For Puppeteer’s built-in recorder, call await recorder.stop() on the ScreenRecording returned by page.record(). If you want a file, pass its path when recording starts, and stop the recorder before closing the browser.
Stop a recording started with Puppeteer’s current API
The current Puppeteer API starts a screen recording with page.record(). It returns a recorder object; keep that value and await its stop() method when the actions you want to capture are complete.
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const recorder = await page.record({ path: 'recording.mp4' });
// Perform the browser actions to record here.
await recorder.stop();
await browser.close();This follows Puppeteer’s Page.record() example: the path is supplied at recording start, and stopping is awaited before the browser closes. The API records through Chrome DevTools Protocol’s Page.startScreenRecording and produces an MP4 video stream.
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Set path in the options passed to page.record(), such as { path: 'recording.mp4' }. Then call await recorder.stop() to end the recording. The official example uses this order; do not close the browser before stopping the recorder.
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Check which recording API created your recorder
Built-in current API: page.record()
Use the returned ScreenRecording object and call its stop() method. Puppeteer’s ScreenRecording reference describes stop() as stopping the screen recording.
Older built-in API: page.screencast()
If older code starts recording with page.screencast(), it also awaits recorder.stop(). However, Puppeteer’s next documentation labels Page.screencast() obsolete and directs users to Page.record(). That documentation describes the older method as working in Chrome 153 and later, producing WebM with VP9 at 30 FPS by default, and requiring ffmpeg. Check your installed Puppeteer version and its API rather than assuming an older snippet applies.
Third-party wrapper: puppeteer-screen-recorder
The separate puppeteer-screen-recorder package has its own PuppeteerScreenRecorder object. Its documented pattern is to await recorder.start(savePath) (or startStream) and later await recorder.stop(). Follow the wrapper’s own API; its recorder is not the built-in ScreenRecording returned by page.record().
Why recorder.stop() may not exist
- You stored a different value. Confirm the variable contains the object returned by the recording method, rather than a page, browser, or unrelated promise.
- Your code uses a different recorder API. Identify whether recording starts with
page.record(), legacypage.screencast(), or the third-party wrapper. Their setup and recorder objects are distinct. - Your installed version differs from the example. Check the Puppeteer version and the documentation for that version. Current and next documentation distinguish
page.record()from obsoletepage.screencast().
Troubleshoot a recording that does not save or stop cleanly
- Find the start call. Look for
page.record(),page.screencast(), or the wrapper’sstart(). This identifies which stop method and recorder object to use. - Keep the returned recorder. For built-in recording, assign the awaited result of
page.record()to a variable, then callawait recorder.stop(). - Supply a file path at start. For the current built-in example, pass
path: 'recording.mp4'in thepage.record()options. - Stop before browser close. Await
recorder.stop()beforebrowser.close(), as in Puppeteer’s official example. - Match the method to the package. For
puppeteer-screen-recorder, use the object created by that package and its documented start/stop flow rather than mixing it with the built-in Page API.
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