Arrows that curve
Drag the midpoint to bend it; the head follows the curve. Adjust each end on its own.
NewScreen recording
Capture, annotate and get back to work.
shots.ink is a screenshot app and screen recorder for Mac. Press ⌘⇧2, drag, mark what matters and paste a clear, annotated image in seconds, or record that area as a video. No extra windows, no stray files on your desktop.
Requires macOS 14 or later · No account · Nothing leaves your Mac
Drag to capture
Try it: drag across the screen.space switches between editing and copying right away.T adds a 3-second timer.
How it works
Three moves. That's all.
Built for the moment you need to show something, not for managing screenshots.
- 01⌘⇧2
Summon
Every display dims instantly, crosshair ready. Whatever's underneath keeps moving.
- 02drag
Select
Let go and the capture happens at that exact moment. The editor opens on the same display in about 180 ms.
- 03⌘↩
Paste
The image lands on your clipboard with your annotations, the editor closes and you're right back where you were.
Screen recording
Some things need to move. Record them.
Press R while you select and let go: shots.ink records just that area, pointer included. Stop it from the notch, watch it back, then copy the video or save it as a GIF or MP4.
- 01R
Press R and select
Or press space until the notch says Record. Add T for a 3-second timer before it starts.
- 0200:12
Show how it works
The notch shows a red dot, the elapsed time and Stop. Your keys and clicks go to your app, and shots.ink's own windows stay out of the video.
- 03⌘C
Copy or save
Watch it back, then copy the MP4 to paste into a chat or ticket. ⌘S saves a GIF and ⇧⌘S an MP4.
MP4 at up to 30 frames per second and 2,560 px on the longest edge; GIFs loop at 10 frames per second, up to 960 px. No audio. On displays without a notch, a small floating control shows the time and Stop.
Live selection
Your screen doesn't freeze. You pick the moment.
While you select, the app underneath keeps focus: videos keep playing, animations keep running, and menus and hover states don't vanish. When you let go, shots.ink captures exactly what you see.
- Works across all your displays, whatever their scale or arrangement.
- See dimensions in real pixels as you drag.
- Even over full-screen apps, without switching Spaces.
Scrolling screenshots
Longer than your screen? Keep scrolling.
Press S while you select and let go. Then scroll down or up through the page, chat or document, and shots.ink stitches everything that passes through the area into one tall image.
- 01S
Press S and select
Press it before or while you drag. Mark only the part that scrolls and leave fixed headers and sidebars out.
- 02scroll
Scroll either way
Start anywhere and change direction whenever you like. Scrolling back over what's already captured doesn't repeat it.
- 03S
Press S to finish
The image goes to your clipboard or opens in the editor, whichever you chose with space. esc cancels.
Keeps the original width and resolution, up to 16,384 px tall. Scroll steadily so each part overlaps the last; if one can't be joined, shots.ink asks you to scroll back slowly.
Timer
Three seconds to set up the shot.
Press T while you select to turn on a 3-second timer. Let go, then open a menu, hover a button or type: your mouse and keyboard work as usual. When the timer reaches zero, shots.ink captures the area you marked.
- The notch shows the seconds left. On other displays, they appear next to the area.
- The area and mode stay fixed. In Record, the video starts when the timer reaches zero.
- esc cancels. Every new capture starts with the timer off.
Edit, copy or record
You choose what happens. Press space.
While you select, the space bar cycles between sending the capture straight to your clipboard, opening the editor and recording a video. C, E and R jump straight to one. shots.ink remembers your choice for next time.
Copy
Straight to your clipboard
Nothing opens. A discreet notice confirms the copy and you keep going.
Edit
Open the editor
To point out, explain or hide something before you share it.
Record
Record a video
The area becomes a video, pointer included. Stop it from the notch, then copy or save it.
On a MacBook with a notch, the mode, dimensions, timer, recording time and confirmation appear right beside the camera. On other displays, next to the selection. esc cancels without touching your clipboard.
The editor
Everything to explain something with an image. Nothing in the way.
A compact toolbar inside the editor, right below your capture, single-key shortcuts and annotations that stay editable until the very last second.
Smooth ink
Freehand strokes are smoothed as you draw, and the Draw style follows pen pressure. Hold ⇧ for a straight line in any direction.
Shapes, paths and fills
Rectangles, ellipses and polygons with independent stroke, fill and opacity. ⇧ for perfect squares and circles.
Instant text
Click and type. Optional background color, multiple sizes, and double-click to edit again.
Spotlight
Dim everything except what matters. Multiple areas share one adjustable opacity.
Blur for private data
Hide emails, tokens or customer data with up to 40 px of blur, clear or tinted.
Draw past the edge
Arrow doesn't fit? Keep drawing: the image gains margin only where it needs it.
Alignment guides
Shapes snap to each other as you move them. Hold ⌥ to break free.
Rotate, scale and group
Everything stays editable to the end. Rotate (in 15° steps with ⇧), scale together and group with ⌘G.
Layers
Open the Layers panel to see every object from back to front. Drag a row to change what sits on top.
Pan and zoom
Press H, or hold space and drag, to move the canvas past the edges. Annotations stay sharp up to 400%.
24 colors and opacity
A fixed palette designed to stand out on any screenshot, with opacity from 0 to 100%.
Plus: with nothing selected, ⌘C copies the whole image without closing. Edit Last Screenshot in the menu bar reopens your latest capture, editable annotations copy between captures, and ⌘S saves a PNG to the folder you choose.
Drawing
A quick sketch, right where you're typing.
