4 steps to get started in Loom

Choose what you want to capture

Start by opening the Loom Desktop App (or clicking the Loom Chrome extension). From the recorder, decide how you want to show up:

• Screen and Camera (recommended): Show both your content and your camera bubble so viewers can see you and your work at the same time.
• Screen only: Focus entirely on what’s on your screen—great for demos or walkthroughs.
• Camera only: Record just yourself for quick announcements, intros, or updates.

If you’re using the desktop app, you can also control how much of your screen you capture by choosing your full screen, a specific window, or a custom-sized area for extra control.

Check your camera and microphone settings

Before you hit record, quickly confirm your setup so your video looks and sounds clear:

• Make sure the correct camera is selected and that your preview looks good.
• Pick your preferred microphone from the dropdown and say a few words to confirm the audio meter is moving—this means Loom is picking up your sound.

If something doesn’t look or sound right, you can switch devices directly from the dropdowns before you start.

Tailor your recording experience

You can fine-tune your recording so it looks and feels the way you want.

• Open Settings in the recorder.
• Choose your default video quality (for example, HD) based on your device and network.
• Turn on mouse-click highlights so viewers can easily follow your cursor.
• Set up keyboard shortcuts to start, pause, or stop a recording without needing to click on the controls.

These settings are remembered for future recordings, so you only need to set them once.

Make your video more engaging

Use Loom’s visual effects to keep your viewers focused on what matters:

• Use Effects to blur your background or add a Background or Canvas behind you.
• Apply Filters and Frames to customize how your camera bubble appears on screen.

You can reposition your camera bubble so it doesn’t block key content—or adjust it at any time while you’re recording.

3..2..1..Start recording

When you’re ready, click Start recording. For inspiration, try introducing yourself to a new colleague or share context before a meeting. As you record, you’ll see controls on the side or bottom of your screen that let you:

• Pause to take a moment, switch windows, or gather your thoughts.
• Restart if you want a clean take without closing Loom.
• Cancel if you decide not to keep the recording.
• Use the drawing tool to temporarily highlight areas of your screen.
• Click confetti to celebrate a milestone or win.
• Turn your camera bubble on or off as you go.
   

Finish your recording and get ready to share

When you’re done, click Stop recording. Loom will automatically open your video’s Share Page in your browser, where you can:

• Rename your video so viewers understand what it’s about.
• Update your video thumbnail so it looks polished wherever it’s shared.
• Turn on captions or stylized captions to make your video more accessible.
• Adjust viewing preferences like recommended playback speed, comments, and emoji reactions.
• Quickly trim any false starts or long pauses from the beginning or end.

From here, your video is ready to share in just a few clicks. You don’t need editing skills and no need to export to share your video. If you want to polish it before sharing, read on to learn how to edit and share your video.

How to record a meeting

Loom makes it simple to capture your meetings—on Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, or in person—so key conversations, decisions, and action items are never lost. Instead of relying on memory or scattered notes, you can share a meeting recording and recap that teammates can watch or skim at 2x speed on their own time.

In the steps below, we’ll guide you through setting up meeting recordings and preferences. These settings ensure that Loom captures the meetings that matter most, so you can record and transcribe your meetings in 50+ languages, without extra effort.

Why record your meetings with Loom?

• Make it easy to catch up and collaborate asynchronously, with comments and reactions directly on the video.
• Keep distributed teams aligned across time zones with recorded context they can revisit anytime.
• Capture decisions and next steps so nothing slips through the cracks, even if someone couldn’t attend live or was out of office.
• Reduce follow-up work by sharing a clear summary instead of scheduling another meeting.
• Stay focused and engaged in meetings instead of worrying about taking notes.
   

Ready to start recording your meetings? Follow the steps below as we guide you through setting up meeting recordings and preferences.

Set up meeting recordings

Start recording your meetings with Loom in a few simple steps. You can set Loom up once so it automatically records the meetings that matter most, with the right defaults in place.

To get started, head over to your Settings tab, Connect your calendar (Google or Outlook) and follow the prompts to log in to your workspace.

Choose your Auto-record preferences

Set default rules to match how you work with auto-record preferences.

