Get started
Getting started
Install ZumCast, allow screen recording and make your first video in a few minutes.
What you need
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later on an Apple silicon or Intel Mac.
- About 2 GB of free disk space to start a recording. ZumCast won’t start a take with less, and stops a take safely if space drops below 500 MB.
- For Zumi’s free-form requests, AI writing and smart names: macOS 26 with Apple’s on-device model turned on. On older systems ZumCast uses its built-in rules instead, and everything else works the same.
Install
- Download Zumcast.dmg from zumcast.com.
- Open the disk image and drag ZumCast to Applications.
- Open ZumCast from Applications. The app is signed and notarised by Apple, so it opens without warnings.
Allow permissions
Only Screen Recording is required. Everything else is optional and makes a feature better. The welcome tour asks for each one, and you can change them later in Settings › Permissions.
| Permission | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Screen Recording | Required. Records your screen and takes screenshots. After allowing it, press Relaunch ZumCast. |
| Accessibility | Auto-zoom knows which button you clicked, and guide steps get real names like “Click Save”. |
| Input Monitoring | Zooms follow your typing. The characters you type are never stored. |
| Microphone | Your voice, and voice commands. |
| Camera | Your face in a bubble or side by side. |
| Speech Recognition | Captions, the transcript and the teleprompter that follows your voice. All on your Mac. |
When a permission is missing, ZumCast opens the right pane of System Settings › Privacy & Security for you. See Troubleshooting if something stays off.
The welcome tour
The first time you open ZumCast, a short tour shows what it does, asks for permissions and then gives you three quick wins: Take a shot, Record 5 seconds and Ask Zumi.
You can replay it any time from Help › Show Welcome Tour. Help › Editor Tour walks through the Studio, and Help › Open Sample Project opens a ready-made recording to play with.
Your first video
- Press ⌃⌥⌘H from any app to open the HUD, or click the reactor in the Hub.
- Pick what to record: 1 display, 2 window, 3 area or 4 iPhone.
- Press Return to start. Do your demo as you normally would.
- Press ⌃⌥⌘R to stop. The Studio opens with zooms, a smooth cursor and scenes already made.
- Ask Zumi for anything else, for example “cut the pauses and make it vertical”, and press Apply.
- Press ⌘E and pick where it’s going, for example YouTube or LinkedIn.
Free and Pro
ZumCast Basic is free with no time limit: record and edit as much as you like. Exports are limited and carry a small “Made with ZumCast” mark. Pro is a one-time purchase that removes the limits. See Free vs Pro and your licence.