Overview of the CaptureGem Settings

This guide describes the Settings tab in CaptureGem 2.14.14. The left column holds Basic Settings, Advanced Settings and the folder settings. The right column holds your license, the display settings and the app's action buttons.

Changes to Basic Settings, Advanced Settings, the per-site options and the folders take effect only after you select Save Changes at the bottom of the left column. Display settings, the language and theme colors apply as soon as you change them.

Some settings need CaptureGem Premium. The free version saves up to 5 minutes per recording, and Auto Record All Newly Added Models, Cap Video Segments at Duration (Minutes) and After Auto Record/Monitor Expiry stay greyed out until you activate Premium.

Basic Settings

Auto Record All Newly Added Models

Premium. Every model you add after turning this on gets the Record Always auto-record mode, so CaptureGem records the model whenever it comes online and restarts after a disconnect. Models you added earlier keep their own mode; change those on the Record tab with Modify Auto Record. Off by default.

Enable Chaturbate Custom Headers

Stores a Chaturbate browser request (including your cookies and headers) so CaptureGem can use your signed-in Chaturbate session. Use it if Chaturbate requires sign-in or age verification in your region; it isn't needed for rate limits, which CaptureGem handles automatically. When enabled, use Edit Chaturbate Request Headers to replace the saved request, for example after your session expires. Do not share the copied request because it contains session cookies. See How to Add Chaturbate Custom Headers to CaptureGem.

Enable Anonymous Error Reporting

Sends anonymous reports of serious errors to help improve CaptureGem. It also runs a watchdog that can detect a stuck recorder, which costs a little CPU. On by default.

Cap Video Segments at Duration (Minutes)

Premium. Sets the maximum length of each saved video file (default 60 minutes). When a recording reaches it, CaptureGem finishes that file; with auto-record, the next file starts straight away. Video Length Variability (%) makes the exact length vary a little. A new value applies to recordings that start after you save it, not to one already running.

Minimum Free Disk Space for Recording (%)

CaptureGem checks the free space on the drive of your Video Save Location and on the drive of your Temporary Files Location. If either drops below this percentage, it pauses recording and restarts the paused recordings once enough space is free again. The default is 2 and the highest value is 99. Enter -1 to turn the check off.

After Auto Record/Monitor Expiry

Premium. Controls what happens to a model when its Record With Expiry or Monitor With Expiry period ends:

Switch to Consecutive Recording (default) changes the model to the Consecutive auto-record mode, the mode new models normally start with. The current recording carries on, but CaptureGem no longer starts a recording on its own each time the model comes online.
Switch to Single Recording changes the model to None. The current recording carries on until it ends and is not restarted.
End Recording Immediately changes the model to None and also stops the current recording.

Advanced Settings

Audit disk space and Delete All Temp Files

These two buttons sit at the top of Advanced Settings.

Audit disk space shows how much space your CaptureGem folders use: videos, temporary recording files, retained temporary files, metadata, proxy downloads, previews and other app data. It only reads the folders and never deletes anything. A large library or a network drive can take several minutes to scan.
Delete All Temp Files permanently deletes the files of recordings that failed to convert into videos (including ones still waiting for another automatic attempt) and the source files kept after successful conversions. Recordings that are recording, waiting to convert or converting are skipped. This cannot be undone. To delete a single failed recording instead, open Queue Status with the small status dot in the top-right corner and use the Unfinished recordings tab.

Skip confirmation when removing models

Removes models from the app straight away, without the confirmation dialog. Their existing recordings are kept. Off by default.

Review and Monitor Features

Enable Review Feature keeps the Review tab available for browsing and editing your videos. Enable Monitor Feature keeps the Monitor tab available for live previews. Both are on by default. Turning either off can improve recording performance; Hide Disabled Tabs in the display settings hides the tabs you turn off.

Enable Startup Metadata Validation

Checks every file in your video library when CaptureGem starts. Keep it on for normal use. Turn it off only if a very large library makes startup too slow.

Nest Videos by Model in Output Folder

Saves each model's videos in a subfolder named after the model instead of directly in the video folder. Changing this setting moves your existing videos to match. Off by default.

Filename Format (pattern for naming saved videos)

Chooses the order of model name, site and date in saved video names: Site-Model-Date, Model-Site-Date (default), Site-Date-Model, Model-Date-Site, Date-Model-Site or Date-Site-Model. Changing it renames the videos already in your Video Save Location to the new pattern.

Saved Video Format

Chooses MP4 (default) or MKV for the videos CaptureGem saves from now on. MKV changes only the file container, not the video quality. Existing videos are not converted.

