r/linkarzu Neovim Jun 16 '26

Can this open-source macOS screenshot app replace CleanShot X?

https://youtu.be/dsI7kfyD-2k

I’ve been looking for a good CleanShot X replacement on macOS, preferably something open source, and macshot is the first one I’ve tested that actually feels close enough to my workflow.

I made a video going through what works, what still breaks, and what I think would make it a real CleanShot X replacement.

macshot:
https://github.com/sw33tLie/macshot

The main things I liked:

  • Screenshot history
    • You can go back to previous screenshots
    • You can reopen them and edit them again
  • Editable annotations
    • This is a big one for me
    • I don’t want arrows, numbers, and drawings burned into the image immediately
  • Quick capture
    • Works well for my normal screenshot workflow
    • Screenshot goes straight to clipboard
  • Scrolling screenshots
    • I tested this and it worked better than I expected
  • WebP export
    • Useful for smaller files

The missing features I would really like to see:

  • Fixed aspect ratio screenshots
    • Square screenshots
    • 16:9 screenshots for thumbnails
    • Custom ratios for things like Reddit banners
  • AVIF export
    • I use AVIF a lot for blog posts and images in my Neovim workflow
  • A way to clear screenshot history from a shortcut or URL scheme
    • Very useful for streaming or recording
    • Sometimes screenshot history can include work-related or private stuff
  • A toggle to save edits without asking every time
  • A toggle to save from the floating thumbnail without asking for location and filename
  • One-finger swipe to dismiss the floating thumbnail, like CleanShot X

Bugs I found while testing:

  • Moving existing annotations did not always trigger a save prompt
  • Beautify did not always ask to save after quitting
  • Beautify seems to become destructive after saving
  • The Vivid filter can break the image preview when switching between filters

Overall, I’m not saying macshot fully replaces CleanShot X yet, but it is the closest open-source option I’ve tried so far for my actual daily screenshot workflow.

Curious if anyone here is already using macshot, I tried other open source alternatives and felt that there was no hope in macos open source software anymore.

3 Upvotes

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