maim

lightweight screenshot utility for X11

TLDR

Capture full screenshot

$ maim [path/to/screenshot.png]

Capture selected region

$ maim --select [path/to/screenshot.png]

Capture to clipboard

$ maim --select | xclip -selection clipboard -target image/png

Capture active window

$ maim --window $(xdotool getactivewindow) [path/to/screenshot.png]

Capture with a delay of 5 seconds

$ maim --delay 5 [path/to/screenshot.png]

Capture as JPEG with quality setting

$ maim --format jpg --quality 7 [path/to/screenshot.jpg]

SYNOPSIS

maim [options] [file]

DESCRIPTION

maim (make image) is a lightweight screenshot utility for X11. It can capture the entire screen, a selected region, or a specific window, saving in various formats.

PARAMETERS

-s, --select

Interactively select region to capture

-i, --window ID

Capture specific window by ID

-d, --delay SECONDS

Delay before capture

-u, --hidecursor

Hide cursor in screenshot

-g, --geometry WxH+X+Y

Set capture geometry

-f, --format FORMAT

Output format (png, jpg, bmp, webp). Auto-detected from filename, defaults to png.

-m, --quality QUALITY

Compression quality (1-10). For lossy formats, lower means smaller file size and lower quality.

-B, --capturebackground

Capture content beneath the specified window as well.

-q, --quiet

Disable any unnecessary stderr output.

-k, --nokeyboard

Disable the ability to cancel selections with the keyboard.

-l, --highlight

Highlight the selection instead of outlining it.

CAVEATS

X11 only, does not work with Wayland. Region selection requires slop. Window capture often used with xdotool.