click the record button in the Segra interface.

Segra starts recording

Segra will use Display Capture to record your selected monitor.

Click Stop when done

Click the stop button to end the recording and save the file.

Manual recordings always use Display Capture and are saved as Session recordings (unless you're in Buffer mode).

While a manual Display Capture recording is active, a dropdown appears next to the monitor indicator on the recording card if you have more than one monitor with the same aspect ratio. Use it to switch which monitor is captured without stopping the recording. Game recordings always follow the game's monitor, so the dropdown is hidden for them.

Video Quality Settings

Configure your recording quality in Settings > Video:

Resolution

  • 4K (3840x2160)
  • 1440p (2560x1440)
  • 1080p (1920x1080)
  • 720p (1280x720)

Segra automatically detects your monitor resolution and suggests an optimal setting.

Frame Rate

  • 24 FPS
  • 30 FPS
  • 60 FPS (default)
  • 120 FPS
  • 144 FPS

Encoder

Choose between GPU (hardware-accelerated) or CPU (software) encoding:

GPU Encoding (Recommended):

  • NVIDIA NVENC (H.264/H.265/AV1)
  • AMD AMF (H.264/H.265/AV1)
  • Intel QuickSync (H.264/H.265/AV1)

CPU Encoding:

  • x264 (H.264)
  • x265 (H.265)

GPU encoding provides better performance with minimal impact on game FPS. Segra automatically detects your GPU and selects the best encoder.

Rate Control

Segra supports multiple rate control methods:

  • VBR (Variable Bitrate) - Recommended. Balances quality and file size
  • CBR (Constant Bitrate) - Consistent file size, good for streaming workflows
  • CQP (Constant Quantization Parameter) - Hardware encoder constant quality mode
  • CRF (Constant Rate Factor) - Software encoder constant quality mode

Audio Recording

Audio Sources

Configure audio in Settings > Audio:

  • Microphone - Add multiple input devices with individual volume controls and per-device Noise Suppression and Mono toggles
  • Desktop Audio - System sounds and application audio
  • Game Audio - Isolated game audio (requires game capture hook)
  • Voice Chat - Separate voice-chat audio track (Discord, Discord Canary, Discord PTB, TeamSpeak, TeamSpeak 3) when What to Record is set to Game and Voice Chat

Separate Audio Tracks

Enable Separate Audio Tracks in Settings > Audio to record each audio source on its own track. Perfect for editing in DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere, or other NLEs.

When enabled, Segra creates:

  • Track 1: Full Mix (all audio sources combined)
  • Tracks 2 and up: Individual audio sources, in the order they are configured (inputs first, then outputs)

Stock OBS caps recordings at 6 audio tracks. Segra's bundled OBS (32.2.2-segra and later) raises that cap, and the exact limit is probed at startup and exposed as maxAudioTracks in the app state. The Audio settings card warns you if you select more sources than the current build can encode into separate tracks.

This allows you to adjust or remove specific audio sources during editing without affecting others.

What to record

Choose how desktop audio is captured with the What to Record options:

  • Everything - Records all sound from the selected output devices, including music and voice chat
  • Game Only - Only captures the hooked game's audio (requires game capture)
  • Game and Voice Chat - Captures game audio and a shared voice-chat track (Discord, Discord Canary, Discord PTB, TeamSpeak, TeamSpeak 3)

Storage Management

Segra automatically manages your storage:

  • Set a storage limit in Settings > Storage
  • Oldest content is automatically deleted when the limit is reached
  • Session recordings are organized by game name
  • Buffers and clips are stored in separate folders

If you enable Discard Session Recordings Without Manual Bookmarks (under Settings > Preferences), Segra will automatically delete session recordings that have no manual bookmarks when the recording stops. This helps save storage for games where you didn't capture anything interesting.

File Organization

Recordings are automatically organized in your content folder:

Segra/
├── Full Sessions/
│   ├── Counter-Strike 2/
│   ├── League of Legends/
│   └── Valorant/
├── Replay Buffers/
│   └── [Game Name]/
├── Clips/
│   └── [Game Name]/
└── Highlights/
    └── [Game Name]/

Each recording includes:

  • Video file (.mp4)
  • Metadata (game name, bookmarks, duration)
  • Thumbnail (auto-generated from the video's midpoint; if that frame is black, Segra tries the 25%, 75%, 10%, 90%, 40%, and 60% positions in turn)
  • Waveform (audio visualization for timeline)

Hotkeys

Default hotkeys for recording:

  • F8 - Create bookmark (Session/Hybrid modes)
  • F9 - Toggle recording (start/stop a manual recording)
  • F10 - Save replay buffer (Buffer/Hybrid modes, or the always-on replay buffer)
  • F11 - Toggle preview window

Customize these in Settings > Hotkeys.

Troubleshooting

Recording won't start
  • Check that Auto-record Games is enabled (Settings > Game Detection)
  • Check if the game is in your whitelist (Settings > Game Detection)
  • Verify the game isn't in the blacklist
  • Try starting a manual recording to test your capture setup
  • Check the logs for errors related to game detection
Game capture not hooking
  • Some games with anti-cheat may block game capture
  • Segra will automatically fall back to Window Capture (WGC) targeted at the game window, and to Display Capture if the window can't be captured (for example, exclusive fullscreen or minimized)
  • Ensure the game is running in fullscreen or borderless windowed mode
Poor recording performance
  • Switch to GPU encoding if using CPU (Settings > Video)
  • Lower your recording resolution or frame rate
  • Increase the bitrate if quality is poor
  • Close other heavy applications while recording
Audio not recording
  • Check that your audio devices are selected in Settings > Audio
  • Verify volume levels aren't set to 0
  • Test with a manual recording to isolate the issue
  • Try switching between "All" and "Game Only" audio modes