# MTLCaptureScope A type that can programmatically customize a GPU frame capture. ``` protocol MTLCaptureScope : NSObjectProtocol ``` ## Overview Each capture scope instance configures what a frame capture records and methods that programmatically start and stop recording data. Filter the commands a frame capture records by selecting specific sources with a capture scope. By contrast, the default capture scope records all the data for a single frame when you click the Capture GPU workload button in the debug bar in Xcode. You can choose which data Metal records during a frame capture by creating your own capture scope. You can program exactly which Metal commands to record in a frame capture by calling the [`begin()`](/documentation/Metal/MTLCaptureScope/begin()) and [`end()`](/documentation/Metal/MTLCaptureScope/end()) methods around the Metal calls you want the capture to include. In the case of a rendering loop, your calls to [`begin()`](/documentation/Metal/MTLCaptureScope/begin()) and [`end()`](/documentation/Metal/MTLCaptureScope/end()) can capture a small part of a frame, or capture data from multiple frames. For more information about frame captures and capture scopes, see and , respectively. ## Topics ### Defining capture scope boundaries [`begin()`](/documentation/Metal/MTLCaptureScope/begin()) Tells Metal to begin recording command information. [`end()`](/documentation/Metal/MTLCaptureScope/end()) Tells Metal to stop recording command information. ### Identifying the capture scope [`label`](/documentation/Metal/MTLCaptureScope/label) A string that helps you identify the capture scope. [`device`](/documentation/Metal/MTLCaptureScope/device) The device object from which you created the capture scope. [`commandQueue`](/documentation/Metal/MTLCaptureScope/commandQueue) The command queue that this capture scope uses to limit which commands are recorded. --- Copyright © 2026 Apple Inc. All rights reserved. | [Terms of Use](https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/terms/site.html) | [Privacy Policy](https://www.apple.com/privacy/privacy-policy)