Better Shot captures your screen and opens it in an editor — add a background, shadow, and annotations before you share. Free, local, no account required.
Without Better Shot, you paste a raw screenshot into a message or doc — sharp edges, white background, no context.
With Better Shot, the same capture gets a polished background, soft shadow, and optional callout arrows in under a minute.
sequenceDiagram
participant You
participant BetterShot
You->>BetterShot: Press ⌘⇧2
BetterShot->>You: Draw a region on screen
BetterShot->>BetterShot: Opens editor automatically
You->>BetterShot: Pick a background, adjust shadow
You->>BetterShot: Add arrows, labels, or text
You->>BetterShot: Press ⌘S or ⇧⌘C
BetterShot->>You: File saved or copied to clipboard
One shortcut triggers everything. The editor opens immediately — no extra clicks, no switching apps.
| What it does | |
|---|---|
| Backgrounds | Wallpapers, mesh gradients, solid colors, transparent — pick one or use your own |
| Shadow + depth | Adjust shadow size and corner radius to match your style |
| Border control | Set padding from 0 (edge-to-edge) to 200px |
| Blur + noise | Subtle texture effects on the background |
| Arrows and shapes | Draw circles, rectangles, lines, arrows directly on the screenshot |
| Text labels | Add text at any size and color |
| Numbered callouts | Auto-incrementing badges for step-by-step walkthroughs |
| Undo / redo | Full history — nothing is permanent until you export |
| Upload a photo | Edit any existing image, not just fresh captures |
| What | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Capture a region | ⌘⇧2 (always on) |
| Capture full screen | ⌘⇧F (enable in Preferences) |
| Capture a window | ⌘⇧D (enable in Preferences) |
| Cancel | Esc |
Shortcuts work from anywhere — even when Better Shot is hidden in the menu bar.
| What | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Save | ⌘S |
| Copy to clipboard | ⇧⌘C |
| Undo | ⌘Z |
| Redo | ⇧⌘Z |
| Delete selected annotation | Delete or Backspace |
| Close editor | Esc |
Homebrew:
brew install --cask bettershotDirect download:
Go to Releases and pick:
- Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3/M4/M5):
bettershot_*_aarch64.dmg - Intel Mac:
bettershot_*_x64.dmg
Open the DMG, drag Better Shot to Applications, and launch it.
First launch: macOS will ask for Screen Recording permission. Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording and enable Better Shot. Restart the app once.
Requirements: macOS 10.15 or later.
Everything runs on your Mac. No uploads, no account, no telemetry. Screenshots stay on your machine.
Build from source
Requirements: Node.js 18+, pnpm, Rust (latest stable)
git clone https://github.com/luongnv89/better-shot.git
cd better-shotpnpm installpnpm tauri buildThe installer lands in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/.
Development
pnpm tauri devpnpm lint:ci
pnpm test:rustContributing
Contributions are welcome. Read CONTRIBUTING.md before submitting a pull request.
Star history
Download → · Open an issue · BSD-3 Licensed