Press ⌘⌥⇧D while you type and a compact canvas opens next to the text field. Sketch, press Insert and the image is pasted into your message.
- Infinite canvas with the same tools as the editor.
- When you're done, focus returns to the app you were in.
- It never reads or stores the field's text, only its position.
Performance & privacy
Fast inside. Private by design.
Truly native: ScreenCaptureKit and Rust under the hood. When idle, there's no screen recording, no keyboard polling and no animations running.
~180 ms
release to editor
The capture is cropped natively and only the selected area travels. The editor is ready almost before you lift your finger.¹
1:1
original pixels
No resampling, no lossy compression. Exports PNG with real transparency, margins included.
0
copies behind your back
No history, no library. Only your latest screenshot stays in memory, so you can reopen it, until the next capture or until you quit.
Local
no account, no cloud
Nothing leaves your Mac: no servers, no uploads, no telemetry. Recordings stay in a temporary file until you save or discard them.
¹ Median of 8 captures of 800 × 500 px with a production build on an Apple silicon Mac, from releasing the selection until the editor can paint. Results vary by machine and capture size.
Keyboard
Made to keep your hands on the keyboard.
Every tool has its key and every action its shortcut. And esc backs out step by step: first the panel or text, then the selection and finally the capture.
- New capture (configurable)⌘⇧2
- Cycle copy, edit and recordspace
- Copy, edit or record directlyCER
- 3-second timer while selectingT
- Scrolling screenshot while selectingS
- Copy and close⌘↩
- Save PNG⌘S
- Arrow, rectangle, ellipse, pathARCP
- Freehand, text, spotlightDTS
- Hand: move the canvasH
- Undo (⌘⇧Z redoes)⌘Z
- Copy selection, or the whole image⌘C
- Group (⌘⇧G ungroups)⌘G
- Squares, circles and 15° turns⇧
- Move without alignment guides⌥
- Drawing next to the text field⌘⌥⇧D
FAQ
Questions people ask.
What is shots.ink?
A screenshot, screen recording and annotation app for macOS 14 or later. It lives in your menu bar: capture any area of your screen, mark it up with arrows, text, shapes or blur, then copy it to your clipboard or save it as a PNG. It can also record that area as an MP4 or GIF. No account needed.
How do I snip and paste on a Mac with shots.ink?
Press ⌘⇧2 (the default, which you can change), drag over the area you want, add any annotations and press ⌘↩ to copy and close. Then paste it with ⌘V into your chat, ticket or email. Don't need to edit? Press C while selecting (or Space until it says Copy) and the capture goes straight to your clipboard.
How do I annotate a screenshot on Mac?
Capture an area in Edit mode and the editor opens on the same display. Add arrows, rectangles, ellipses, text, freehand marks or a spotlight, and blur anything you'd rather not share. Everything stays editable until you copy or save, when it's merged into a single PNG.
Can I take a screenshot with a timer on Mac?
Yes. While you select, press T to turn on a 3-second timer. When you let go, the area stays marked and the timer starts: open a menu or hover what you want to show, and shots.ink captures when it reaches zero. Esc cancels, and every new capture starts with the timer off.
How do I take a scrolling screenshot on Mac?
Press ⌘⇧2, then press S before or while you drag over the part that scrolls. Let go, wait until the notch says Scrolling (or the label next to the area says Capturing), and scroll down or up. Press S again to finish: the tall image is copied or opens in the editor, whichever you chose with Space. It keeps the original width and resolution, up to 16,384 px tall. Esc cancels.
How do I record my screen on Mac with shots.ink?
Press ⌘⇧2, then R (or Space until the notch says Record), and drag over the area. Recording starts when you let go, or after 3 seconds if you pressed T. The notch shows a red dot, the elapsed time and Stop; displays without a notch show a small floating control. While recording, your keys go to the app you're using, so stop with the button. Then watch it back: Copy video (⌘C) puts the MP4 on your clipboard for apps that accept video files, ⌘S saves a GIF and ⇧⌘S saves an MP4. The pointer is included; audio isn't.
What do I need to use it?
A Mac running macOS 14 or later. shots.ink lives in your menu bar: open it once and it's ready for the next ⌘⇧2. If you like, it can launch quietly at login.
Which permissions does it ask for, and why?
Screen Recording, to take screenshots and videos. Accessibility, so the app underneath keeps focus and hover states while you select, and to open Drawing next to the text field. If one is missing, shots.ink explains how to turn it on.
Where do my screenshots end up?
Nowhere, unless you ask. The image lives in memory while you edit and copying puts it on your clipboard. Your latest screenshot stays in memory so Edit Last Screenshot in the menu bar can reopen it, until your next capture or until you quit. ⌘S saves a PNG named with the date and time to the folder you choose (your Desktop by default), never overwriting another file. Recordings stay in a temporary file until you save or discard them; a copied video is kept in the app's cache so other apps can paste it, and the next copy clears those older than seven days.
Does it work with multiple displays?
Yes. Every display dims at once and you can drag on any of them, even with different scales or arranged above, below or to the side. The editor opens on the display you captured, even over a full-screen app.
Can I edit annotations after drawing them?
While the editor is open, everything is editable: move, resize, rotate, recolor, group, reorder in the Layers panel and undo. Copy annotations between captures with ⌘C and ⌘V. Copying or saving merges them into a single PNG.
Can I change the shortcuts?
Yes. In Settings you choose the capture and Drawing shortcuts, the save folder, whether each tool remembers its own color and thickness, and whether the app opens at login.
Is there a Windows or Linux version?
Not yet. For now, shots.ink is macOS only.
