Reelbird command-line tool reference

Record, edit, export, caption and share from the terminal. Every command takes --json for scripts and agents.

The reelbird tool ships inside the app. Put it on your PATH:

mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
ln -sf /Applications/Reelbird.app/Contents/Helpers/reelbird ~/.local/bin/reelbird

reelbird sources                               # displays, windows, microphones and cameras, with IDs
reelbird record --display 1 --duration 30      # 30 seconds of the main display
reelbird record --window 1234 --share          # a window by ID from `sources`; Ctrl-C stops
reelbird list                                  # recent recordings
reelbird edit latest --set zoom.intensity=0.7 --trim 0:05-end
reelbird edit latest --set camera.x=0.5 --set camera.y=1 --clear-camera-moves   # camera bottom centre, in one place
reelbird edit latest --speed 0:12-0:20@2       # play 12–20 s at 2× (1 = normal speed again)
reelbird speedup latest --apply                # speed up typing and idle stretches
reelbird edit latest --layout camera@0:00-0:04 --layout split@0:30-0:45         # camera layouts for parts of the video
reelbird edit latest --set camera.sizeWhileZoomed=0.6 --set camera.smartFraming=false
reelbird edit latest --set zoom.regions.auto-3.enabled=false   # turn one zoom off (ids are in `edit latest --json`)
reelbird edit latest --set zoom.regions.*.instant=true         # every zoom cuts in and out, no animation
reelbird blur latest --rect 0.1,0.2,0.3,0.05 --from 0:05 --to 0:12   # blur an area (0–1 of the screen, or pixels)
reelbird redact latest --auto                  # find emails, keys, card and phone numbers on screen (masked list)
reelbird redact latest --auto --keep-all       # ...and blur them all (or --keep ID)
reelbird annotate latest --add arrow --arrow 0.8,0.8,0.55,0.45 --from 3 --to 6
reelbird annotate latest                       # list overlays; --remove ID or --clear
reelbird export latest --format mp4 --height 1080
reelbird captions latest                       # captions.vtt, made on this Mac
reelbird enhance latest --strength medium      # clean up the voice; the raw mic is kept
reelbird markers latest                        # markers dropped while recording
reelbird markers latest --as-chapters          # make them the chapters on the share page
reelbird share latest                          # upload and print the link
reelbird share latest --polished               # render the edit, same link
reelbird help record

A project can be a .reelbird path, a name from reelbird list, or latest. Every command takes --json for machine-readable output and --library DIR to use another folder (the default is ~/Movies/Reelbird, or $REELBIRD_LIBRARY).

Sharing settings made in the app are used by the CLI too. To set them from the terminal, run reelbird config share --help.

When you record from a terminal, macOS asks for Screen Recording permission for the terminal app (Terminal, iTerm, your editor), not for Reelbird.

Command line