Chrome extension

Record your screen, a Chrome tab or your camera from any web page. Each recording uploads to your Zidi account while you record.

Available on: Starter and Pro

Install the extension

1. Open the Zidi listing in the Chrome Web Store. It is called "Zidi – Screen Recorder, AI Captions, Video Analytics & CRM Integrations".
2. Click Add to Chrome, then confirm. Chrome opens a Zidi setup page.
3. To keep the Zidi icon in view, click the puzzle-piece icon in the Chrome toolbar, then click the pin next to Zidi.

Click the Zidi icon to open the Zidi panel on the current page. Some pages do not allow extensions, such as chrome:// pages and the Chrome Web Store. On those pages, the icon opens a Zidi studio page in a new tab and shows the panel there.

Sign in

1. Click the Zidi icon. The panel shows Welcome to Zidi.
2. Click Sign in to Zidi. A new tab opens.
3. Sign in to Zidi in that tab, if you are not signed in already.
4. Wait for "You're signed in". The tab closes by itself after a few seconds, or click Close now.
5. Go back to your page and click the Zidi icon again.

Sign-in lasts up to 30 days. If you do not use the extension for about two weeks, you need to sign in again sooner. If you use Sign out of all devices in your Zidi account settings, the extension is signed out too. It notices within a few hours, or as soon as you try to record.

If you see "Unlock Pro to get started"

This screen means your account is on the Free plan. It reads "Your Zidi Pro subscription is inactive." and "Please subscribe to access Pro features." If you had a paid plan before, the title is "Your Pro subscription is inactive" instead, and the screen says "Please reactivate to resume access." It may also show the date your videos and data will be deleted, and its button reads Manage your subscription. See Change or cancel your plan.

The screen says "Pro", but a Starter plan also unlocks recording. The extension does not let Free accounts record.

• To upgrade: click Upgrade to Pro (or Manage your subscription). It opens your Billing page in the Zidi web app (sign in first if asked). You can also click Billing in the web app's sidebar.
• After you upgrade: in the extension, open the ⋯ menu, click Log out, then sign in again. This makes the extension check your plan right away.
• Log out and downgrade only logs you out of the extension. It does not change your plan.

Recording modes

Choose a mode from the menu at the top of the panel. The default is Screen.

Record a selected area

In Chrome Tab mode, open More options and turn on Record a selected area. Draw a box on the page, or type its width and height. Only that area is recorded. This needs Chrome 110 or later. On older versions you see "Custom area recording disabled".

Camera mode

The start button reads Set a camera to record until you allow and choose a camera. When you start, Zidi opens its studio page in a new tab and starts the camera recording there. Your original tab stays open.

Start a recording

1. Click the Zidi icon and choose a mode.
2. Choose your camera and microphone from the two menus. If they show Allow camera access or Allow microphone access, click it and allow access. To record without sound, choose No microphone.
3. Click Start recording. The button reads "Starting recording..." while Zidi gets ready.
4. In Screen and Chrome Tab modes, Chrome's share dialog opens. Choose what to share, then click Share.
5. A 3-second countdown runs. It reads "Relax. Click anywhere to stop the countdown." Clicking during the countdown cancels the start.

In Screen and Chrome Tab modes, a Zidi recorder tab also opens. It reads "Keep this tab open. It will close once your recording has been saved." Leave it open until the recording is saved.

If your microphone is muted when you start, Zidi asks whether to continue without audio. Click Yes, continue or Cancel.

More options

Click More options at the bottom of the panel.

• Recording controls: show or hide the Zidi toolbar on the page while you record. On by default.
• Status messages: show or hide Zidi's pop-up messages. On by default.
• 3-2-1 countdown: turn the countdown on or off. On by default.
• Auto-stop timer: stop the recording after a time you set. Off by default. When you turn it on, the timer starts at 5:00, and you can set hours, minutes and seconds.

Video quality

Open the ⋯ menu at the top of the panel and choose a Video quality.

• Auto (recommended): up to 2560 x 1440 in Screen mode, and up to 1920 x 1080 in Chrome Tab mode.
• 1080p (Full HD)
• 720p (HD)
• 480p (SD)

Camera bubble

When your camera is on, a camera bubble appears on the page. Drag it anywhere, or drag its handle to resize it. Its toolbar has these buttons:

• Small, Normal and Large sizes.
• Use profile picture: show your profile photo, or your initials if you have none, instead of your camera. Click Add camera to switch back.
• Toggle picture-in-picture mode: move your camera into a floating window. This works before and during a recording.
• A close button that turns the camera off.

With a plain camera, Zidi also records your camera as a separate track. With a profile picture or a background effect, only the bubble as it appears on screen is recorded.

Background effects

Click Background effects at the bottom of the panel. It is available only when your camera is on.

• Flip camera.
• Turn on the Background effects switch, then choose from Top Picks, Blur, Backgrounds or Colors.
• Under Custom, click Upload background image to use your own picture, or Remove custom background to clear it.

