Flameshot
Powerful screenshot software
Install with Homebrew
brew install --cask flameshotQuick Take: Flameshot
In August 2026, Flameshot remains the best free cross-platform screenshot annotation tool — and v14 finally makes Apple Silicon first-class with native aarch64 builds. Capture, annotate, blur, CLI, done. It is still Linux-first in feel: no scrolling capture, no recording, Gatekeeper friction, and less polish than CleanShot X or Shottr. Sweet spot: developers who bounce between Linux and Mac, QA scripts that call `flameshot gui`, and anyone who refuses to pay for annotation basics.
Best For
- •Developers who use both Linux and macOS and want one screenshot tool
- •Users who need free GPL screenshot annotation without paid tools
- •QA engineers who need CLI-driven automated screenshot capture
- •Apple Silicon users who want a notarized arm64 Flameshot without Rosetta
- •Anyone who needs quick blur/pixelate for sensitive data in screenshots
What is Flameshot?
Flameshot is a free, open-source screenshot tool with a built-in annotation editor. It started as a Linux application and was ported to macOS and Windows. You take a screenshot, annotate it with arrows, text, blur, and shapes right on the capture, and save or copy it — all in one flow.
Flameshot is not the prettiest tool on macOS. It doesn't look or feel like a native Mac app. The UI still carries the functional aesthetic of a Linux-first Qt application. But it works, it's completely free under GPL v3, and the annotation tools are faster for many people than Preview or the stock macOS screenshot markup strip.
The capture workflow: press your configured shortcut, select an area (and on v14, choose which monitor when needed), and the annotation toolbar appears immediately on the captured image. Draw arrows, add text, blur sensitive areas, draw rectangles and circles, add numbered markers, highlight regions. When you're done, save to disk, copy to clipboard, or upload to an image host. Capture to annotated result is usually a 10–15 second loop.
Version 14.0.0 shipped around 19 June 2026 and is the release Mac users should care about. It improves multi-monitor capture and fractional scaling, redesigns capture workflows (including monitor selection and CLI screen edits), ships a new macOS icon set, and — critically — publishes native macOS aarch64 builds so Apple Silicon Macs no longer need Rosetta. Separate Intel DMGs remain available for older Macs. Homebrew still installs with brew install --cask flameshot, though the cask is marked deprecated toward a September 2026 disable date, so keep the GitHub / SourceForge DMG path as backup.
Flameshot also has a CLI (flameshot gui, flameshot full, flameshot screen). That makes it scriptable from shell, cron, Karabiner, or Automator. Power users who live in terminals still prefer this over most Mac-native free tools.
The honest limitations: no screen recording, no scrolling capture, no OCR, and Gatekeeper friction on first open (right-click Open, System Settings → Open Anyway, or xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine on the app). CleanShot X still wins polish and paid Mac workflows. Flameshot's niche is free annotation plus CLI plus the same tool on Linux and Mac.
Deep Dive: Flameshot's Cross-Platform Screenshot Philosophy
How a Linux screenshot tool matured into a usable Apple Silicon citizen without becoming a native Mac app.
History & Background
Flameshot began as a Linux screenshot tool inspired by annotation workflows from Greenshot and ShareX. Built with Qt for portability, it expanded to macOS and Windows while staying Linux-first in design language. Through 2025 the Mac story was 'it works if you fight permissions.' The v14 cycle in mid-2026 is the first release where Apple Silicon packaging, notarization, and icon polish look intentional rather than accidental.
How It Works
Flameshot is C++ and Qt. Capture uses platform APIs; on macOS that means the Screen Recording permission path. Annotation paints onto the captured bitmap before save/copy/upload. The CLI is a first-class entry point — not an afterthought — which is why QA scripts and Karabiner bindings cluster around flameshot gui. v14's monitor-selection model trades the old all-displays overlay for explicit per-monitor choice, which is less magical but more reliable under fractional scaling.
