LinuxCommandLibrary

spectacle

Capture desktop screenshots

TLDR

Capture a screenshot of the entire desktop

$ spectacle
copy

Capture a screenshot of the active window
$ spectacle [[-a|--activewindow]]
copy

Capture a screenshot of a specific region
$ spectacle [[-r|--region]]
copy

Start another Spectacle instance so that you can screenshot Spectacle itself
$ spectacle [[-i|--new-instance]]
copy

SYNOPSIS

spectacle [options] [filename]

PARAMETERS

--version
    Display version information.

-h, --help
    Display help message.

-b, --noborder
    Do not include window borders in the capture (only effective in Window capture mode).

-f, --fullscreen
    Capture the entire screen.

-w, --window
    Capture the current active window.

-r, --region
    Capture a rectangular region.

-o, --output filename
    Save the capture directly to the specified file (instead of showing the GUI).

-n, --nonotify
    Do not show notification after capture.

-c, --clipboard
    Copy image directly to the clipboard.

-d, --delay seconds
    Delay the capture by the specified number of seconds.

--background
    Start in background. Only possible without GUI.

DESCRIPTION

Spectacle is a versatile and user-friendly screen capture utility primarily developed for the KDE Plasma desktop environment. It allows users to capture the entire screen, a single window, a rectangular region, or a freehand selection. Spectacle provides a graphical interface for selecting the capture area and offers options to delay the capture, add annotations, and automatically save the image to a variety of formats (e.g., PNG, JPG, BMP). It is designed for ease of use and provides a streamlined workflow for capturing and sharing screenshots. It offers configurable keyboard shortcuts for rapid screenshot capture of areas such as fullscreen to enhance productivity.

While Spectacle excels within the KDE Plasma environment, it can also be used, though perhaps with reduced functionality or reliance on KDE frameworks, on other Linux desktops environments as well.

CONFIGURATION

Spectacle's settings can be configured via the KDE System Settings application, allowing you to customize keyboard shortcuts, default save locations, and other preferences. It is recommended to review and customize these settings to optimize your workflow.

INTEGRATION

Spectacle
seamlessly integrates with other KDE applications, such as Klipper (clipboard manager) and image editors like KolourPaint. This allows for quick and easy manipulation and sharing of captured screenshots.

HISTORY

Spectacle is the successor to the older KSnapshot utility in KDE Plasma. The development focus was to provide a more modern and streamlined user experience with better integration into the Plasma desktop. Spectacle is actively maintained as part of the KDE project.

SEE ALSO

ksnapshot(1), gnome-screenshot(1)

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