Microphone and computer sound

Zidi records the microphone you choose in the panel. You can turn it on or off during the recording from the toolbar.

To record sound from your computer or a tab, tick the audio option in Chrome's share dialog:

• On Windows and other systems: turn on "Share system audio". If you do not see it, update Chrome or record a tab.
• On macOS: choose the Chrome Tab option and turn on "Also share tab audio".

While you record

The Zidi toolbar on the page has these buttons:

• Finish recording stops and saves.
• Pause recording and Resume recording.
• Restart recording throws away what you recorded and starts again. You are asked to confirm.
• Cancel recording throws the recording away. Confirm with Discard recording, or click Resume recording to keep going.
• Microphone and camera on/off.
• Toggle drawing tools, Toggle blur tool and Toggle cursor options.

Drawing, blur and cursor tools

These tools work on the web page in front of you. They appear in the video when that page is what you are recording.

• Drawing tools: Select, Pen, Highlighter, Eraser, Text, Shape (with fill), Arrow and Image tools. Also Undo, Redo, Clear canvas, colours and thick, medium or thin strokes.
• Blur tool: click parts of the page to blur them. Click Clear all blurred elements to undo all blurs.
• Cursor options: Highlight clicks, Highlight cursor and Spotlight cursor.

Keyboard shortcuts

On a Mac, Alt is the Option key. To change these, go to chrome://extensions/shortcuts. You can also give keys to toggle drawing mode, blur mode, cursor options and hiding the Zidi UI there. They have no key by default.

Time limit

Each extension recording can be up to 2 hours long. One minute before the limit, you see "Recording reaching 90 minute limit, it will stop soon". At the limit, the recording stops and saves, and you see "Recording stopped due to 90 minute limit".

The messages mention 90 minutes, but recordings actually stop at 2 hours. If you set an Auto-stop timer shorter than 2 hours, the recording stops at your time instead.

After you stop

Your recording uploads while you record. When you stop, you see "Saving recording…", and a new tab opens on the video's page. The video shows as processing until saving finishes.

If the video page cannot open, Zidi opens My Library instead. A card reads "Saving your recording…" and "It will open here automatically when it's ready."

Recovery files

Zidi also keeps a copy of your recording on your computer until it is saved.

• If the final save fails, Chrome downloads a file named like Zidi-Recovery-….webm or .mp4. You see "Upload stalled. A recovery file was saved locally."
• If Chrome or the extension crashed during a recording, the next recording session downloads a file named like Zidi-Recovered-…. There may be a second file ending in -mic with your microphone sound. You see "Recovered unsaved recording from the previous session."

Recovery files are not added to Zidi automatically. To add one, upload it from the web app.

Log out

Click the Zidi icon, open the ⋯ menu, and click Log out. You see "You have been logged out".

Permissions the extension asks for

Camera and microphone access are asked for separately, on a Zidi page that opens in a new tab.

Troubleshooting

"Sign in required"

You tried to record while signed out. Click Sign in and follow the sign-in steps.

"Sign in failed"

The sign-in tab shows one of these: "Could not retrieve auth token. Please try signing in again.", "No token received. Please try signing in again." or "Network error. Please try again." Click Close this tab, then click Sign in to Zidi again.

"Camera / microphone access is blocked"

Chrome blocked your camera or microphone for Zidi. Click the camera or lock icon at the right end of Chrome's address bar and allow access. Zidi picks up the change on its own.

"Check your permissions"

Zidi cannot reach your camera or microphone. Click Review permissions and allow access.

"Zidi doesn't have permission to record your screen"

Chrome did not get permission to capture your screen. Click Enable screen recording and allow it when Chrome asks.

Microphone errors

• "Microphone access was denied. Open the site permissions and re-enable the microphone, then reload."
• "No microphone was found. Connect a microphone and try again."
• "Another app is using your microphone. Close it and try again."
• "Microphone capture failed."

Do what the message says, then start again.

"Tab recording is disabled on this page. Defaulted to screen recording."

Chrome Tab mode does not work on Zidi web app pages. Zidi switched to Screen mode. Open another page to record a tab.

"Screen sharing stopped. Stop recording to save your video."

You clicked Stop sharing in Chrome's bar. Click Finish recording to save what you have.

"Previous recording still uploading"

Your last recording is still saving. Wait a few seconds, then start again.

"Recording already in progress"

Stop your current recording before you start a new one.

"Upload stalled. Recording is still capturing locally; will retry."

Your connection dropped. Keep recording. Zidi keeps a local copy and retries the upload.

"Error starting the recording"

This message can also appear when saving fails at the end of a recording, even though it mentions starting. Check your Downloads folder for a Zidi-Recovery-… file and upload it. If it keeps happening, restart Chrome and contact support@zidi.ai.

"Upload failed and no local recording data was available to recover."

The recording could not be saved, and no local copy was left. Record it again.

"Upload failed and the local recovery file could not be saved. Please contact support."

Neither the upload nor the local copy worked. Contact support@zidi.ai.

For more help, see Troubleshooting: Chrome extension.