Features

Region capture

Press the region shortcut and drag to select any part of the screen. Release to capture. Depending on your After capture setting, the capture goes to the preview folder, opens in the editor, or is just copied.

Mac

⌘⇧2

Windows

CtrlShift3

• Default hotkey differs by key, not just modifier: ⌘⇧2 on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+3 on Windows (⌘⇧3 is reserved by macOS)
• Selection dimensions are shown while selecting
• Esc cancels before release
• Move the pointer to another monitor to switch screens
• Also available from the menu bar or tray ('Capture Region') and the Quick Access Panel
• Region captures record a short burst of frames you can scrub afterwards (see Multi-frame capture)

Region capture in the docs →

Freeze the screen

Press Space during a region or OCR selection to freeze the screen, then refine your selection while hover states, tooltips and menus stay put. Press Space again to return to the live view. A separate shortcut opens region capture already frozen.

Mac

⌘⇧X

Windows

CtrlShiftX

• Space toggles freeze/live during region and OCR selection. A hint pill in the overlay shows the current state
• 'Region capture (frozen)' shortcut opens the overlay with the screen already frozen: ⌘⇧X / Ctrl+Shift+X (X rather than F because macOS 26 uses ⌘⇧F for window tiling)
• Also in the tray as 'Capture Region (Frozen)'

Freeze the screen in the docs →

Live capture preview

While you select a region, a miniature of the screen at the top of the overlay shows your pointer position and the selection size, so you can line up the selection precisely.

• Shown at the top of the region-capture overlay
• Shows pointer position and selection size
• Added in 1.2.0, along with lower pointer latency on macOS and a crosshair with an opaque halo

Live capture preview in the docs →

Window capture

Press the window shortcut, hover a window, and click to capture just that window. Other windows are left out.

Mac

⌘⇧W

Windows

CtrlShiftW

• Captures the whole window including its title bar, at its current size
• Esc cancels before clicking
• macOS: 'Window shadows' setting (Settings → Captures, Mac only, on by default) controls whether macOS drop shadows are included in single-frame captures

Window capture in the docs →

Full-screen capture

Press the screen shortcut to capture the entire screen your pointer is on, with no selection step.

Mac

⌘⇧1

Windows

CtrlShift1

• Captures the monitor under the mouse cursor
• 'Show cursor in timed and fullscreen captures' setting, off by default

Full-screen capture in the docs →

Composite screen capture (experimental)

Captures the whole screen with the desktop and each window as separate, movable image layers in the editor, so you can rearrange or remove windows afterwards. It's experimental: turn on experimental features in Settings first.

Mac

⌘⇧0

Windows

CtrlShift0

• Hidden unless experimental features are enabled (the hotkey is registered only then, and the tray item shows a 🧪 label)
• Captures the screen under the cursor: desktop background as one layer plus every window that intersects that screen as its own layer
• Window shadows are baked into each window layer

Composite screen capture (experimental) in the docs →

Scrolling capture

Start a scrolling capture, select the scrollable area, then scroll the content yourself. hypershot stitches the frames into one tall image with a live preview. Click Done when you're finished.

Mac

⌘⇧J

Windows

CtrlShiftJ

• Its own capture mode: ⌘⇧J / Ctrl+Shift+J, 'Scrolling Capture' in the menu bar or tray, or the Quick Access Panel
• Samples about 8.3 times per second and stitches by pixel alignment
• An on-screen guide tells you how it's going: how much it has captured, when to slow down, and when it has reached the end
• Maximum height is limited by your GPU's maximum texture size
• Warns when the selection is too small to stitch reliably
• Works best scrolling vertically in one direction

Scrolling capture in the docs →

Delayed (timed) capture

Starts a countdown before the capture fires, so you can open a menu or trigger a hover state first. There are separate delayed modes for region, full screen and window.

