# How to Record the Previous 10 Minutes

Canonical page: https://homeinstruments.com/learn/rolling-recording/record-previous-10-minutes/

To save the previous ten minutes, start a rolling recorder before the event and retain at least ten minutes of history. In OBS that target is 600 seconds. In Session Eye, use a supported buffer length covering the passage, then save and trim the session if you kept extra time.

## Ten minutes plus the time it takes to notice

Suppose the part you want began at 2:00 and finished at 2:10. If you notice at 2:12, a ten-minute window now begins at 2:02. The first two minutes are already outside it. For a ten-minute performance, choose more history than ten minutes when you can.

Write down the point you need to preserve: the full jam, the build-up to a drop, or just the finished result. A generous window is useful, but it still has a beginning. Save once you know the moment matters.

## In Session Eye

1. Select the DAW, screen and any camera or mic you need.
2. Choose a supported history length of at least ten minutes, with extra margin if useful.
3. Let the available-history counter reach the amount you need. A new capture starts with no past footage.
4. Use **Save last**, or **Save + keep recording** if the next part belongs with it.
5. Open the saved session. Find the start of the passage, then trim the edit to the ten minutes you want.

The Capture preview shows where to check the accumulated history and save controls. Its visible timer is an example, not evidence that this short demo contains ten minutes.

## In OBS Replay Buffer

Use the [Replay Buffer setup](/learn/rolling-recording/obs-replay-buffer-explained/), set **Maximum Replay Time** to **600 seconds**, and check any memory limit your output mode shows. Start the buffer before producing and use **Save Replay** afterward.

The time setting is a target, not proof of retained duration. At a constant total bitrate of 12 megabits per second, 600 seconds represents roughly 900 megabytes of encoded data before overhead. That arithmetic is only a planning example; variable bitrate, audio, encoding behavior and memory limits change the real result.

Do a full-length test at the quality you intend to use. If it saves less than ten minutes, shorten the history, reduce the recording workload or adjust supported memory settings and test again. Do not keep increasing quality while assuming duration stays the same.

## A rehearsal that catches the missing beginning

At the start of capture, perform a visible action and say “beginning.” Continue past ten minutes, then perform a second recognizable action and save at the intended time. Open the file and locate the earliest action you expected to retain.

Also check the final section. Changing a display, audio device or scene halfway through can affect what was captured even when the timer kept running. Use your actual DAW project for the rehearsal so video capture and plugin load are tested together.

For a shorter FL workflow, the [five-minute walkthrough](/learn/fl-studio/record-last-5-minutes-fl-studio/) shows the saved library and editor. For a moment that already passed with nothing running, use [the recovery guide](/learn/rolling-recording/record-after-it-happened/); installing a buffer now cannot supply the previous ten minutes.


## Illustrations

- [The available-history counter is the check for how much you can save now.](https://homeinstruments.com/assets/sessioneye/2026-09-25/capture-motion-poster-v1.webp)