CamSoda Recording Method

CaptureGem Custom (Recommended) (default) downloads CamSoda streams through CaptureGem's own recorder, which works better when FFmpeg connections are blocked or rate limited. FFmpeg records the stream directly with FFmpeg instead.

Stripchat API Domain and Request Method

Stripchat API Domain chooses strip.chat (default) or stripchat.com for Stripchat requests; use strip.chat where stripchat.com is blocked. Use cURL for Stripchat Requests (on by default) sends Stripchat requests with cURL instead of Chromium. It can help with some network restrictions and with performance, though Chromium can be more reliable in some regions.

Segment Download and Processing

Verify TLS Certificates for HLS Segments (on by default) checks the security certificate of each video-segment download. CaptureGem already retries connection problems in other ways on its own. Turn it off only as a last resort if recordings keep failing with connection errors: CaptureGem then skips certificate checks entirely, which is less secure.
Concurrent Requests (default 24) is the maximum number of video-segment downloads and site requests running at once, across all models. Higher values can download faster but use more network and CPU.
Max API Queue Size (default 100) is how many requests can wait their turn. It must be at least Concurrent Requests + 1. Larger values absorb bursts but use more memory.
Segment Inspection Parallelism (default 2) is how many video segments are inspected at the same time. More can be faster but uses more CPU and memory.
Concurrent Transcoders (default 1, maximum 8) is how many recordings are converted into videos at the same time. Raise it only if your computer has CPU and disk capacity to spare.

Temp File Retention

Temp File Retention (Hours) keeps a recording's source files for this many hours after it has been converted into a video, so the video can be converted again if something is wrong with it. The default is 3 hours, and you can enter 0 to 720. Kept files roughly double the disk space each video uses until they expire. Enter 0 to delete the source files as soon as the video is saved.
Untranscoded Temp File Retention (Days) applies to recordings that could not be converted into a video. After CaptureGem stops retrying automatically, their files are deleted this many days after the last failed attempt. The default is 3 days, and you can enter 0 to 365. After a CaptureGem update, such a recording is tried once more and the days count from that attempt. Enter 0 to delete them at the next cleanup once retries stop. You can delete them earlier in Queue Status → Unfinished recordings.

Per-site Recording Options

Select Configure next to each option, make your choices, select Confirm, then Save Changes.

Max Resolution Per Site caps the recording resolution separately for each site, from 4320p down to 240p, to save bandwidth and disk space. Every site starts at No Maximum.
Segment Verification Per Site chooses how thoroughly each site's video segments are checked. None skips the checks, Basic skips the slow deep decoding check, and Full runs every check and can make each video take much longer to process. Stripchat, StripchatVR and XHamsterLive use Basic by default; the other sites use None. Dreamcam and SexLikeReal save each recording as a single segment, so they always use None. The window has its own Reset to Defaults button.

Recording Cleanup and Timing

Auto Delete Recordings Below Duration (Seconds) (default 5) deletes finished recordings shorter than this. Enter -1 to keep every recording.
Snooze Recording Duration (Minutes) (default 120) sets how long a model you snooze stays paused before CaptureGem checks it again.
Temporary Auto Record Expiration (Minutes) (default 120) sets how long Record With Expiry and Monitor With Expiry last.
Live Monitor Refresh Delay (Seconds) (default 5) sets how often the Monitor tab's previews refresh. Previews use extra CPU only while the Monitor tab is open, and no extra internet bandwidth.
Network Timeout (Seconds) (default 90) ends a recording when no data arrives for this long.
Wait Time Variability (%) (default 10) adds a random delay before CaptureGem starts another recording, which can help avoid rate limiting.
Video Length Variability (%) (default 10) varies each video's maximum length by up to this percentage, so recordings don't all start and end at the same time.
Offline Retry Wait Time (Seconds) and Error Retry Wait Time (Seconds) (default 30 each) set how long CaptureGem waits before trying again after a model was offline or a connection failed. Very short waits can cause rate limiting.
Max Concurrent Auto Recordings (-1 = unlimited) caps how many auto-record and auto-monitor sessions run at once. Recordings you start yourself count toward the limit but are never blocked by it. The default is -1, no limit.

Folder Settings

Each folder has a Set ... button that opens a folder picker, buttons to copy or open the current path, and the path itself. A folder you have picked but not saved yet is shown in italics. All default folders are inside CaptureGem's data folder; see the file locations guide.

Set Video Save Location

Where finished videos are saved (default videos/out in the data folder). Minimum Free Disk Space for Recording (%) checks this drive. When you change it, your existing videos are not moved. CaptureGem clears the details it had stored for your videos, such as thumbnails, and rebuilds the Review library from the videos in the new folder, so videos left in the old folder no longer appear in Review. Move them into the new folder yourself, or set the old folder again, to see them there.

