Set it up (one minute)
- Install Gifable 4.0 or later.
- Click the Gifable icon in the menu bar and choose Install Shortcut for AI Agents…, then click Add Shortcut.
- Choose Copy AI Agent Instructions from the same menu and paste them into your agent’s instructions file:
CLAUDE.md,AGENTS.md, or your Cursor rules.
The first time your agent records, macOS asks you to allow Gifable under Screen & System Audio Recording. Recording from the menu bar never needs this permission; only the agent shortcut does, because no one is there to click the screen picker.
Instructions for your agent
This is the text Copy AI Agent Instructions puts on your clipboard. If your agent can read web pages, you can also just tell it to read this page.
## Recording GIFs with Gifable
This Mac has Gifable. To record a GIF of the screen (e.g. to show a UI change in a PR), run:
gifable_dir=$(mktemp -d) && echo "window Simulator 8" > "$gifable_dir/request.txt" && shortcuts run "Gifable Record" -i "$gifable_dir/request.txt"
It records, then prints the saved file's path. Copy the file where you need it.
Requests (N = seconds, 1–60, default 5):
- `screen N`: the main display
- `window <App name> N`: that app's frontmost window, e.g. `window Simulator 8`
- `region x,y,width,height N`: points from the main display's top-left corner
Quote app names that end in a number: `window "Things 3" 5`.
If the output starts with "Error:", nothing was recorded; the message says what to fix
(e.g. the window isn't on screen). The exit code is 0 either way.
More: https://gifableapp.com/ai
Good to know
- Format and size follow Gifable’s Settings: GIF, MP4 or both, 800 pixels wide by default. Files are saved to
~/Pictures/Gifable(or the folder you chose). - Windows must be on screen and not minimised. They don’t need to be in front: Gifable records the window itself, so other windows covering it don’t show up.
- Stop early by clicking Stop in the menu bar; the agent gets the shorter clip.
- One shortcut, one name. If you add the shortcut twice,
shortcuts run "Gifable Record"can’t tell them apart and fails with “Couldn’t find shortcut”. Delete the extra copy in the Shortcuts app. - No notifications for errors. Problems come back as output starting with
Error:rather than as a failed shortcut, so macOS doesn’t post a notification each time your agent gets something wrong. - Running the shortcut with no input (from the Shortcuts app or its menu) records the whole screen for 5 seconds.
