# Screenshot > Capture macOS screenshots from Claude Code — full screen, a specific display, an exact region by coordinates, an interactively-dragged rectangle, or a specific window (by ID or by clicking). Saves PNGs to /tmp/claude-screenshots/ and returns the path so Claude can read the image multimodally with the Read tool. Use whenever the user asks to take a screenshot, capture the screen, grab a window, screencap something, or wants Claude to see what's on their screen — including UI debugging where Claude needs to see the actual rendered output, or when the user describes a visual problem and seeing it directly would help. - Skill: `fltman/screenshot` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add fltman/screenshot` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/fltman/screenshot/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: fltman (https://skillmd.com/u/fltman) - Updated: 2026-09-22 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/fltman/screenshot --- # Screenshot Capture screenshots on macOS using the built-in `screencapture` command, then read the resulting image back with the Read tool so you can actually see what's on the user's screen. ## When to use this skill - The user asks for a screenshot ("ta en screenshot", "screencap", "capture this", "show me what's on screen") - The user is debugging a UI issue and you need to see the rendered output - The user pastes a description of a visual problem and a picture would clarify it - You're about to ask the user to manually attach a screenshot — try this skill first ## Output All captures are written to `/tmp/claude-screenshots/screenshot-.png`. The capture script prints the absolute path on stdout. After running it, immediately call the Read tool on that path to view the image. ## Modes The capture script (`scripts/capture.sh`) takes a mode as the first argument. Pick the mode that matches the user's intent — when in doubt, ask the user, but lean toward `select` (interactive region) since it's the most common case and matches what people mean by "take a screenshot of X". ### Full screen — all displays merged ```bash scripts/capture.sh full ``` Use when the user wants everything visible across all monitors. ### Specific display ```bash scripts/capture.sh display 1 # primary display scripts/capture.sh display 2 # second monitor ``` Use when the user has multiple monitors and only wants one. Run `scripts/list_displays.sh` first to see what's available — it prints `\t\t` and the `displayN` matches the argument to `display`. ### Exact region (non-interactive) ```bash scripts/capture.sh region X Y W H # example: top-left 800x600 region scripts/capture.sh region 0 0 800 600 ``` Coordinates are in screen points, origin top-left. Use when you already know the precise region (rare — usually you'll use `select` instead). ### Interactive region (user drags a rectangle) ```bash scripts/capture.sh select ``` The macOS crosshair appears and the user drags out a rectangle. Press space to switch to window mode, Esc to cancel. **Use a long Bash timeout (300000 ms = 5 min)** since the command blocks until the user finishes selecting. This is the right default when the user says "take a screenshot of X" without further specifics. ### Interactive window picker (user clicks a window) ```bash scripts/capture.sh pick-window ``` The crosshair turns into a camera. The user clicks the window they want. Window shadow is excluded (`-o`). Same long-timeout caveat as `select`. Use when the user wants a specific app window and it's easier for them to click it than to describe it. ### Capture a window by ID (non-interactive) ```bash scripts/capture.sh window 12345 ``` Use when you've already discovered the window ID via `list-windows` (below) and want to capture it without bothering the user. Window shadow is excluded. ### Capture the frontmost window of a named app (non-interactive) ```bash scripts/capture.sh app Safari scripts/capture.sh app "Visual Studio Code" scripts/capture.sh app terminal # case-insensitive substring match ``` Use this when the user names an app — "screenshot Safari", "fånga VS Code", "ta en bild av Slack". It picks the topmost on-screen window owned by the matching app. Much friendlier than asking the user for a window ID. Fails with a clear message if no matching window is open. ### List visible windows with their IDs ```bash scripts/list_windows.sh ``` Prints one line per visible window: `\t\t`. Use this to find the ID of a specific window before calling `capture.sh window `. (For the common case of "capture the frontmost window of app X", prefer `capture.sh app ` instead — it does the lookup for you.) ### List active displays ```bash scripts/list_displays.sh ``` Prints `\t\t`. The `displayN` is what you pass to `capture.sh display N`. Example flow: ```bash $ scripts/list_windows.sh 4127 Safari Anthropic — Hello, world 4128 Visual Studio Code SKILL.md — claude-code-skill-screenshot 4131 Terminal bash — 80x24 $ scripts/capture.sh window 4128 /tmp/claude-screenshots/screenshot-20260510-143022.png ``` ## After capturing The script prints the path. Read it with the Read tool so you can see the image: ``` Read("/tmp/claude-screenshots/screenshot-20260510-143022.png") ``` Then describe what you see, or use it as context for the user's question. ## Permissions On macOS 10.15+, the parent process (Terminal, iTerm, the Claude Code app) needs **Screen Recording** permission in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording. If `screencapture` produces a black image or fails, that's the cause — direct the user there. The setting requires the parent app to be restarted after granting. ## Customizing the output directory Set `CLAUDE_SCREENSHOT_DIR` to override `/tmp/claude-screenshots`: ```bash CLAUDE_SCREENSHOT_DIR=~/Pictures/claude scripts/capture.sh full ``` ## Why these defaults - **PNG, not JPG**: lossless, captures UI text crisply, and the multimodal Read tool handles it natively. - **Silent (`-x`)**: no shutter sound when Claude triggers the capture programmatically. The user didn't press the button, so the sound would be confusing. - **No window shadow (`-o` for window modes)**: shadows add transparent padding that wastes pixels and confuses anyone trying to crop the result. - **Timestamped filenames in `/tmp`**: avoids collisions, lets macOS clean them up automatically, and the path is easy to pass to the Read tool.