Set Temporary Files Location

Where recordings are kept while they record and until they are converted into videos (default videos/tmp-hls in the data folder). When you save a new folder:

Every active recording and monitor session stops.
Unfinished recordings, including ones waiting to be converted and ones whose conversion failed, move to the new folder in the background. A recording that is converting moves once it finishes. Nothing is deleted.
A status panel below the button shows the move, including any recording that couldn't be moved yet. CaptureGem keeps retrying those, and continues the move after a restart.
When nothing is left to move, CaptureGem removes its own working folders from the old folder, then the old folder itself if it is empty. Files and folders that are not CaptureGem recordings stay where they are.

Choose an empty folder that only holds CaptureGem temporary files. It can't be inside the current temporary folder or contain it, can't overlap your video, metadata or retained temp folders, and can't be the CaptureGem data folder or a folder that contains it. CaptureGem refuses a folder that breaks these rules.

Set Metadata Files Location

Where CaptureGem stores the details it keeps about each video, such as thumbnails (default metadata in the data folder). Changing it copies the existing metadata to the new folder, so choose an empty one.

Set Proxy Files Location

Where videos captured with the proxy feature are saved (default proxy/downloads in the data folder). Earlier downloads stay in the old folder.

Set Retained Temp Files Location

Where source files are kept after a successful conversion while Temp File Retention (Hours) is above 0 (default videos/retained-temp in the data folder). The new folder is used for files kept from then on. Folders already kept in the old location are not moved and are not cleaned up automatically, so delete them yourself when you no longer need them. It can't be the same as, or nested with, the temporary, video or metadata folders.

Open Settings Folder

Shows the path of the desktop app's data folder, which holds config.json and the default folders, with buttons to copy or open it. Open Settings Folder opens it too. On some older installations the recorder uses a different folder; the file locations guide explains how to check.

Save Changes and Reset to Defaults

Save Changes saves everything you changed in Basic Settings, Advanced Settings, the per-site options and the folders. If a value is invalid, CaptureGem asks you to fix it first.

Reset to Defaults, next to it, fills Basic and Advanced Settings with CaptureGem's default values. Nothing changes until you select Save Changes. It also undoes folder and per-site changes you haven't saved yet, but it does not set the folders or per-site options back to their defaults. It turns off Enable Chaturbate Custom Headers, so your saved Chaturbate request is removed when you save. Display settings are not affected.

License

The top of the right column shows your license status and your CaptureGem version, with (new version available) when an update is out.

License inactive. means you're using the free version. Activate Premium verifies your Premium license with a code emailed to you or a code from your capturegem.com or camtrove.com account page. Learn more opens the CaptureGem website.
License active - please verify authentication to ensure continued access. means your license works but needs to be verified once. Select Verify License.
License active. means Premium is active and verified. Change Email opens the same verification window, so you can verify the license with a different email address.

Display Settings

Select Language

Changes the app's language.

Show Download Bandwidth

Shows the live download rate in the bottom-left corner of the app. Click the rate to see how much each model is downloading. On by default.

Enable Dark Mode

Switches between light and dark themes. Until you change it, CaptureGem follows your system's light or dark setting.

Show Record Icon

Shows or hides the recording indicator next to the tabs while CaptureGem is recording. On by default.

Show Updates When Available

Shows an update button at the top of the app when a newer CaptureGem version is available. On by default.

Hide Disabled Tabs

Hides the tabs of features you turned off in Advanced Settings, such as Review or Monitor.

Show All Tips

Shows or hides the app's tips and hints.

Customize Colors

Opens Customize Theme Colors, where you can change background, text, border, tab and table colors separately for Light Mode and Dark Mode. Changes preview live and apply when you select Save. Colors you have changed are marked with *, and each mode has its own button to go back to the default colors.

Settings Actions

The buttons at the bottom of the right column:

Show System Monitor shows the recorder's status and health messages, which help with troubleshooting.
Restart Recorder Process restarts the background recorder. Use it if you see an IPC error. Active recordings stop when the recorder restarts.
Export Models saves your model list to a CSV file, including each model's site, notes, rating and recording group. Auto-record modes are not included.
Import Models adds the models from such a CSV file. Models you already have are skipped, and the free version allows up to 10 models.
Reset Data opens Reset Application Data, which can permanently delete settings, temporary files, metadata and videos. Read How to Reset Your CaptureGem Installation first.
Exit CaptureGem quits the app and the recorder completely. Closing the window only hides CaptureGem, and it keeps running in the background.