Screenshots and silent screen recording for Wayland, from one shortcut.
> [!WARNING] > **Early alpha.** Built for [NeferWL](https://github.com/bnema/neferwl), and works on other compositors with the standard capture protocols (see [Compatibility](#compatibility)). Expect bugs and breaking config changes. --- ## Usage Bind `nefercap` to a key in your compositor. For NeferWL: ```text bind.cmd+p = spawn nefercap ``` Press the key: a selector covers every monitor. Pick what to capture, press **Tab** to switch between screenshot and recording, then confirm. Chips at the top left show the mode (`SHOT` or `REC`) and the target (`R Region`, `M Monitor`, `W Workspace`). The active ones and the selection border take the mode color: cyan for screenshots, red for recordings. Each key press also shows a short toast in the center and pulses the border. While you drag a region, everything else fades out, leaving the region, its size and the guides. After a screenshot, a green frame briefly flashes over the captured area. It is drawn after the capture, so it never appears in the image. While recording on NeferWL, a border marks the target and a small **REC / Stop** HUD shows the time. Neither appears in the video. Press the key again, or click Stop, to finish the file. Other compositors show no indicator: the selector says so, and the same key (or `nefercap stop`) finishes the file. | Input | Action | | --- | --- | | Drag | Capture a rectangle | | Click | Capture the monitor | | `W`, then Enter | Capture the current workspace, or the monitor (with a warning) when there is none | | `M`, then Enter | Capture the monitor | | `1`–`9` | Pick that monitor | | `R` | Back to rectangle selection | | `G` | Show or hide the thirds guides | | `Tab` | Switch shot ⇄ rec | | `Esc` | Cancel | On NeferWL a workspace recording follows that workspace, even when you switch to another one. Elsewhere `W` offers only the workspace currently shown, and records the monitor. A monitor recording follows whatever the monitor shows. ## Features - **One shortcut.** Screenshot and recording share one selector; the same key stops a recording. - **Frozen screenshots.** The screenshot selector shows a still copy of the screen, and the screenshot is exactly that copy. - **Clean video.** With NeferWL the compositor keeps the border and HUD out of the recording. - **Clipboard.** Screenshots can be saved, copied, or both. - **Small footprint.** One capture in flight, reused buffers, no redraw while idle. Allocation tests guard the hot paths. - **Scriptable.** `nefercap screenshot` and `nefercap record` run without the selector. ## Configuration `~/.config/nefercap/config` (or `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/nefercap/config`): ```ini selector.grid = on selector.freeze = on screenshot.dir = ~/Pictures/Screenshots screenshot.output = file+clipboard video.dir = ~/Videos ``` | Key | Values | Default | | --- | --- | --- | | `selector.grid` | `on`, `off` | `on` | | `selector.freeze` | `on`, `off` | `on` | | `screenshot.dir` | absolute or `~/` path | `$XDG_PICTURES_DIR/Screenshots` | | `screenshot.output` | `file`, `file+clipboard`, `clipboard` | `file` | | `video.dir` | absolute or `~/` path | `$XDG_VIDEOS_DIR` | With `selector.freeze = on`, `nefercap shot` and the all-in-one selector in screenshot mode show the screen as it was when the selector opened, and capture that image. Press `F` in the selector to switch between the frozen and the live screen; the screenshot follows what is shown. Recording always selects and records the live screen. Rotated outputs, and outputs wider or taller than 4096 pixels, stay live. Unknown keys, duplicates and invalid values are reported before the selector opens. Files are private, named with a timestamp, never overwritten, and their path is printed on stdout. ## Commands ```sh nefercap # all-in-one: stop the recording, else open the selector nefercap shot # selector, screenshot only nefercap rec # selector, recording only nefercap stop # stop the active recording nefercap status # print the recording state nefercap version # print the version ``` Scripted commands never open the selector: ```sh nefercap outputs nefercap screenshot -output DP-1 -file shot.png nefercap screenshot -output DP-1 -region 0,0,1920x1080 -clipboard nefercap record -output DP-1 -fps 30 -duration 10s -file clip.mp4 ``` `nefercap -h` lists every flag. Regions use output-local logical coordinates. `-size WxH` sets an even output resolution for odd-sized sources. ## Requirements - Go 1.27 to build. - A Wayland compositor with `ext_image_copy_capture_manager_v1`, `ext_output_image_capture_source_manager_v1` and `zwlr_layer_shell_v1` v4. - Vulkan, libxkbcommon, linux-dmabuf and linux-drm-syncobj for the selector. - FFmpeg with `libx264` to record. - `wl-copy` (wl-clipboard) for clipboard screenshots. NeferWL's optional capture extension adds workspace and region sources and keeps the HUD out of the video. Without it nefercap uses only the standard protocols. ## Compatibility | Compositor | Screenshots, recording (outputs, regions) | Workspaces | Hidden workspace | Recording indicator | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | NeferWL | yes | yes | yes | yes, imposed by the compositor | | sway, river (wlroots ≥ 0.19), Hyprland, niri, COSMIC | assumed | assumed, where `ext-workspace-v1` exists: active only | no | no | | KDE Plasma | assumed | no | no | no | | GNOME | unsupported | no | no | no | Workspaces need `ext-workspace-v1`; with NeferWL's extension the selector outlines the workspace frame (a workspace smaller than its monitor), and the HUD sits in it (placed when the recording starts: if the workspace frame changes during the recording, the video follows it and the HUD stays in place). Without the extension `W` outlines the whole monitor and captures the workspace currently shown, as its monitor. Without the extension a region is cropped from the monitor frame. *Assumed* means it follows from the protocols the compositor advertises; only NeferWL is tested. A compositor may refuse a capture client; the capture then ends with an error. Output is SDR, and video is silent H.264 in fragmented MP4. Audio, pause and cursor capture are not supported. Rotated outputs (any non-normal output transform) are not supported: the capture fails with an error naming the transform. ## Install On Arch Linux, install from the AUR: ```sh paru -S nefercap-bin # latest release, pre-built paru -S nefercap-git # latest main, built from source ``` Pre-built archives are on the [releases page](https://git.bnema.dev/nefercap/releases). To build from a checkout: ```sh make bin # builds bin/nefercap make pkg # builds an Arch package of HEAD into dist/ ``` The packages install `/usr/bin/nefercap`: NeferWL allows that path to capture by default. Elsewhere (for example `~/.local/bin`, or `go run`), NeferWL refuses capture until root lists the path in `/etc/neferwl/capture-allow`. ## Development `internal/core` owns capture and selection state and imports only the standard library and `internal/ports`. `internal/adapters` holds Wayland, selector, HUD, PNG and FFmpeg code; `internal/app` wires them. ```sh make check make race make mocks-check staticcheck ./... ``` Test doubles are generated by Mockery v3. ## License GPL-3.0. See [LICENSE](LICENSE).