The open-source project Flameshot provides users with a highly configurable screenshot utility accessible across major operating systems, including Linux, Microsoft Windows, and macOS. The software is designed to be executed either via a graphical user interface (GUI) or through direct command-line invocation for automated workflows. According to documentation provided on its GitHub repository, running the command invokes a background process, displaying a system tray icon for configuration.
Flameshot supports granular capture modes, ranging from delayed full-screen captures useful for tooltips, to specific area selections copied directly to the clipboard or saved as files. For Windows users requiring console output for scripting, the developers recommend utilizing the separate flameshot-cli.exe wrapper, as the standard flameshot.exe suppresses stdout. This distinction highlights the project's focus on catering to both interactive and headless operational requirements.
Configuration management offers both GUI menus and direct editing of the configuration file, flameshot.ini, located in standard system locations for each OS. Users migrating configurations between Linux and Windows must manually correct the file path variable, savePath, to reflect the appropriate filesystem structure. This flexibility allows advanced users to override default settings, such as capture colors or save locations, programmatically.
Integration with desktop environments, particularly Linux distributions, requires specific steps to map the default Print Screen key to the flameshot gui command. For instance, KDE Plasma users must import a configuration file via System Settings and potentially disable the default Spectacle utility to avoid shortcut conflicts. Similar binding adjustments are necessary for users of Gnome and XFCE.
For macOS installations, particularly those installed via Homebrew, users may encounter developer verification security prompts, necessitating the execution of a command to quarantine attributes. This is a common hurdle for non-App Store applications on recent macOS versions, requiring manual override via the terminal. The project addresses these platform-specific security measures directly in its documentation.
System tray visibility, essential for accessing configuration and status, relies on the presence of a compatible systray manager, which may be missing in minimal window managers like dwm or certain Gnome setups. Users on these minimal environments are advised to install necessary extensions or rely solely on terminal invocation for application control. The project maintains experimental support for Wayland sessions on Gnome and Plasma.
Flameshot's architecture benefits from D-Bus integration, which facilitates smoother operation within modern Linux desktop environments. To mitigate potential slow initial startup times caused by D-Bus initialization, the documentation suggests configuring the application to launch automatically upon system boot. The GitHub repository serves as the central source for build instructions, dependencies, and the latest prebuilt packages.
