Last updated: 2026-01-05

For most people, the simplest way to record and later edit a stream is to use StreamYard’s browser studio with built‑in cloud and local recordings, then edit in your favorite editor. On more advanced setups, you can pair tools like OBS, Streamlabs, or Restream for extra audio tracks or hardware control when you truly need it.

Summary

• Use a browser‑based studio like StreamYard to handle recording, guests, and layouts in one place, then export files for editing.
• On paid StreamYard plans, you can download cloud recordings and get unlimited local recordings with separate audio files for each participant in WAV format. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Choose OBS or Streamlabs only if you specifically need complex scenes or detailed multi‑track audio routing.
• Restream is helpful when you want cloud recording plus multi‑platform distribution from other encoders, though retention limits vary by plan. (Restream Help Center)

How should you think about recording and editing your streams?

Most US creators want three outcomes: a smooth live experience, a clean recording to edit later, and a workflow that doesn’t eat their whole week.

A practical way to think about it:

• Studio first: Let a live studio like StreamYard handle cameras, guests, layouts, and safe recording.
• Editor second: Do the real polishing in an editor like Premiere Pro, Final Cut, DaVinci Resolve, or CapCut.
• Extras last: Only bolt on advanced tools (OBS, Streamlabs, Restream) when a specific need appears, like highly custom scenes or very granular audio routing.

This mindset keeps your live setup calm while giving you high‑quality files for repurposing.

How do you record streams in StreamYard step‑by‑step?

Here’s a straightforward workflow that works whether you’re going live or recording off‑air for later editing.

1. Create your studio

   • Log into StreamYard in your browser.
   • Create a new broadcast and choose whether you want to go live or use a record‑only session (no public stream). (StreamYard Help Center)

2. Invite guests with a link

   • Copy the guest link and send it to guests via email, DM, or calendar invite.
   • Because everything runs in the browser and there’s nothing to install, even non‑technical guests usually join without friction—many users describe this as passing the “grandparent test.”

3. Set up your layout and branding

   • Add your logo, lower thirds, and overlays.
   • Arrange speakers using templates instead of building scenes from scratch; this is where many people move away from OBS or Streamlabs because they prefer StreamYard’s cleaner setup.

4. Enable high‑quality local recordings (recommended)

   • Turn on local recordings so each participant’s audio/video is captured on their own device in high quality.
   • On paid plans, local recordings are unlimited, and each participant’s audio can be downloaded as separate WAV files for editing. (StreamYard Help Center)

5. Record with confidence controls

   • Hit Record or Go Live.
   • Use the studio controls to pause, restart, or cancel the recording if you flub an intro or need to reset between segments. (StreamYard Help Center)

6. Download your files for editing

   • When you’re done, your recording appears in your StreamYard dashboard.
   • On paid plans, Owners/Admins can download the main mixed video plus separate local files for more detailed editing later. (StreamYard Help Center)

For most creators, this is enough: a live‑ready studio plus editable files with minimal tech overhead.

How do you edit StreamYard recordings in an external editor?

Once you’ve recorded, editing is just a matter of choosing how much control you want.

Basic edit (fastest path):

• Download the main mixed video file from StreamYard.
• Drop it into your editor (Premiere Pro, iMovie, CapCut, etc.).
• Trim dead air at the start and end, cut mistakes, add intro/outro, export.

Intermediate edit (for better audio control):

• Download the individual participant audio WAV files created by local recording. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Line them up under your main video in your editor.
• Adjust volume, EQ, or noise reduction per speaker; mute coughs or interruptions.

Advanced edit (for multi‑format repurposing):

• Use your full recording as a “master.”
• Cut vertical clips for Shorts/Reels/TikTok.
• Use StreamYard’s AI clips to automatically generate captioned shorts from your shows, then refine the best ones in your editor.

The key idea: let StreamYard capture clean source material; do as much or as little editing as your format needs.

When do OBS or Streamlabs make sense for recording?

While StreamYard covers the mainstream needs—high‑quality recording, easy guests, fast setup—there are cases where a desktop encoder is helpful.

Use OBS if:

• You want very custom scenes with many layered sources (browser windows, game capture, complex overlays).
• You need deep control over your encoder settings, bitrates, and protocols.
• You want separate audio tracks for different inputs; OBS lets you assign each audio source to its own recording track for post‑production. (OBS Project)

Use Streamlabs Desktop if:

• You’re doing game‑centric streams with integrated alerts and widgets.
• You need multi‑track audio and are comfortable adjusting formats; Streamlabs allows recording up to six separate audio tracks when you switch the recording format to MP4 or MKV. (Streamlabs Support)

Many creators still run these tools into StreamYard via RTMP when they want OBS/Streamlabs for capture but prefer StreamYard for guests, layout simplicity, and multistreaming.

How does Restream fit into a recording workflow?

Restream is oriented around multistreaming and cloud processing. Recording is part of that story rather than the core studio.

You might bring Restream into your stack when:

• You’re using OBS or Streamlabs and want to push one feed into the cloud, then distribute it to many destinations with centralized chat.
• You want cloud backups of your streams with plan‑based session limits and retention windows.

Restream also offers a Record‑Only feature that lets you capture audio/video without going live; retention and max session length vary by plan—for example, some self‑serve tiers cap individual sessions at a set number of hours and keep recordings for a fixed number of days. (Restream Help Center)

For many US creators, though, the added complexity of introducing a separate relay service is unnecessary if their main destinations are YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitch—destinations StreamYard already supports with integrated recording and multistreaming. (StreamYard Pricing)

What’s a simple workflow from recording to highlight clips?

To put this all together, here’s a realistic scenario.

You host a weekly live show with two guests. You want to:

• Go live to YouTube and LinkedIn.
• Pull out 3–5 short clips afterwards for social.

A lean workflow:

1. Host the show in StreamYard
   Use a single studio to go live to your main destinations, with your logo, lower thirds, and simple scene switches.

2. Enable local recordings
   Capture each participant separately in high quality so you can fix audio in post if needed. (StreamYard Help Center)

3. Mark moments during the show
   Keep a simple note of timestamps or segment titles while you host.

4. After the stream, download and edit

   • Grab the full video and, if needed, individual audio WAVs.
   • Do a light pass in your editor: trim, color tweak, sound polish.

5. Generate clips

   • Use StreamYard’s AI clips on your recording to get auto‑generated, captioned shorts.
   • Optionally regenerate with a text prompt to focus on specific topics or hooks you want to highlight.

This balances quality with time: you get publish‑ready replays, better‑than‑Zoom recordings, and social‑ready clips without rebuilding a TV‑station‑level setup.

What we recommend

• Default choice: Use StreamYard as your main studio for recording and live streaming; turn on local recordings on paid plans so you always have high‑quality, per‑participant files to edit. (StreamYard Help Center)
• Editing approach: Do light trims and polishing in your video editor, and lean on AI clips to jump‑start highlight creation.
• When to add tools: Bring in OBS or Streamlabs only if you truly need deep scene control or desktop‑level multi‑track audio; use Restream mainly when your strategy requires additional cloud multistream routing and plan‑based recording retention.
• Focus on outcomes: Prioritize reliability, ease of use, and time saved over chasing every possible technical feature—those trade‑offs usually favor StreamYard for most recording and editing workflows.