Flameshot is a powerful screenshot tool for Linux desktop. You can capture and annotate screenshots using intuitive tools. The finished images are copied to the clipboard, are saved to your filesystem or uploaded to Imgur.
Starting
Flameshot can be found in the package repositories of the most popular Linux distributions. There is also a laptop AppInage available for direct download.
The Flameshot Release Series v0.8, launched last year, added support for Windows and MacOS systems. Installation instructions for all supported platforms can be found in the Flameshot website.
You will often want to use Flameshot as your main screenshot tool.. Linux key bindings are not configured by default. You will need to use your desktop environment keyboard settings to configure them. Flameshot provides guidance on useful starting points for Gnome and KDE.
Try to tie the PrtScr key to flameshot gui command. This will display the Flameshot graphical capture interface, which will allow you to select a region to crop. You can also link a key to flameshot screen -p ~/Screenshots. This would capture your current monitor and save the image to your Screenshots folder.
Basic captures
flameshot gui launch the graphical capture environment. Press Enter to take a screenshot of the entire screen or use your mouse to set a cropping region.
Once you have created a screenshot, Several tools appear that allow you to create annotations. Select a tool, like the rectangle or the arrow, and use your mouse to draw it on the screenshot.
You can change the color of the active tool by right-clicking the mouse and choosing from the radial menu. To adjust the width of the stroke, roll the mouse wheel.
More complete tool settings are accessed by pressing the space bar to open the side panel. This provides a full color palette and thickness slider.
The side panel also includes a list of annotations applied to the current image. Click on a history entry to go back to that version, allowing you to quickly undo a series of unwanted additions.
Keyboard shortcuts
When working with a catch, use Ctrl + C to immediately copy it to the clipboard. Ctrl + S saves the image to your file system, showing a file browser so you can select the location to save.
You can move the selection region using the arrow keys. This works in increments of 1 px. To resize the selection region, use the arrow keys while holding down the Shift key.
Flameshot offers various annotation tools. There are alternatives for lines, arrows, rectangles and ellipsis. Use the pen to draw freehand or the marker to add a highlighter style effect.
Text tool gives you basic text support. You can change the font settings using the side panel. There is also a pixelation tool that allows you to hide information that you would rather not include in your screenshot.
When taking a screenshot of a sequence of steps, use counter bubble tool. This automatically inserts a circle containing the current step number. Every time you use the tool, the number increases by one.
Resize and move the capture area with the mouse. The dimensions of the current snapshot are always displayed on the resize tool label.
Pin and share
Click on the pin icon next to your capture to pin the image to your desktop. This will keep it floating after closing the main Flameshot interface.
You can send your screenshot to another application by clicking the button “rectangle with an arrow” appearing near the pin button. This will open your system's application selector so that you can select the program you want to use.
Flameshot has built-in support for direct uploads to Imgur. Click the cloud with an arrow to start an instant upload. A pop-up window will appear allowing you to view the uploaded image or copy its URL.
Setting
Flameshot has a configuration screen that allows you to manage some default values. You can enter it from the Flameshot icon in the system tray or by running flameshot config.
The Interface tab allows you to change the appearance of Flameshot. Set the main theme color (generally purple) and the contrasting accent color. In addition there is a slider that adjusts the opacity of the background and darkens the area of your monitor outside of the capture region..
The button selection list at the bottom of the screen allows you to delete tools from the user interface. If there are tools you never use, turn them off to reduce clutter during shooting.
The Filename Editor tab customizes the filename format when Flameshot saves an image. Use the buttons to create a custom formatter from available time-based variables. You can add your own text in the field “Edit”, a value of Screenshot-%T will save images with current time, with the prefix Screenshot-.
In summary, the General tab allows you to configure various Flameshot behaviors. These include the default path to save the image and whether Flameshot starts at system startup. Additionally you can enable automatic clipboard copy of Imgur URLs after uploads are complete (“Copy url after upload”), or force captures to be saved locally after they are copied to clipboard (“Save image after copying”).
You can import and export configuration files using the controls at the bottom of the window. This helps you reuse settings on multiple machines.
Using the command line
Flameshot has several commands that you can use without starting the GUI:
flameshot full -c– Capture all your monitors and copy them to clipboard.flameshot screen -p– Capture your current monitor and save it to the default save location.flameshot screen -n 2 -p ~/captures– Capture your second monitor and save it to your~/capturesfile.flameshot screen -d 2000– Capture your current monitor after a delay of 2 seconds.
the -c, -p and -d Flags are compatible with full and screen commands. Any -c O -p must be specified to set what to do with the output. You can use both together to save and copy to clipboard.
The command line interface allows you to create a Flameshot script and use it as a key link subject. Does not support any annotation function, so you will need to use the GUI if you want to edit your captures.
conclusion
Flameshot is a versatile screenshot tool ideal for general use. With comprehensive editing tools and a command line interface, it is important to highlight try Flameshot if you want to try a new capture utility.
