CaptureGem File Locations Guide

This guide explains where CaptureGem stores settings, recordings, and temporary data. Settings can point videos and temporary files to other folders, so check the paths shown in the app before moving anything.

Default data folders

• Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\capturegem
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/capturegem
• Linux: ~/CaptureGem_Data

An explicit CAPTUREGEM_DATA_DIR environment override selects a different profile for both the desktop and recorder daemon. Older installations may also have a legacy profile: the folder where CaptureGem was originally unzipped on Windows, or ~/CaptureGem_Data on macOS.

When both old and new folders contain settings, the desktop and recorder daemon can choose different profiles. The desktop may use a newer config.json or viewState.json marker while the daemon still uses a legacy folder containing config.json. Check both folders and the app logs before moving files or resetting data; do not assume that one folder contains everything.

Configuration and media

config.json contains settings and model information. It can also contain passwords, session cookies, authentication headers, tokens, and a license key. Treat it and its backups as secrets: store them privately and never upload or share a raw copy.

By default, the recorder daemon writes finished videos under <daemon data folder>/videos/out and temporary HLS media under <daemon data folder>/videos/tmp-hls. It can also store metadata and proxy downloads in that profile. Video, temporary, and metadata destinations may be customized in Settings, so inspect their current paths before a backup or reset.

A finished file and temporary or retained source media serve different purposes. Preserve unfinished source files when a recording or conversion fails; see the reset guide before removing any data.