Ecosystem & Integrations
There is no plugin marketplace. Integration points are Imgur/custom upload APIs, menu-bar launch, Homebrew cask distribution, GitHub/SourceForge DMGs, and shell automation. Dotfile users sync flameshot.ini. Competitors on Mac are CleanShot X (paid polish), Shottr (free native), and Apple's Cmd+Shift+3/4/5 stack.
Future Development
Expect continued Linux desktop-environment work, multi-monitor edge cases, and Mac packaging maintenance. Native aarch64 removes the worst Rosetta complaint; Gatekeeper education and Screen Recording prompts remain the support burden. Do not expect CleanShot-class scrolling capture or recording unless priorities shift dramatically.
Key Features
In-Place Annotation Editor
The annotation toolbar appears directly on your capture. No separate editor, no export-then-open-in-Preview workflow. Draw arrows pointing to the important element. Add text labels. Blur passwords or personal data. Draw rectangles to highlight areas. Add numbered markers (1, 2, 3) for step-by-step instructions. Highlight text with a semi-transparent marker. Freehand draw for quick circles or underlines. All tools have adjustable color and thickness. The annotation happens on the raw capture before saving — one workflow, not two.
Blur and Pixelate
Drag over any area to blur or pixelate it. This is critical for screenshots that contain sensitive data: API keys, email addresses, personal names, account numbers. The blur is irreversible in the saved image — the original data can't be recovered. For anyone sharing screenshots in bug reports, documentation, or Slack messages, blur is a daily-use feature.
CLI Integration
Flameshot provides CLI commands: `flameshot gui` opens the interactive capture, `flameshot full` captures the entire screen, `flameshot screen` captures a specific monitor. In v14 the screen subcommand was redesigned for per-screen capture with an `--edit/-e` flag. CLI options include save path, delay, and region. Bind these to Karabiner-Elements shortcuts or Automator workflows for scripted QA captures.
Multi-Monitor and Fractional Scaling (v14)
Flameshot 14.0.0 reworked how captures behave on multi-monitor and mixed-DPI setups. You are prompted to select which monitor to capture instead of stretching a single widget across every display. Tray menus can jump straight to a monitor. Capture-active-monitor options exist on platforms that support them. Fractional scaling support is a major reason Linux and mixed-desk Mac users should upgrade from v13.
Native Apple Silicon Builds
Starting with the v14 line, official macOS packages ship as native aarch64 binaries and are notarized for Apple Silicon. You no longer need Rosetta just to launch Flameshot. Intel Macs still get a separate DMG. This closed a long-standing gap where Mac users ran an awkward translated Linux port.
Upload to Image Hosts
After capturing, Flameshot can upload directly to Imgur (built-in) or custom image hosts via API configuration. The upload returns a URL for sharing. This is basic compared to CleanShot Cloud's dedicated hosting, but it works for quick sharing without setting up your own image hosting.
Customizable Appearance and Shortcuts
Configure the annotation toolbar: which tools appear, their default colors, and keyboard shortcuts. You can customize UI opacity, button size, and color picker. Configuration lives in a file you can version-control in dotfiles. On macOS, Flameshot sits in the menu bar for quick access, and v14 refreshed the macOS icon set for light and dark backgrounds.
Who Should Use Flameshot?
1The Linux-to-Mac Developer
A developer who used Flameshot on Linux switched to macOS for work. Instead of learning a new tool, they install Flameshot via Homebrew or the arm64 DMG and continue the same workflow: capture area, annotate with arrows and blur, copy to clipboard, paste into the issue tracker. Same shortcuts, same interface, zero learning curve — and on Apple Silicon they finally run a native binary.
2The Budget-Conscious Documentarian
A freelancer who writes technical documentation needs screenshots with annotations but can't justify CleanShot X. Flameshot provides arrows, text, numbered steps, and blur for free under GPL v3. The output quality is professional — annotated screenshots in documentation look the same regardless of which tool created them.
