Macshot

A native macOS menu bar app for region screenshots and region GIF recording. Select an area with a frozen, dimmed overlay and crosshair cursor — similar to the built-in screenshot tool — then copy the result to your clipboard.

Features

• Region screenshot — freezes the screen, dims the overlay, crosshair cursor, drag to select, PNG copied to clipboard
• Region GIF — same selection UI, then records the live region and copies an animated GIF to clipboard
• Multi-display — overlay on every connected display
• Settings — dim opacity, GIF FPS, max recording duration, launch at login, permission status

Hotkeys

Action	Default hotkey
Screenshot	⌘⇧4
Record GIF	⌘⇧3

While Macshot is running, these replace the matching macOS screenshot shortcuts. Hotkeys are configurable in Settings. Accessibility permission is required for global hotkey interception. You can also trigger captures from the menu bar icon.

Requirements

• macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later
• Accessibility permission (required to override global screenshot hotkeys)
• Accessibility, Screen Recording, and Notifications — Macshot requests these shortly after first launch

Install

Build from source (recommended)

git clone https://github.com/andresousadotpt/macshot.git
cd macshot
make app
open dist/macshot.app

Homebrew

brew tap andresousadotpt/tap
brew install --cask macshot

GitHub Release

Download macshot-{version}.zip from Releases, unzip, and open the app.

If macOS blocks launch the first time, right-click the app → Open, or use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway.

Usage

1. Launch Macshot — it runs as a menu bar agent (no Dock icon) and starts automatically at login.
2. Press ⌘⇧4 or choose Capture Screenshot from the menu.
3. Drag a rectangle on the frozen overlay; release to copy PNG to clipboard.
4. Press ⌘⇧3 or choose Record GIF to select a region, then click Stop on the HUD when done.
5. Open Settings from the menu to customize hotkeys, dim opacity, GIF FPS, max duration, and launch at login.

Press Esc during region selection or GIF recording to cancel (recording is discarded, nothing copied).

Development

make build    # debug build
make run      # build and launch via swift run
make test     # unit tests (requires full Xcode)
make app      # release .app in ./dist/
make clean    # remove build artifacts

Project layout

Target	Purpose
MacshotCore	Models, image/GIF encoding, settings — no UI imports
Macshot	SwiftUI shell, AppKit overlays, ScreenCaptureKit bridges

AI agents should read AGENTS.md for architecture and conventions.

Releasing

Version lives in packaging/Info.plist (CFBundleShortVersionString). Push to main and GitHub Actions will build, publish a release zip, and update the Homebrew cask.

make bump-version BUMP=minor   # or BUMP=major
git add packaging/Info.plist && git commit -m "chore: bump version to X.Y.Z"

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

Document	Purpose
AGENTS.md	Architecture and agent conventions
SUPPORT.md	Help and FAQs
SECURITY.md	Report vulnerabilities privately
CHANGELOG.md	Version history

License

MIT — see LICENSE.