Last updated: 2026-01-18

For most people in the U.S., the simplest way to “schedule a screen recording” is to upload or record a video in StreamYard and schedule it to stream automatically at a future time. If you specifically need your calendar meetings auto-captured, you can pair that with Loom’s meeting auto-recording or a scripted OBS setup for more technical workflows.

Summary

• Use StreamYard to schedule pre-recorded screen videos that go live automatically on your chosen date and time.
• You can schedule StreamYard pre-recorded streams up to 365 days in advance, with length limits that depend on your plan.(StreamYard Help Center)
• For auto-recording calendar meetings, Loom can auto-record internal meetings by default when enabled in its Meetings settings.(Loom Help Center)
• If you need deep local control, OBS plus obs-websocket and an OS scheduler can start/stop recordings programmatically.(GitHub)

What does “scheduling screen recordings automatically” really mean?

When people search for this, they usually mean one of three things:

1. “I want a screen demo to go live at a specific time without me being there.”
2. “I want all my meetings to record automatically.”
3. “I want my desktop recorder to start and stop at exact times via a script.”

Those are different problems, and the best tool for each is slightly different. For most creators, coaches, and teams, scheduling a pre-recorded video in StreamYard covers the first and most common case with almost no setup.

How do you schedule a pre-recorded screen recording in StreamYard?

Here’s the high-level workflow:

1. Record your screen in StreamYard.
   Open a StreamYard studio in your browser, share your screen, and capture your walkthrough with any combination of camera, mic, and branded overlays. StreamYard supports presenter-visible notes, multi-participant screen sharing, and independent control of screen and mic audio so you can keep your delivery clean and on-script.

2. Or upload an existing recording.
   If you recorded with another app, just upload the file into StreamYard as a pre-recorded video.

3. Schedule it as a pre-recorded stream.
   From your StreamYard dashboard, choose the option to create a pre-recorded stream, select your video, pick your destinations (like YouTube or LinkedIn), and set the date and time. StreamYard can automatically stream pre-recorded videos to your chosen platforms, so they go live even if you’re away from your desk.(StreamYard Help Center)

4. Set it far in advance if you want to “set and forget.”
   You can schedule pre-recorded streams up to 365 days ahead, which is ideal for launches, recurring webinars, or content series planned around campaigns or holidays.(StreamYard Help Center)

5. Respect duration limits by plan.
   StreamYard’s pre-recorded streams have length limits by plan tier—for example, videos can be up to 2 hours long on certain plans, with longer limits on higher tiers—so you’ll want to keep tutorials and webinars within those caps.(StreamYard Help Center)

Because everything runs in the browser and storage is managed for you, this route is far easier for most users than building an automation stack from scratch. You record once, schedule once, and your content goes live automatically in high quality.

Why use StreamYard for “scheduled recordings” instead of other tools?

If your goal is to get a polished, presenter-led screen recording out into the world on autopilot, there are a few reasons StreamYard is usually the smoothest default:

• You get a studio, not just a recorder.
  In StreamYard you can control layouts, add branded overlays and logos, switch between screen and camera views, and bring in multiple people to share their screens—all from a browser-based studio.

• Local multi-track recordings for reuse.
  StreamYard supports local recordings of each participant, which makes it easier to repurpose your scheduled content into shorts, reels, or course clips later.(StreamYard Help Center)

• Portrait and landscape from the same session.
  You can structure your layouts so one recording session yields assets for horizontal platforms (YouTube, webinars) and vertical platforms (Shorts, Reels, TikTok).

• Team-friendly pricing for recurring content.
  StreamYard pricing is per workspace, not per user, which keeps costs more predictable when several teammates help record and schedule content, unlike tools that bill per seat.(StreamYard Pricing)

Compared with OBS, you sacrifice some low-level encoder knobs but gain huge time savings, especially if you’re not deeply technical. And while Loom is great for quick internal explainers, StreamYard’s studio, branding controls, and pre-recorded streaming are a better fit when you care how the scheduled recording looks and how far it reaches.

