Capture, annotate, blur, add a background and copy, in a few keystrokes. Free and open source, with every tool and shortcut yours to change.
v0.2.0-beta.13· Apple Silicon · Windows x64 · Free, MIT license
Animation: pressing Option Shift Z dims the screen, an area is selected, an arrow, two numbered steps and a blur are added, a gradient background wraps the result, and it is copied into a small preview in the corner.
Copy the moment you let go, or stop to draw. Add your background to every copy, keep a floating preview, save without a dialog. Every tool, toolbar button and shortcut can be moved, changed or turned off.
⌘S asks where to save, starting in the last folder
Arrows, boxes, highlighter and text with a stroke or a background. Steps count themselves, and blur hides an email or a token in one drag. Every shape stays editable until you copy, and lines up with the others as you move it.
Wrap a capture in a gradient or a color with one click, ready for a tweet, a slide or a doc. Pick a preset, or tune padding, corners, shadow and output size, and make it the default for every copy. Try it:
Every copy, save and pin lands in History. Copy it again, reopen it with the drawings and background still editable, pin it, or drag it into another app as a PNG. Try it: click a capture, then use the buttons or keys.
Taking screenshots is something I do a lot, and I suspect I'm not the only one.
There are plenty of screenshot tools out there, and some are arguably more polished. I'd probably have stuck with 
Lightshot if it didn't look set to have compatibility problems with upcoming macOS versions. So I built one that fits my own workflow and comes with the extra tools I need.
The aim: good, minimal defaults that cover most people's everyday needs (hopefully), while staying very customizable and extensible.
And it's all open source. If it still isn't quite right for you, fork it and ask Claude or ChatGPT to build the version you need.
Each one can be turned off in Settings, so your toolbar only has what you use.
The screen freezes the moment you press the hotkey, so menus and tooltips stay put. Drag an area, move and resize it, nudge it with the arrow keys. Full screen goes straight to the floating preview.
Snapkit isn't signed with a paid developer certificate yet, so your system asks once before the first launch.
Or skip step 2 with Terminal: xattr -cr /Applications/Snapkit.app
Snapkit starts in the tray, near the clock.
Yes. Snapkit is open source under the MIT license: no account, no ads, no paid tier, no trial. You can read, change and redistribute the code.
If you're on a Mac, there are more polished apps, such as Shottr, macshot, Snapzy, etc. But if you enjoy a minimal, customizable experience, and want the same app on Windows too, give Snapkit a try.
No. Captures, history and settings stay on your computer. The only thing Snapkit asks the internet for is a once-a-day check of GitHub for a new version. Clearing history really deletes the files.
The code is public on GitHub, and every installer is built from it by GitHub Actions. Inside the app, windows are sandboxed, only accept messages from Snapkit's own pages, and can't open web pages; the packaged app has Electron's run-as-Node and debugging switches turned off.
That's how macOS lets any app read what's on screen, which a screenshot tool has to do. Snapkit only reads the screen when you start a capture. After an update macOS may ask again; if captures only show the wallpaper, remove Snapkit from the list with – and add it back.
Right now there are builds for Apple Silicon Macs and 64-bit Windows. Since it's open source, you can build it for other systems yourself.
Not currently planned. I usually stick to a dedicated, native screen recording app, since recording comes with a lot more nuance. I might change my mind if I can't find one that fits my needs.
Snapkit tells you when a new version is out (a notification and an item in the menu-bar menu) and downloads the installer for you to open. Nothing installs by itself.
On GitHub Issues. On Windows, please attach the log file (%APPDATA%\Snapkit\logs\main.log) if you can.
Put your own picture behind a screenshot, next to the gradients and colors. The editor already has a spot for it.
Capture mode that opens faster and uses less memory, including native capture engines (ScreenCaptureKit on macOS, DXGI on Windows).
Have an idea? Open an issue, or fork it and build it.
Free for macOS and Windows. Takes a minute to install.
v0.2.0-beta.13· Apple Silicon · Windows x64 · Free, MIT license
