Yet another Windows screenshot tool, with very opinionated set of behaviors. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
A selection scheme inspired by Greenshot
Run greenflame.exe. The executable sits in the tray.
Press the Print Screen key, or left-click the tray icon to start an interactive capture. Alternatively, right-click the tray icon and choose a capture mode from the context menu.
In interactive mode, the screen is captured and a region is selected:
- Click and drag to select a rectangle (hold Alt to disable snapping).
- Ctrl + click ➜ select the window under the cursor.
- Shift + click ➜ select the whole monitor under the cursor.
- Shift+Ctrl + click ➜ select the whole desktop.
Once a region is selected:
- Drag the handles on the selection to resize (hold Alt to disable snapping).
- With no annotation tool selected (the default mode), click and drag inside the selection to move it (hold Alt to disable snapping).
- With no annotation tool selected, click and drag an annotation to select and move it.
- With no annotation tool selected, a selected line or arrow annotation shows draggable endpoint handles you can drag to reshape it.
- With no annotation tool selected, a selected rectangle annotation shows draggable resize handles on the corners and sides.
- Press B or use the toolbar to toggle the Brush tool on or off.
- Press H or use the toolbar to toggle the Highlighter tool on or off.
- Press L or use the toolbar to toggle the Line tool on or off.
- Press A or use the toolbar to toggle the Arrow tool on or off.
- Press R or use the toolbar to toggle the Rectangle tool on or off.
- Press F or use the toolbar to toggle the Filled Rectangle tool on or off.
- With an annotation tool active, right-click anywhere to open the active tool's color wheel at the cursor. Left-click a segment to select that color, or press Escape to dismiss the wheel.
- With the Brush, Highlighter, Line, Arrow, or Rectangle tool active, use mouse-wheel up/down or Ctrl+= / Ctrl+- to change stroke width from 1 to 50.
- With the Brush tool active, the overlay shows an anti-aliased circular size preview around the cursor hotspot.
- With the Highlighter tool active, the overlay shows an anti-aliased axis-aligned square size preview around the cursor hotspot.
- With the Line or Arrow tool active, the overlay shows an anti-aliased square size preview around the cursor hotspot aligned to the current line direction.
- The Rectangle and Filled Rectangle tools do not draw a cursor size preview overlay.
- Delete ➜ remove the selected annotation.
- Ctrl-Z ➜ undo the last region or annotation change.
- Ctrl-Shift-Z ➜ redo the last undone region or annotation change.
- Ctrl-S ➜ save directly (no dialog) to the configured default save folder as the configured format (default PNG), then close.
- Ctrl-Shift-S ➜ open Save As dialog, then save and close.
- Ctrl-Alt-S ➜ save directly (no dialog), copy the saved file to the clipboard, then close.
- Ctrl-Shift-Alt-S ➜ open Save As dialog, save, copy the saved file to the clipboard, then close.
- Ctrl-C ➜ copy the selection to the clipboard, then close.
- Escape ➜ cancel or go back.
Save As supports PNG, JPEG, and BMP.
All hotkeys use the Print Screen key with modifier combinations. They are also available from the tray icon's right-click context menu.
| Hotkey | Action |
|---|---|
| Prt Scrn | Start interactive capture (select a region) |
| Ctrl + Prt Scrn | Copy the current window to the clipboard |
| Shift + Prt Scrn | Copy the current monitor to the clipboard |
| Ctrl + Shift + Prt Scrn | Copy the full desktop to the clipboard |
| Alt + Prt Scrn | Recapture the last captured region (same screen coordinates) |
| Ctrl + Alt + Prt Scrn | Recapture the last captured window (wherever it is now) |
The last two hotkeys require a previous capture in the current session. If no previous capture exists, or if the previously captured window has been closed or minimized, a warning toast is shown.
With no parameters, Greenflame starts normally in the tray.