3The Script-Driven QA Engineer
A QA engineer uses Flameshot's CLI to capture screenshots during automated test runs. A shell script runs `flameshot full --path /screenshots/test_$(date +%s).png` after each test step, creating a visual log of the test execution. When a test fails, the screenshot shows exactly what was on screen at the failure point.
How to Install Flameshot on Mac
Flameshot installs via Homebrew cask or a direct DMG from GitHub / SourceForge. Prefer the arm64 package on Apple Silicon.
Install via Homebrew or DMG
Run: brew install --cask flameshot. If the Homebrew cask is unavailable or disabled after its deprecation window, download Flameshot-14.0-macos-arm64.dmg (Apple Silicon) or the Intel DMG from the GitHub Releases page or the SourceForge mirror.
Bypass Gatekeeper on First Open
Downloaded builds often trip Gatekeeper. Right-click the app and choose Open, use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway, or run xattr -rd com.apple.quarantine /Applications/flameshot.app after installing.
Grant Screen Recording Permission
On first launch, grant Screen Recording in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording. Without this, Flameshot cannot capture your screen on modern macOS.
Configure Shortcuts
Open Flameshot from the menu bar → Configuration. Set your preferred keyboard shortcut for capture. Many people use a Ctrl+Shift combination or bind flameshot gui through Karabiner-Elements.
Pro Tips
- • Flameshot sits in the menu bar. Click the icon for configuration and quick capture, including per-monitor tray options in v14.
- • The CLI commands (flameshot gui, flameshot full, flameshot screen) work from Terminal for scripted captures.
- • Customize the annotation toolbar to show only the tools you use. Fewer buttons = faster workflow.
- • Set a default save directory in Configuration to avoid the save dialog every time.
- • On Apple Silicon, confirm you installed the aarch64 build — Rosetta should not be required for v14.
Configuration Tips
Set Default Annotation Colors
In Configuration → General, set your preferred default color for annotations (red is standard for documentation, blue for less aggressive marking). Set the default line thickness. These defaults apply every time you capture, reducing the clicks needed per screenshot.
Minimize the Toolbar
Disable annotation tools you don't use. If you only need arrows, text, and blur, disable circles, squares, markers, and pencil. A smaller toolbar is faster to navigate. You can always re-enable tools later.
Set Up Imgur Upload
In Configuration → General, enable the Imgur upload button. After capture, one click uploads to Imgur and copies the URL. This is the fastest free way to share annotated screenshots via a link.
Multi-Monitor Capture Habits
On v14, expect a monitor picker when launching a capture across multiple displays. Use the tray dropdown or flameshot screen with edit flags when you always want a specific display. That avoids fighting the new selection widget mid-debug.
Alternatives to Flameshot
Flameshot's competition on macOS ranges from free built-in tools to premium screenshot apps.
CleanShot X
CleanShot X (paid, historically around $29 one-time with optional Cloud) is the premium macOS screenshot tool: scrolling capture, OCR, screen recording, cloud hosting, and polished annotation. It is better in almost every Mac-native dimension except price and cross-platform sameness. If screenshots are a daily paid workflow, CleanShot wins. If you need free annotation plus Linux parity, stay on Flameshot.
Shottr
Shottr is a free macOS screenshot tool with annotation, scrolling capture, OCR, pixel measurement, and color picking. It is Mac-native and more polished than Flameshot. If you are Mac-only and want free, Shottr is often the better pick. Flameshot's advantage is GPL openness, CLI scripting, and the same tool on Linux/Windows.
macOS Built-in (Cmd+Shift+3/4/5)
The built-in macOS screenshot tool captures screens and selected areas and offers light markup after capture. Flameshot collapses richer annotation (numbered markers, stronger blur workflows, CLI) into one step. Keep the system tool for quick unmarked grabs; use Flameshot when annotations are the point.
