How to clip on PC

Updated 5 November 2026

To clip on PC, run a recorder with an instant replay buffer in the background and press its save key right after something happens. The recorder has already been keeping the last stretch of your game in memory, so the moment is captured before you even react. With Clippy the key is F8, and the clip lands on your disk as an MP4 named after the game.

What clipping on PC actually means

Recording a whole session and clipping are two different jobs. A session recording starts when you press record and stops when you press stop, so you end up with an hour of footage and have to scrub through it to find the ten seconds you wanted. Clipping works backwards: the recorder holds the most recent part of your game in memory the whole time, and the save key writes that part to a file.

That is why clipping suits games so well. Nobody knows a clutch round is coming. With a replay buffer running, you play normally and only press a key once you know something was worth keeping.

How to clip with Clippy, step by step

Clippy is a free clip recorder for Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit). There are no profiles to set up, because recording starts by itself when a game starts and stops when it closes.

Download Clippy from the download page and install it.
Start a game. Clippy recognises it and begins keeping a replay in memory without you pressing anything.
Play as normal. When something happens that you want to keep, press F8.
The last stretch of gameplay is saved as an MP4, named after the game and the time, for example "Valorant 2026.11.05 - 21.14.03.mp4".
Open the clip in Clippy to trim it, or press Share to get a link.

Choosing the clip length and your save keys

The default replay length is one minute. You can change it in Settings, which also shows how much memory the replay takes, so you can pick a length that fits your PC. A longer replay catches more of the build-up; a shorter one keeps memory use down.

Clippy also has a second, shorter save key that keeps only the last 15, 30 or 60 seconds. That is handy when you want the main key to grab the whole fight but sometimes only need the final shot. Both keys can be rebound, and a hotkey can also be a mouse side button or a controller button, so you never have to let go of your controls to save a clip.

When your game is not picked up

Clippy knows tens of thousands of Steam games by name. Unreal and Unity games are recognised by how they are built, and Minecraft is picked up from any launcher, Lunar Client included. When a launcher hands off to the real game, as FiveM does, Clippy follows it to the game.

If a game is still missed, you can add it yourself. You can also tell Clippy never to record a program that it mistakes for a game. Games that run as administrator work through a small helper that Windows asks you to allow once. The full list of supported titles is on the games page.

Trimming and sharing the clip

A raw clip usually has a few seconds of walking around at the start. The Clippy editor lets you trim it, mark chapters and jump between them, change the speed (0.25x, 0.5x, 1.5x or 2x), undo, and export a GIF. Each audio track can be turned up, down or muted while you listen.

To share, press Share on the clip. It uploads to clippy.gg and copies a link that anyone can open without an account. If you would rather send the file itself on Discord, the "Fit under N MB" export lowers the bitrate, and the resolution when needed, so the clip fits a size limit such as Discord's free upload limit, 10 MB at the time of writing. More on that in how to share gaming clips.

Tips for better clips

Press the save key a second or two after the moment ends, so the clip includes the reaction as well as the play.
Set the replay long enough to catch the build-up. A play often starts well before the kill.
Check the frame rate the game is really delivering. Clippy shows it in Settings while recording, and recording above it gains nothing.
Turn on automatic cleanup so old clips are removed after a number of days or the folder stays under a size you choose.
Use a folder per game if you play several games and want to find clips quickly.

Questions

What key do you press to clip on PC?

It depends on the recorder. In Clippy it is F8 by default, and you can rebind it to another key, a mouse side button or a controller button.

Can I clip something that already happened?

Yes, as long as a replay buffer was running at the time. The recorder keeps the recent past in memory, so pressing the save key afterwards saves what you just played.

Where are my clips saved?

Clippy saves clips as plain MP4 files on your own disk, named after the game and the time. You can have it make a folder per game.

Is there a free way to clip on PC?

Clippy is free. Windows also has Xbox Game Bar built in, and OBS Studio is free too.

Does clipping slow down my game?

Any recorder uses some of your PC. Clippy encodes on the graphics card and runs the recorder as a separate process; this guide explains how to keep the cost low.