You can also run one-shot command-line modes (at most one mode per invocation):
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
-r, --region <x,y,w,h> |
Capture an explicit physical-pixel region |
-w, --window <name> |
Capture a visible top-level window whose title matches <name> (case-insensitive contains) |
-m, --monitor <id> |
Capture monitor by 1-based id |
-d, --desktop |
Capture the full virtual desktop |
-h, --help |
Show help and exit |
-v, --version |
Show version and exit |
Optional:
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
-o, --output <path> |
Output file path (valid only with a capture mode) |
-t, --format <png|jpg|jpeg|bmp> |
Output format override |
-f, --overwrite |
Allow replacing an existing explicit --output file |
Both --option=value and --option value forms are supported.
Examples:
greenflame.exe --desktop
greenflame.exe --desktop --format jpeg
greenflame.exe --monitor 2 --output "D:\shots\monitor2.png"
greenflame.exe --window "Notepad" --output "D:\shots\note" --format jpg
greenflame.exe --window "Notepad" --output "D:\shots\note.jpg" --overwrite
greenflame.exe --window="Notepad" --output "D:\shots\note"
greenflame.exe --region 1200,100,800,600A note on output format resolution
- If
--outputhas a supported extension (.png,.jpg,.jpeg,.bmp), that extension defines the format. - Otherwise, if
--formatis provided,--formatdefines the format. - Otherwise,
default_save_format(from[save]in the config) defines the format. - If
--outputextension conflicts with--format, the command fails. - If
--outputhas an unsupported extension (for example.tiff), the command fails. - If
--outputhas no extension, Greenflame appends one based on the resolved format.
Greenflame uses these process exit codes for command-line invocations. Non-zero codes are unique and not reused.
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
0 |
Success (includes --help, --version, and "already running" tray startup) |
1 |
Failed to register application window classes |
2 |
CLI argument parse/validation failed |
3 |
Failed to create tray window |
4 |
Failed to enforce single-instance tray mode |
5 |
--region capture requested but region data is missing |
6 |
--window matched no visible window |
7 |
--window matched multiple windows (ambiguous) |
8 |
--monitor capture requested but no monitors are available |
9 |
--monitor id is out of range |
10 |
Output path resolution/reservation failed |
11 |
Capture/save operation failed |
12 |
Matched window became unavailable before capture |
13 |
Matched window is minimized |
Greenflame reads ~/.config/greenflame/greenflame.ini (i.e. %USERPROFILE%\.config\greenflame\greenflame.ini).
| Section | Key | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
[ui] |
show_balloons |
true |
Show tray toast notifications after copy/save actions. |
[ui] |
show_selection_size_side_labels |
true |
Show selection-size labels outside the selection (width on top/bottom and height on left/right). |
[ui] |
show_selection_size_center_label |
true |
Show centered W x H selection-size label inside the selection. |
[ui] |
tool_size_overlay_duration_ms |
800 |
How long the centered tool-size overlay stays visible after a stroke-width change. 0 disables it. |
[tools] |
brush_width |
2 |
Default Brush/Highlighter/Line/Arrow/Rectangle stroke width in physical pixels. Runtime adjustments are clamped to 1..50 and persisted here. Filled rectangles ignore it. |
[tools] |
current_color |
0 |
Current annotation color slot index, clamped to 0..7. |
[tools] |
color_0 ... color_7 |
#000000, #ff0000, #00ff00, #0000ff, #ffff00, #ff00ff, #00ffff, #ffffff |
Annotation color wheel slots, starting at the top-right segment and moving clockwise. Values use #rrggbb. |
