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shx-dow/win-wrec

Analysis updated 2026-05-18

0RustAudience · developerComplexity · 3/5LicenseSetup · moderate

TLDR

A Windows-native rewrite of an efficient screen recorder, written in Rust and using only built-in Windows tools to capture screen, audio, and encode video.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((win-wrec))
    What it does
      Records screen and audio
      Encodes to H264 or HEVC
      Windows native
    Tech stack
      Rust
      DXGI
      WASAPI
      Media Foundation
    Use cases
      CLI screen recording
      Study Win32 APIs
      Contribute early
    Audience
      Windows developers
      Rust developers

Code map

Detail Auto

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filefunction / class

What do people build with it?

USE CASE 1

Record your Windows screen and system audio from the command line.

USE CASE 2

Study an example of using Rust to call native Windows capture and encoding APIs.

USE CASE 3

Build a lightweight screen recording tool with no external dependencies.

USE CASE 4

Contribute to an early-stage project before its graphical interface ships.

What is it built with?

RustDXGIWASAPIMedia FoundationWin32

How does it compare?

shx-dow/win-wrec04amanrajj/netwatch0xr10t/pulsefi
Stars000
LanguageRustRustRust
Setup difficultymoderatemoderatehard
Complexity3/53/54/5
Audiencedeveloperops devopsdeveloper

Figures from each repo's GitHub metadata at analysis time.

How do you get it running?

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

Requires Rust 1.78 or newer with the x86_64-pc-windows-msvc target, command-line only, no GUI yet.

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

win-wrec is a Windows specific rewrite of an existing screen recording tool called wrec, which its author describes as a highly efficient screen recorder. This version is built specifically for Windows using the operating system's own low level tools for capturing the screen and audio, rather than relying on any outside libraries. Everything is written in Rust, a systems programming language, and talks directly to Windows through its native programming interfaces. Specifically, it captures the screen using a Windows feature called DXGI output duplication, records system audio using WASAPI loopback capture, which lets it pick up sound that is playing on the computer, and encodes the recording into H.264 or HEVC video formats using Windows' own Media Foundation encoding tools. Because it relies only on built in Windows components and Rust, there is nothing extra to install beyond the Rust toolchain itself. The project notes it is a work in progress. Right now, only the command line version works: a user can list the available displays on their computer, then start recording a chosen display for a set number of seconds, or type stop to end the recording manually. A graphical interface is planned but not yet available. To build and run it, a user needs Rust version 1.78 or newer along with the Windows specific build target for 64 bit systems. The project is released under the MIT license, matching the license of the original wrec project it is based on, so it can be used freely, including for commercial purposes.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Help me build win-wrec's capture-engine binary and list the available display targets on my machine.
Prompt 2
Explain what DXGI output duplication and WASAPI loopback capture do in this project.
Prompt 3
Walk me through the command line arguments needed to record a display to an MP4 file with this tool.
Prompt 4
Show me how this project uses the windows crate to call native Win32 APIs from Rust.

Frequently asked questions

What is win-wrec?

A Windows-native rewrite of an efficient screen recorder, written in Rust and using only built-in Windows tools to capture screen, audio, and encode video.

What language is win-wrec written in?

Mainly Rust. The stack also includes Rust, DXGI, WASAPI.

What license does win-wrec use?

Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

How hard is win-wrec to set up?

Setup difficulty is rated moderate, with roughly 30min to a first successful run.

Who is win-wrec for?

Mainly developer.

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