Mac

⌘⇧7

Windows

CtrlShift7

• Delayed region ⌘⇧7 / Ctrl+Shift+7, delayed screen ⌘⇧8 / Ctrl+Shift+8, delayed window ⌘⇧9 / Ctrl+Shift+9
• Delay length set in Settings → Captures → Capture delay: 1–30 seconds, default 5
• Region and window: the countdown starts after you select. Screen: the countdown starts immediately
• An on-screen countdown overlay shows the remaining seconds. Esc or Cancel aborts it
• Optional cursor in timed captures ('Show cursor in timed and fullscreen captures', off by default)
• Also in the menu bar or tray ('Capture with Delay') and the Quick Access Panel

Delayed (timed) capture in the docs →

Quick Access Panel

A floating grid of every capture action, plus shortcuts to the Folder Pane and Settings. Open it with a shortcut, from the tray, or by clicking hypershot's Dock/taskbar icon.

Mac

⌘⇧P

Windows

CtrlShiftP

• Tiles: Region, Window, Screen, Scrolling, OCR, Scan Codes, Delayed, Folder Pane, Settings (3×3 grid)
• The OCR tile depends on OCR being available on the platform
• Clicking the Dock (Mac) or taskbar (Windows) icon while hypershot is running opens it. An open editor comes forward instead
• Default ⌘⇧P / Ctrl+Shift+P (not Q, because macOS reserves ⌘⇧Q for Log Out)

Quick Access Panel in the docs →

Multi-frame region capture

A region capture records a short burst of frames, not just one instant. Hold the mouse button after drawing your selection to keep recording, then release. In the editor, pick the exact frame you wanted.

• Capture window length: 0–5 seconds, default 1 second (Settings → Captures → Capture window). 0 = single-frame capture
• Records at up to 30 frames per second, stepping down if the machine can't keep up
• Identical and near-identical frames are collapsed, so a static screen doesn't produce a redundant timeline
• Multi-frame captures show a frame-count badge on their preview-folder card
• Works in region capture. Window, screen and composite captures are single-frame

Multi-frame region capture in the docs →

Frame timeline

For multi-frame captures, the editor's Timeline tool shows a thumbnail strip with a playhead. Drag or click to scrub, or use the arrow keys to step frame by frame and land on the exact moment.

Mac

F

Windows

F

• Timeline tool button appears only when the capture has more than one frame
• Tool shortcut: F
• ← / → step one frame while the Timeline tool is active
• Click a thumbnail to jump there, or drag the playhead to scrub

Frame timeline in the docs →

Arrows

Drag to draw an arrow, then shape it on the canvas. Bend it, taper the tail, or resize the head with handles that appear when it's selected.

Mac

A

Windows

A

• Shortcut: A
• Style presets: Normal, Pointy, Fancy
• Toggles: Rounded corners, Double Head
• On-canvas handles: start/end, bend (curve), body width, tail taper, head taper, head width
• Shift-drag constrains to 45° angles
• Optional drop shadow

Arrows in the docs →

Lines

Draw straight lines, then drag the center control point to curve them into a smooth Bézier.

Mac

L

Windows

L

• Shortcut: L
• Width 0.1–40 px
• Cap: Round or Square
• Shift-drag snaps to 45°
• Optional drop shadow

Lines in the docs →

Rectangles and ellipses

Draw boxes and circles to frame UI elements, either outlined or filled. Hold Shift for a perfect square or circle.

• Rectangle shortcut R. Ellipse shortcut O
• Border width 0.1–40 px
• Fill: Open (outline) or Filled
• Rectangle corners: Sharp or Rounded
• Optional drop shadow

Rectangles and ellipses in the docs →

Text labels

Click and type to add labels. Choose plain, outlined or boxed text. Boxed text picks a readable text color automatically based on the box color.

Mac

T

Windows

T

• Shortcut: T
• Size 8–300
• Styles: Standard, Outlined, Box
• Alignment: Left, Center, Right
• Bold / Italic / Underline (⌘/Ctrl+B, I, U) and Strikethrough
• Double-click to edit existing text
• Optional drop shadow

Text labels in the docs →

Sticky notes

Drop a sticky note on the screenshot for comments and feedback. The note grows as you type, and you can recolor it to sort feedback.

