macshot: free open-source screenshot tool for macOS

What is it?

macshot is a native screenshot and screen-recording tool for macOS (Swift/AppKit, no Electron) that works as a menu bar app and is launched via WinShiftC ⌘⇧C . It combines screen capture, annotations, video editor, scroll capture, OCR + translation and upload in a single tool – and is completely free and open source (GPLv3). Installation via brew install --cask macshot or through the DMG download on the website (requires macOS 12.3 or later).

Why it interests me

For the posts here, I’m constantly taking screenshots and short screen recordings – and the macOS built-in tools quickly reach their limits. macshot covers exactly what I’m missing in everyday life: select a region, annotate directly (arrows, text, shapes, blur), record as a GIF, or stitch long web pages into a single image. Plus OCR for quickly copying text and an auto-redact function for personal data. The upload to S3-compatible storage – including Cloudflare R2 – fits perfectly with my ?Hugo HugoStatic site generator written in Go. Generates a static website from Markdown files and templates – extremely fast (build in milliseconds). fricklr.com runs on Hugo with the Blowfish theme media workflow here.

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Comparison: macOS built-in tools

The built-in screenshot function WinShift4 ⌘⇧4 or WinShift5 ⌘⇧5 is fine for a quick screenshot, but quickly hits its limits: no scroll capture, no annotation bar directly in the capture flow, and for screen videos you need detours via QuickTime and extra tools. macshot closes exactly these gaps – one app instead of three tools, plus a whole host of additional features.

Highlights

Auto-Redact: Emails, phone numbers, credit cards, SSNs and ?API APIApplication Programming Interface – defined interface through which programs communicate. Home Assistant offers a REST and a WebSocket API (e.g. for MCP) keys are automatically censored; plus face and person detection as well as a “Text Only” mode that only blackens the text areas within a region.

Screen recording with built-in video editor – MP4 (H.264) up to 120 fps or GIF, system audio + microphone, then trim/mute directly in the app, without an external editor.

Commercial screenshot alternatives for macOS

The best-known paid solution in this area is CleanShot X (one-time around €40). macshot covers its most important features – annotations, GIF capture, OCR, cloud upload – and is free. If you don’t need the expensive extras such as a recording history or fixed screen areas, you save the money. As an alternative to Snagit on the Mac, macshot is also worth a look.

Verdict

A focused, native tool that fits straight into everyday use. A clear recommendation – especially because it’s free, open source, and in some ways better than the paid competition. For me, macshot is also clearly better than Flameshot and the like.

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Hi! I'm Markus – the Fricklr. ⚡ Electrical engineer, 🎵 musician (bass, guitar, keys) and professionally 'something with the internet' 🌐 for over 30 years – nowadays with AI too 🤖 – a 55-year-old generalist from Bavaria, Germany.

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