PSFlow vs F_Record
Sources checked 2026-08-17
F_Record is a free, open-source Photoshop plugin for recording your painting process — 245 stars, GPL-3.0, written by a single developer. If you are searching for a way to record a Photoshop timelapse, it and PSFlow are the two names you will keep hitting.
The first thing worth saying is that they work the same way underneath. Both hook Photoshop’s Generator API and capture the document when the canvas changes; neither one records your screen. So the choice is not about capture technique. It comes down to which platform you are on, how much fighting with installation you will tolerate, what happens on a long session, and whether you want someone on the other end when it breaks.
Everything below about F_Record comes from its own repository — the README or a linked issue, with numbers and dates so you can read the thread yourself. Issues get fixed; check the state before you take any of this as current.
Side by side
| PSFlow | F_Record | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $15.90 once — lifetime licence, 3 devices | Free and open source (GPL-3.0)repository licence |
| Operating system | Windows 10+ and macOS (Intel & Apple Silicon) | Windows onlyREADME — “支持系统：Windows” |
| Photoshop versions | CC2020 and later | PS 2022 – 2025README — “支持PS版本：PS 2022 ~ 2025” |
| Installation | Installer — signed on Windows, notarized on macOS. Enables Photoshop’s Generator for you | Manual: unzip and copy two folders into Photoshop’s CEP and Generator directories, creating them if missing, then switch on Generator and extension panels yourself and restart PhotoshopREADME install steps 2–3 |
| Interface language | 10 languages including English | Chinese; an English build exists but users report trouble loading itissues #3, #17, #37 |
| Capture method | Photoshop Generator API — the document, not the screen | Photoshop Generator API — the document, not the screenREADME — “调用PS生成器的接口” |
| Latest release | v1.0.29, 2026-08-14 | v3.0, 2025-03-17GitHub releases |
| Support | Direct from the developer, included in the licence | Community — GitHub issuesissue tracker |
The honest case for F_Record
It is free, the source is public under GPL-3.0, and it is genuinely liked — the issue tracker is full of people opening bug reports with some version of “this plugin is really awesome, I’ve been looking for something like this for years”. If you are on Windows, on Photoshop 2022–2025, comfortable copying folders into your Photoshop install directory, and recording sessions of modest length, it may be all you need. Being able to read and patch the source yourself is something PSFlow cannot offer at any price.
The caveats are the ones any single-maintainer project carries. The last release was 3.0 in 2025-03-17, the last commit was 2026-04-01, and 20 issues are open — some of them for over a year.
What people report, and where we stand
These are the recurring themes on F_Record’s tracker. Where a shipped PSFlow release addresses the same behaviour, we say so and name the version. Where we have not verified it, we say nothing — several of these are things you should simply test on your own files with whichever plugin you pick.
Installation and the unsigned-extension error
F_Record is installed by copying two folders into Photoshop’s program directory, then switching on Generator and extension panels in Preferences yourself. When any part of that goes wrong the panel simply never appears — and one report hits the specific error that the extension is not correctly signed.
- #5 “unable to load the extension” error in Photoshop closed · 2024-04-15
- #31 Can’t make it works, the installation fails me open · 2026-01-01
- #33 1.0成功安装，3.0不行（“未经正确签署”） open · 2026-02-13
- #35 Plugin window not showing / Recording not saved open · 2026-03-01
- #37 Plug-in not showing up in window > extension (Legacy) open · 2026-05-12
PSFlow · v1.0.29
PSFlow ships an installer rather than folders to copy, it switches Photoshop’s Generator on for you, and both builds are signed — code-signed on Windows, notarized on macOS, so neither Gatekeeper nor SmartScreen blocks them. We hit signature and registration failures of our own and fixed them in v1.0.10 and v1.0.18.
Frames that drift, crop or include content outside the canvas
Several reports describe the recorded frame not matching the canvas: content from outside the canvas appearing after a Warp or Liquify, or the image jumping into a corner partway through so the rest of the recording shows a crop.