• Auto-Record all meetings: Automatically record all meetings where you are the host on your calendar.
• Internal meetings only: Only record meetings where all invitees are in your Loom workspace or share your email domain
• Manually select: Choose which meetings to record manually.
   

Once this is set up, Loom will take care of recording and uploading your meetings for you. No need to remember to hit record every time. You can toggle recordings on or off as needed for your upcoming meetings.

Control who can view your meeting recordings

You can set default privacy rules so the right people have access to your meeting recordings. Here’s an overview of your options:

• Public: Everyone with the link can view the recording.
• Workspace: Only those who are in your workspace or share your email domain.
• Private: Only you.
   

Need help? Visit our support resources to learn more about recording meetings with Loom AI for Meetings.

Turn meetings into searchable documentation

Once your meetings are being recorded, Loom can:

• Record and transcribe your meetings in 50+ languages
• Generate summaries, key topics, and action items
• Make discussions searchable, so teammates can quickly jump to what matters
   

Instead of repeating yourself or re-explaining decisions, you can share a single meeting recap that your team can watch, skim, or search.

Rename your video

Click the video title at the top of the page to give your video a clear, descriptive name, so viewers know what to expect.

Trim your video

If you made a mistake at the beginning or end, use the Trim tool to cut out those sections. Here, you can drag the handles on the video timeline to select the parts you want to remove and save your changes. This helps keep your video focused and polished.

Adjust your settings

You can use your video settings to choose how your viewers interact with your video. Video settings enable you to set a playback speed, enable or disable comments and emoji reactions, and the visibility of your video transcript.

• Playback speed: Viewers can choose to watch your video at a faster or slower speed, but you can also set a default speed for them, so you don’t need to worry about how quickly you speak while recording.
• Comments and emoji reactions: Viewers can leave comments and emoji reactions at specific timestamps in your video. You can choose to disable this feature, allowing you to control how viewers interact with your video, especially when sharing it publicly, such as on your website or social media.
• Transcript: Loom automatically generates a transcript for your video, making it easier for you and viewers to follow along or review key points. You can disable the transcript if you don’t want viewers to view the transcript.
   

Once your Loom video is ready, copy a link of your video to your clipboard and share your video instantly, or click Share to view more options.

Copy the link and share anywhere

The quickest way to share your Loom is by copying the video link. Simply click the Copy Link button at the top right of your video page, then paste it into email, chat, documents, or wherever your team communicates. This method works just like sharing a YouTube or news article link—anyone with access can click and watch instantly.

Control who can view

As you’re choosing how to share, you can control who can view your video and further manage your video’s privacy and discoverability. You can decide whether your Loom is available to anyone with the link, only people in your workspace, or specific people you name.

• Anyone with the link: Make your video accessible to anyone who has the link.
• Workspace members only: Restrict viewing to people in your Loom workspace. Members will be required to log in to view your video.
• Specific people: Limit access to select individuals by adding their email addresses. Recipients will receive an email notification with a video thumbnail and your personalized message.
   

For advanced privacy, click More options where you can fine-tune access permissions.

• Set a password: Add an extra layer of security (available on Business, Business+ AI, and Enterprise plans).
• Enable search engine indexing: Make your video discoverable via search engines if you want to reach a broader audience.
   

Additional sharing methods

• Share via email: Send your Loom directly to specific email addresses.
• Share to a Space: Make your video discoverable to groups or all workspace members.
• Share on social: Use the Social tab to post directly to LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Facebook, or Gmail.

• Embed: Generate a responsive or fixed-size embed code to add your video to websites, blogs, or wikis.

• Share at a specific timestamp: Direct viewers to a particular moment in your video by scrubbing to the desired timestamp, clicking Share, and selecting the option to share starting at that time.
• Salesforce: If you’re on an Enterprise plan, you can also share your Loom videos directly using Loom’s Salesforce integration, making it easy to connect video insights with your CRM workflows.
   

With Loom, sharing your video is as easy as recording it. Choose the method that fits you and your audience, set the right permissions, and get your message out. Learn more on how to share your Loom videos.