FOSSPicks
Screenshot taker
Flameshot
It's amazing that, for a simple tool, the humble screenshot utility hasn't found perfection and ascended to ubiquity years ago. We could all agree that the copy-to-clipboard approach of the PrntScr key on Windows needed improvement, as could the name of Scrot, but it's been harder to find innovation since Spectacle took over from KSnapshot. But there's a new contender, and it's gone straight to the top of the pile. Flameshot gets nearly everything right, and more importantly, it does this without getting anything wrong. The brilliant HotShots gets close, for instance, with its ability to annotate and edit images before they're saved. But saving is convoluted enough to make it a pain to use, despite the advantages.
Flameshot avoids these pitfalls and has even innovated over HotShots. There's a separate configuration tool for setting things like the GUI colors, the buttons that appear, and exactly how screenshots are named when saved. You can then take screenshots with or without the GUI appearing, but it's the GUI that makes this such a good tool. When Flameshot is launched and you select a screen area to grab, that area is immediately highlighted and then augmented by a series of buttons (configured earlier) that let you annotate, sketch, heal, resize, draw lines, and undo any changes you make. You can do all of this before the image is automatically saved or uploaded. The only function it's really missing is the ability to create automatic annotations like you can with HotShots, but apart from that, it's perfect. As it's Qt-based rather than KDE-based, it's also desktop agnostic and even supports Gnome Wayland and Plasma Wayland alongside the usual suspects. If there is one thing it's missing, it's a delay period. Otherwise, it's perfect.
Project Website
https://github.com/lupoDharkael/flameshot
Text editor
Buy this article as PDF
(incl. VAT)
Buy Linux Magazine
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
News
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils Linux Laptop Featuring AMD Ryzen CPU
This latest release is the first laptop to include the new CPU from Ryzen and Linux preinstalled.
-
XZ Gets the All-Clear
The back door xz vulnerability has been officially reverted for Fedora 40 and versions 38 and 39 were never affected.
-
Canonical Collaborates with Qualcomm on New Venture
This new joint effort is geared toward bringing Ubuntu and Ubuntu Core to Qualcomm-powered devices.
-
Kodi 21.0 Open-Source Entertainment Hub Released
After a year of development, the award-winning Kodi cross-platform, media center software is now available with many new additions and improvements.
-
Linux Usage Increases in Two Key Areas
If market share is your thing, you'll be happy to know that Linux is on the rise in two areas that, if they keep climbing, could have serious meaning for Linux's future.
-
Vulnerability Discovered in xz Libraries
An urgent alert for Fedora 40 has been posted and users should pay attention.
-
Canonical Bumps LTS Support to 12 years
If you're worried that your Ubuntu LTS release won't be supported long enough to last, Canonical has a surprise for you in the form of 12 years of security coverage.
-
Fedora 40 Beta Released Soon
With the official release of Fedora 40 coming in April, it's almost time to download the beta and see what's new.
-
New Pentesting Distribution to Compete with Kali Linux
SnoopGod is now available for your testing needs
-
Juno Computers Launches Another Linux Laptop
If you're looking for a powerhouse laptop that runs Ubuntu, the Juno Computers Neptune 17 v6 should be on your radar.