- #13 Glitch while saving the images open · 2025-04-24
- #21 White part in the video open · 2025-08-03
- #38 Recording shifts canvas to the bottom-left during playback/export open · 2026-07-24
PSFlow · v1.0.17, v1.0.29
This is the one area where our histories line up almost exactly. PSFlow captured the content bounding box rather than the canvas, which made frame sizes vary and the picture jitter; v1.0.17 restricted capture to the canvas or active artboard, and v1.0.29 pads every frame back to the canvas so the video no longer takes its size from the first frame.
Export length and large sessions
Reports cover both ends of the export: a session offering only a “10s (original)” duration, a re-export that keeps the duration of the first attempt, and a 22,000-frame session that either fails to produce an MP4 or exports only the first minute of a three-minute target.
- #15 Only 10s video length available closed · 2025-06-03
- #20 Exporting video from a large amount of frames will crash the program open · 2025-07-29
- #24 Export issue open · 2025-10-30
- #25 Duration of the exported file doesn’t change closed · 2025-11-08
- #27 Recording Process stuck at 90% open · 2025-11-18
PSFlow · v1.0.17, v1.0.18, v1.0.29
PSFlow exports to a target video length with resolution presets of 360/720/1080/1440 applied to the short side, plus aspect-ratio framing for YouTube, Reels and Shorts. v1.0.18 fixed smearing on large high-resolution canvases by keeping output within hardware-compatible dimensions, and v1.0.17 improved export reliability on long sessions.
Disk usage
F_Record writes process frames as images into a folder, defaulting to a path on the C: drive; its README advises moving that folder somewhere with enough space and warns against changing it mid-painting.
PSFlow · v1.0.9
PSFlow exposes configurable frame size and quality, and a storage quota that caps how much disk recording is allowed to consume.
Recording stopping partway through a session
The most-reported theme: recording freezing or silently stopping, with the image count no longer updating. One report notes having to keep checking the panel to be sure it is still running.
- #14 Sometimes, F_record gets frozen open · 2025-04-28
- #22 Empty fields: Document, Image Count, Time Spent open · 2025-08-05
- #28 f-record wont let me input anything open · 2025-11-24
- #29 Recording stops seemingly randomly; plus a possible workaround open · 2025-12-14
We have not benchmarked PSFlow against this one, so we are not going to claim it. Test it on your own files.
Interaction with Photoshop while you work
Reports of the tool cursor flickering to the mouse pointer on each capture, the same flicker on a tablet pen, and files being marked as having unsaved changes when Generator is enabled.
- #19 The tools on Photoshop keep switching to the mouse pointer open · 2025-07-27
- #30 Plugin causes unsaved changes to opened files open · 2025-12-18
- #32 Causing issues with my tablet pen open · 2026-01-04
We have not benchmarked PSFlow against this one, so we are not going to claim it. Test it on your own files.
Which edits get recorded
One report says only changes on normal layers and their masks are captured, while solid colour, gradient and pattern layers are not — a problem if you paint with adjustment layers. Another reports capture responding to brush strokes but not to other actions.
- #26 image is saving by using brush only open · 2025-11-09
- #34 Only records changes on normal layers, not other layer types open · 2026-02-20
We have not benchmarked PSFlow against this one, so we are not going to claim it. Test it on your own files.
Which one should you use?
Use F_Record if you are on Windows, want to pay nothing, and are happy to install by hand and work around problems yourself. Free and open source is a real advantage, not a consolation prize.
Use PSFlow if you are on a Mac, on Photoshop CC2020–2021 or on a version newer than F_Record supports, want an installer that Gatekeeper and SmartScreen do not block, need control over the exported length and aspect ratio for YouTube or Reels, or simply want someone to email when a recording goes wrong. It is $15.90 once.
Related reading
- How to record a timelapse in Photoshop — all three approaches, with setup steps.
- Does Photoshop have built-in timelapse recording? — what the History and Timeline panels can and cannot do.
- PSFlow changelog — every release referenced on this page.