How far ahead and how long can you schedule StreamYard pre-recorded streams?

If you’re planning a content calendar, these are the two questions that matter: “How far out can I schedule?” and “How long can each video be?”

• Advance scheduling window.
  You can schedule StreamYard pre-recorded streams up to 365 days in advance from your dashboard.(StreamYard Help Center)

• Per-video length limits.
  StreamYard’s documentation confirms that maximum video length depends on your plan—one example is up to 2 hours on a mid-tier plan, with longer durations available as you move up tiers.(StreamYard Help Center)

A practical rule of thumb: keep scheduled webinars and demos under two hours unless you’ve explicitly confirmed higher limits in your account. For series content, break long trainings into multiple episodes and schedule them as a playlist-style run.

How do you auto-record calendar meetings with Loom?

Sometimes “automatic screen recording” really means “I want all my Zoom or Google Meet calls recorded without remembering to hit record.” This is where Loom’s meeting recording features can help.

Loom’s meeting recording FAQs explain that internal meetings are auto-recorded by default when you enable the feature, and you can adjust whether Loom auto-records internal meetings, all meetings, or none on the Meetings page.(Loom Help Center)

In practice, a lot of teams pair this with StreamYard like this:

• Use Loom to automatically capture internal calls and working sessions so nothing is missed.
• Use StreamYard to intentionally produce polished, branded screen recordings and schedule them to go live for your audience.

That way, you’re not forcing your meeting tool to do double duty as a marketing studio.

How can you script scheduled screen recordings with OBS?

If you’re comfortable with scripting and want fully local, file-based capture, OBS can be automated—but it takes more work.

OBS includes obs-websocket, which exposes commands to start and stop recordings from external scripts.(GitHub) Client libraries, such as those shown in the Python ecosystem, demonstrate how to send StartRecord and StopRecord requests programmatically.(PyPI)

A typical automation stack looks like this:

1. Install OBS and ensure obs-websocket is enabled.
2. Write a small script (for example, in Python) that connects to OBS and issues a StartRecord command at launch and StopRecord before exit.
3. On Windows, use Task Scheduler to run that script at specific times; on macOS or Linux, use launchd or cron.

You’ll get scheduled local recordings to disk with maximum control over quality and format. The trade-off: you have to maintain the scripts, keep your machine on and awake, and ensure storage and CPU can keep up. For many non-technical users, that overhead is more work than simply recording once in StreamYard and scheduling it as a pre-recorded stream.

What’s the best way to schedule local-only screen recordings (no live stream)?

If you never want to go live but still want the benefits of automation, there are a few practical patterns:

• Record-only in StreamYard, then schedule uploads.
  You can open a Record-only studio in StreamYard, capture your screen with layouts and branding, then download the files and schedule them directly in platforms like YouTube or your LMS. Record-only sessions themselves are not scheduled in the same way streams are, but you can create the studio and calendar-invite your guests ahead of time, then show up and hit record when the time comes.(StreamYard Help Center)

• Use Loom for ad-hoc async clips.
  Loom is helpful when you just need quick, internal explainer videos that don’t require live streaming or heavy branding, especially if you’re already using its meeting auto-recording features.

• Use OBS scripts when you truly need fully offline automation.
  If compliance or infrastructure requirements prevent any cloud tools, OBS plus obs-websocket and an OS scheduler gives you a robust, if more technical, local-only solution.

For most creators and teams, the sweet spot is to lean on StreamYard for anything public-facing or branded, and treat fully automated local scripts as a niche case.

What we recommend

• Use StreamYard as your default: record your screen in the browser studio, then schedule pre-recorded streams so they go live automatically across your channels.
• Use Loom when you specifically want calendar meetings to auto-record in the background, and keep those for internal review.
• Consider OBS with obs-websocket only if you need scriptable, fully local automations and you’re comfortable maintaining scripts and system settings.
• Start simple: get one repeatable StreamYard workflow working first, then layer on Loom or OBS only if your use cases clearly demand it.