What is capcap?
capcap is a native macOS menu-bar screenshot tool built with Swift 5.9, licensed MIT and requiring macOS 14 or later. Its signature gesture is a double-tap of the Command key, which captures immediately; window and region selection snap precisely, a floating editor does annotation and beautifying in one place, and long screenshots are stitched together as you scroll. It can also pin a capture on screen and upload it to an image host you supply yourself. It lives in the menu bar only, not in the Dock, with no telemetry, no subscription and zero third-party dependencies.
Verified product facts
- Type
- screenshot toolEditorially reviewed
- Platform
- macOS
- Pricing
- Open sourceDeveloper-stated
- Open source
- Yes
- Relationship to Nuanyue
- Third-party product — not published by NuanyueEditorially reviewed
- Licence
- MIT
- Current version
- 1.7.21Developer-stated
- Official website
- capcap.skyrin.fun
Last updated . Facts marked developer-stated come from the developer and are not independently confirmed; editorially reviewed marks a Nuanyue judgement.
Key features
What capcap does at a glance.
Double-tap the Command key to capture immediately
Window and region selection
With pixel-level precision and edge snapping
Long screenshots, stitched together while you scroll
Floating editor for annotation and beautifying
Arrows, numbers, mosaic, highlight, text
Pin a capture on screen
Upload to your own image host
For a shareable link
What you can use capcap for
- Capturing a window or region without reaching for a mouse gesture first
- Taking a long screenshot of a page that does not fit on screen
Who is capcap for?
- People who take screenshots all day and want a keyboard gesture, not a drag
- Users who want annotation, pinning and long capture in one app rather than three
Who is capcap not for?
- Windows or Linux — capcap is macOS only
Strengths and trade-offs
What capcap does well, and what to weigh before choosing it. Points marked developer-stated come from the developer’s own material and have not been independently confirmed.
Strengths
- Free and open source under the MIT licence, with no subscription and no telemetry.
- Double-tapping the Command key captures immediately, so taking a screenshot does not start by moving the mouse.
- Long screenshots are stitched together as you scroll, which handles content taller than the screen.
- The floating editor does annotation and beautifying in one place: arrows, numbers, mosaic, highlight and text layers over the capture.
Trade-offs
- Requires macOS 14 or later and Swift 5.9; there is no Windows or Linux build.
- Cloud upload is bring-your-own: you connect your own image host rather than getting a hosted link out of the box.
- The primary README is written in Chinese, so the authoritative documentation is not in English.Editorially reviewed
What it does
capcap is a menu-bar screenshot tool. The gesture is the reason to look at it: double-tap the Command key and it captures. From there, window selection snaps to what you clicked and region selection is pixel-precise — the README’s framing is that you point, not that you drag.
What happens after the capture is the other half. A floating editor does annotation and beautifying in one place: arrows, numbers, mosaic, highlight and text layers stacked over the image. Long screenshots are stitched together as you scroll, so content taller than the screen is one file rather than several. And a capture can be pinned on screen, which is what you want when comparing two regions while you work.
Where it fits
It lives in the menu bar and not in the Dock, which keeps it out of the way. The project is explicit about what it does not do: no telemetry, no subscription, and zero third-party dependencies.
Upload is the one place you have to bring something. To get a shareable link you connect your own image host — there is no hosted link service built in. If you want that handled for you, a commercial tool such as CleanShot X includes it.
Two caveats worth knowing: it requires macOS 14 or later and has no Windows or Linux build. And the primary README is written in Chinese, so the authoritative documentation is not in English — the repository links translated versions, but those are the translations.
Questions about capcap
How do I take a screenshot in capcap?
Double-tap the Command key. Window one-click snapping and pixel-level region selection are available once it opens.
Can I capture something taller than the screen?
Yes. Long screenshots are stitched together while you scroll.
Does capcap upload my screenshots anywhere?
Not by itself. There is no telemetry, and to get a cloud link you connect your own image host.
Which macOS versions does capcap support?
macOS 14 or later.
Alternatives to capcap
Apps that could replace this one — the same job, a different trade-off.
CleanShot X
Discover a superior way to capture your Mac's screen.
Both are Mac screenshot tools with annotation, pinning and scrolling capture. CleanShot X is a paid commercial app; capcap is free and open source with bring-your-own hosting.
Capso
Open-source screenshot and screen recording tool with annotations, OCR, and webcam overlays.
Both are free, open-source menu-bar screenshot tools for macOS. Capso is lighter; capcap adds long capture, pinning and annotation.
CapSoftware
An open-source alternative to Loom.
Both capture the screen. Cap Software is built around recording and sharing; capcap is built around a keyboard gesture, annotation and pinning.
Links
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the sources below. Last updated .
- capcap — official websiteGrade B
- capcap — source repositoryGrade D
