How to Record an Excalidraw Whiteboard as a Video

A practical guide for turning an Excalidraw-style sketch into a clean video for tutorials, async meetings, YouTube explainers, TikTok clips, and product notes.

Start recordingCompare the recorder
1. OpenPrepare the whiteboard
2. RecordDraw while explaining
3. FocusUse cursor and zoom deliberately
4. ExportDownload WebM locally
5. TrimCut dead air after recording
6. SharePublish or send internally

Tutorial

How to record Excalidraw without turning it into a production setup

Excalidraw is great for sketching ideas, but the native Excalidraw app is not a video recorder. It gives you a canvas, shapes, handwriting, arrows, and collaboration, but it does not turn the drawing process into a finished video by itself. That matters when the explanation is more valuable than the final board. A static diagram can show the answer; a recording shows how you got there.

People usually want to record an Excalidraw whiteboard for three reasons. Teachers and course creators need to build a concept step by step. Product teams use whiteboard recordings for async standups, architecture notes, roadmap context, or handoff messages. Creators on YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn use the drawn process because it feels more human than slides and easier to follow than a talking-head clip.

With ExcaliRec, the simple flow is: open your Excalidraw board or start from the built-in Excalidraw-style canvas, start ExcaliRec, draw while you explain, stop the recording, then download the video. The recording downloads as WebM by default, and you can convert it to MP4 before editing or uploading if your workflow needs that format.

Steps

Record Excalidraw whiteboard video step by step

  1. Open the whiteboard and remove anything you do not want in the frame. If the board is already finished, create a small plan for the order you will redraw or reveal it.
  2. Open ExcaliRec and choose the aspect ratio before you start. Use 16:9 for courses and YouTube, 9:16 for short clips, and 1:1 when you need a square social format.
  3. Press record, then draw at a natural pace. Do not rush the first version. Viewers need time to read labels and understand why one box connects to another.
  4. Stop when the idea is complete. Download the recording, check the first ten seconds, and trim the beginning or ending if you had silent setup time.

A few small habits make the recording easier to watch. Keep the cursor visible and intentional; do not wave it over the whole board. Use fewer tiny labels, or zoom before writing details. Record at a steady frame rate when possible, because fast cursor movement and handwriting look worse when the capture is choppy. After recording, crop dead air instead of trying to make every sentence perfect live.

Comparison

ExcaliRec vs OBS and Loom for how to record Excalidraw

OBS is powerful if you need scenes, overlays, multiple sources, or streaming. It is also more setup than most Excalidraw explainers need. Loom is fast for async screen messages, but it is still a general screen recorder. You usually need to arrange windows, crop the browser, and accept whatever framing the desktop gives you.

ExcaliRec is lighter because the whiteboard and recorder live in the browser. There is no desktop install, no capture-source setup, and less chance that browser tabs, notifications, or window chrome become part of the clip. For people looking for an Excalidraw screen recorder rather than a full production tool, that narrower workflow is the point.

Browser first

Open, draw, record, and download from one focused workspace.

Cleaner frame

Keep attention on the board instead of the rest of your desktop.

Less setup

Better for repeat tutorials, quick async notes, and creator drafts.

FAQ

FAQ about recording an Excalidraw whiteboard

Can I record audio while drawing?

Yes. Use microphone narration when the viewer needs context, or record silently if you plan to add a cleaner voiceover later.

What export format should I expect?

ExcaliRec exports WebM by default. If your editor or platform requires MP4, convert the WebM file after recording.

Is it free?

Yes. ExcaliRec is free to start and works in the browser, which makes it useful for quick Excalidraw-style recording without installing a separate app.