Pricing
Flameshot is completely free and open-source, licensed under GPL v3. No paid tiers, no subscription, no feature restrictions. All annotation tools, CLI features, and upload capabilities are included. Optional costs are only third-party hosts if you leave Imgur.
Pros
- ✓Completely free and open-source under GPL v3
- ✓In-place annotation is fast — capture and annotate in one step
- ✓Blur/pixelate for sensitive data in screenshots
- ✓CLI for scripted and automated captures (
flameshot guiand friends) - ✓v14 native Apple Silicon builds (no Rosetta) with notarized arm64 packages
- ✓Multi-monitor and fractional scaling improvements in 14.0.0
- ✓Cross-platform (Linux, macOS, Windows) with consistent interface
- ✓Numbered markers for step-by-step instructions
Cons
- ✗Non-native UI on macOS — still feels like a Linux-first Qt port
- ✗No screen recording (video or GIF), scrolling capture, or OCR
- ✗Gatekeeper quarantine friction on first launch is a top Mac complaint
- ✗No first-party cloud hosting beyond Imgur/custom upload
- ✗Homebrew cask marked deprecated toward disable (plan a DMG fallback)
- ✗macOS polish still lags CleanShot X and Shottr
Community & Ecosystem
Flameshot is developed on GitHub (flameshot-org/flameshot) with community contributions. The project remains more active on Linux than macOS — most issues and discussions focus on Linux desktop environments — but v14 showed real Mac investment (native aarch64, notarization, icon set). Releases and assets are published on GitHub; SourceForge mirrors host macOS DMGs including Flameshot-14.0-macos-arm64.dmg. Documentation lives on flameshot.org and the project wiki. Reddit and Stack Overflow cover common configuration and permission questions.
Frequently Asked Questions about Flameshot
About the Author
Productivity & Workflow Analyst
Expert Tips for Flameshot
Mac users celebrate native ARM builds in v14 ending Rosetta; the aarch64 DMG is the single biggest Mac quality jump since the port landed.
Gatekeeper friction (quarantine + Open Anyway) is still the top first-run complaint even when the binary is notarized — document the xattr path beside brew install.
Power users love CLI flameshot gui, but CleanShot still wins polish and scrolling capture for paid Mac-only workflows.
Related Technologies & Concepts
Related Topics
Screenshot & Annotation Tools
Applications for capturing and annotating screen content.
Sources & References
Fact-CheckedLast verified: Aug 9, 2026
Key Verified Facts
- Flameshot is free, open-source, and licensed under GPL v3.[cite-1, cite-2]
- Flameshot v14.0.0 was released around 19 June 2026 with multi-monitor, fractional scaling, and capture workflow changes.[cite-3, cite-4]
- macOS v14 packages include native notarized aarch64 builds that do not require Rosetta; Intel DMGs remain separate.[cite-3, cite-5]
- Homebrew still documents brew install --cask flameshot, with the cask marked deprecated toward a 2026-09-01 disable date.[cite-6]
- 1Flameshot Official Site
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Project homepage describing Flameshot as powerful yet simple screenshot software."
- 2Flameshot GitHub Repository
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Source repository with GPL license, README, and macOS install guidance."
- 3Flameshot Releases
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"v14.0.0 release notes covering multi-monitor, scaling, macOS icons, and aarch64."
- 4Flameshot v14.0.rc3 Tag
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Release-candidate notes leading into the v14.0.0 stable line."
- 5Flameshot SourceForge Mirror Files
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Hosts Flameshot-14.0-macos-arm64.dmg and related platform packages."
- 6Homebrew Cask: flameshot
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"brew install --cask flameshot; cask marked deprecated with 2026-09-01 disable date."
Research queries: Flameshot 14.0.0 macOS aarch64 June 2026; Flameshot Homebrew cask Gatekeeper Apple Silicon; Flameshot vs CleanShot X Shottr 2026