Recording your adventures in VRChat preserves moments that would otherwise vanish the moment you leave the instance. Whether you are capturing a chaotic dance party, a detailed world build, or a tense round of survival horror, the process requires specific settings and a clear understanding of your hardware. This guide walks through every step to ensure your captures are crisp, stable, and ready to share.
Preparing Your PC and VRChat Settings
Before pressing record, your computer and VRChat client need to align for optimal performance. Recording software places a heavy load on the CPU and GPU, so lowering the graphical intensity of the game itself reduces the chance of dropped frames or stuttering footage. You want a balance where the game runs smoothly at a high frame rate, because a stable 90 frames per second is far better for recording than a fluctuating 40 frames per second.
Begin inside VRChat by navigating to the Settings menu. Under the Video tab, set the Resolution to match your monitor or slightly lower it if you plan to upscale later in editing. Set the Graphics Quality to High or Ultra only if your hardware confirms it can handle the load without dipping below 90 FPS. Set the Dynamic Resolution to Off to maintain a consistent sharp image, and ensure the Headset Camera Rendering is set to Stereo to capture the correct 3D depth if you are recording in VR.
Choosing Your Recording Method
There are two primary paths to capture your VRChat session: in-game capture through SteamVR or external capture through third-party software. The method you choose depends on whether you are using Windows Mixed Reality headsets, SteamVR, or Oculus devices linked to a PC.
For SteamVR users, the easiest method is to use the built-in SteamVR Recorder. This utility sits between the game and your headset, recording the video on the GPU level before it even hits the operating system. Because it captures the image as the headset sees it, this method usually results in a cleaner image with less input lag compared to software that records your desktop window.
Method A: SteamVR Recorder
Open Steam and navigate to your Library.
Right-click on SteamVR and select Manage > Enable Internal Tools.
Launch SteamVR and go to the Dashboard.
Open the SteamVR Recorder application and select the Capture Mode.
Start recording before entering the VRChat instance to ensure you capture the entire session.
Method B: OBS Studio
Open Broadcaster Software (OBS) remains the industry standard for custom recording and streaming. It gives you granular control over audio sources, allowing you to capture your voice distinctly from the game audio. This is essential if you want to provide commentary or react to events without capturing every footstep of other players in the vicinity.
Configuring Audio and Microphone Settings
Audio is just as important as video quality, and VRChat’s spatialized sound can cause confusion if your audio routing is incorrect. You need to ensure your microphone is isolated from the game audio to prevent echo. A headset with a unidirectional microphone helps, but the software mix is what truly separates the clear voices from the noise.
In OBS, add an Audio Input Capture source for your microphone and an Audio Output Capture source for the game. This setup allows you to record your voice and the in-game soundscape separately. Adjust the Gain of the microphone to prevent clipping, which occurs when loud noises distort the audio. Keep an eye on the audio meters in OBS; they should rarely peak into the red zone.