[tools] |
highlighter_current_color |
0 |
Current Highlighter color slot index, clamped to 0..5. |
[tools] |
highlighter_color_0 ... highlighter_color_5 |
#f7eb62, #7fe36a, #ffb44d, #ff79b9, #64c7ff, #c38cff |
Highlighter color wheel slots, starting at the top-right segment and moving clockwise. Values use #rrggbb. |
[tools] |
highlighter_opacity_percent |
50 |
Default Highlighter opacity for live preview, save output, and clipboard output. Values are clamped to 0..100. |
[save] |
default_save_dir |
%USERPROFILE%\Pictures\greenflame (runtime fallback when unset) |
Folder used by Ctrl-S, Ctrl-Alt-S, and CLI captures when --output is not provided. |
[save] |
last_save_as_dir |
Falls back to default_save_dir, then %USERPROFILE%\Pictures\greenflame |
Initial folder used by Ctrl-Shift-S and Ctrl-Shift-Alt-S (Save As). |
[save] |
default_save_format |
png |
Default image format for Ctrl-S, Ctrl-Alt-S, and CLI output paths without explicit extension. Accepted values: png, jpg/jpeg, bmp. |
[save] |
filename_pattern_region |
screenshot-${YYYY}-${MM}-${DD}_${hh}${mm}${ss} |
Default filename pattern for region captures. |
[save] |
filename_pattern_desktop |
screenshot-${YYYY}-${MM}-${DD}_${hh}${mm}${ss} |
Default filename pattern for desktop captures. |
[save] |
filename_pattern_monitor |
screenshot-${YYYY}-${MM}-${DD}_${hh}${mm}${ss}-monitor${monitor} |
Default filename pattern for monitor captures. |
[save] |
filename_pattern_window |
screenshot-${YYYY}-${MM}-${DD}_${hh}${mm}${ss}-${title} |
Default filename pattern for window captures. |
Example:
[ui]
show_balloons=true
show_selection_size_side_labels=true
show_selection_size_center_label=true
tool_size_overlay_duration_ms=800
[tools]
brush_width=2
current_color=0
color_0=#000000
color_1=#ff0000
color_2=#00ff00
color_3=#0000ff
color_4=#ffff00
color_5=#ff00ff
color_6=#00ffff
color_7=#ffffff
highlighter_current_color=0
highlighter_color_0=#f7eb62
highlighter_color_1=#7fe36a
highlighter_color_2=#ffb44d
highlighter_color_3=#ff79b9
highlighter_color_4=#64c7ff
highlighter_color_5=#c38cff
highlighter_opacity_percent=50
[save]
default_save_dir=C:\Users\you\Pictures\greenflame
last_save_as_dir=D:\shots\scratch
default_save_format=png
filename_pattern_region=screenshot-${YYYY}-${MM}-${DD}_${hh}${mm}${ss}
filename_pattern_desktop=screenshot-${YYYY}-${MM}-${DD}_${hh}${mm}${ss}
filename_pattern_monitor=screenshot-${YYYY}-${MM}-${DD}_${hh}${mm}${ss}-monitor${monitor}
filename_pattern_window=screenshot-${YYYY}-${MM}-${DD}_${hh}${mm}${ss}-${title}Saved files use one pattern per capture type and Greenshot-style ${VARIABLE} placeholders.
| Variable | Expansion | Example |
|---|---|---|
${YYYY} |
4-digit year | 2026 |
${YY} |
2-digit year | 26 |
${MM} |
2-digit month | 02 |
${DD} |
2-digit day | 21 |
${hh} |
2-digit hour (24h) | 14 |
${mm} |
2-digit minute | 30 |
${ss} |
2-digit second | 25 |
${title} |
Sanitized window title (spaces and invalid filename chars become _; max 50 chars; falls back to window) |
My_App |
${monitor} |
1-based monitor number | 2 |
${num} |
Incrementing counter (6-digit, zero-padded, next available by directory scan) | 000042 |
| Capture type | Default pattern | Example output |
|---|---|---|
| Region | screenshot-${YYYY}-${MM}-${DD}_${hh}${mm}${ss} |
screenshot-2026-02-21_143025 |
| Desktop | screenshot-${YYYY}-${MM}-${DD}_${hh}${mm}${ss} |
screenshot-2026-02-21_143025 |
| Monitor | screenshot-${YYYY}-${MM}-${DD}_${hh}${mm}${ss}-monitor${monitor} |
screenshot-2026-02-21_143025-monitor2 |
| Window | screenshot-${YYYY}-${MM}-${DD}_${hh}${mm}${ss}-${title} |
screenshot-2026-02-21_143025-My_App |
- Build instructions: docs/build.md
- Test instructions: docs/testing.md
- Agent-specific repository rules: AGENTS.md
MIT License