Mac

N

Windows

N

• Shortcut: N
• Default color #FCE19C (classic yellow). Any color
• Font size 8–300. Alignment Left/Center/Right
• Resizable. Height auto-grows with text

Sticky notes in the docs →

Numbered steps

Click to drop numbered markers that count up automatically (1, 2, 3…), which is useful for step-by-step guides. The number color adjusts automatically so it stays readable.

Mac

C

Windows

C

• Shortcut: C
• Styles: Sticker (default), Filled, Open
• Size 10–999 px
• Deleting a counter doesn't renumber the others
• Optional drop shadow

Numbered steps in the docs →

Pen

Draw freehand strokes that vary in width with your drawing speed, or with stylus pressure on a tablet.

Mac

P

Windows

P

• Shortcut: P
• Size 0.5–40 px
• Pressure 0–100 (default 70). 0 = uniform width

Pen in the docs →

Highlighter with text-line snapping

A semi-transparent marker for highlighting. It detects lines of text in your screenshot and snaps the brush to the line height, so highlights come out clean. Hold Alt to draw freehand.

Mac

H

Windows

H

• Shortcut: H
• Size 0.5–120 px. Pressure 0–100
• Text-line detection uses the OS text recognizer (macOS Vision, Windows text detection)
• Hold Alt to disable snapping. Hold Shift to constrain to 45°

Highlighter with text-line snapping in the docs →

Spotlight

Draw a spotlight and everything outside it is dimmed, which draws the eye to one area. You can add several spotlights.

Mac

S

Windows

S

• Shortcut: S
• Shapes: Ellipse (default) or Rectangle
• One overlay color shared by all spotlights in the document

Spotlight in the docs →

Redact

Hide sensitive information by dragging over it. Choose pixelate, blur, or a solid Secure block. For truly sensitive data, use Secure.

Mac

X

Windows

X

• Shortcut: X
• Effects: Pixelate (default), Blur, Secure (solid block)
• Intensity 0–100%
• Blur and pixelate may be partly reversible. Secure fully hides the content

Redact in the docs →

Add images

Place logos, icons or other images on your screenshot, either from a file with the Media button or by pasting from the clipboard.

• Media toolbar button opens a file picker
• Paste an image (⌘/Ctrl+V) to add it as an image layer
• Resize keeps the aspect ratio. Flip from the right-click menu
• Optional drop shadow
• Importable formats depend on the OS image codecs

Add images in the docs →

Colors: favorites, history and eyedropper

Pick any color with the wheel, a hex code or an opacity setting. Save up to 6 favorites and reuse your recent colors. With the color selector open, press I to sample a color from anywhere on screen, including other apps.

Mac

I

Windows

I

• Up to 6 favorites, persisted across sessions
• Recent colors shown (6 at a time)
• Eyedropper: press I while the color selector is open. A zoomed 7×7 pixel grid with a hex readout follows the cursor. Esc cancels
• Each tool remembers its last color
• Copy the current color's hex value to the clipboard

Colors: favorites, history and eyedropper in the docs →

Drop shadows on annotations

Most annotation tools have a shadow toggle that lifts the annotation off the screenshot. You can tune the shadow's blur, offset and color per document.

• Per-annotation shadow on/off (not on Spotlight or Redact)
• Annotation shadow blur 0–50, X/Y offset −50 to 50, and color (Settings → Captures, with a document open)

Drop shadows on annotations in the docs →

Select, move, resize, rotate, flip

Select annotations with a click, Shift-click or a marquee, then move, resize, rotate or flip them. Copy, cut and paste annotations, or paste images straight onto the canvas.

Mac

V

Windows

V

• Select tool: V. Select all ⌘A / Ctrl+A. Esc deselects
• Shift while resizing keeps proportions. Rotation is free-angle (no snapping)
• Flip Horizontal/Vertical from the right-click menu
• Cut/Copy/Paste annotations (⌘/Ctrl+X, C, V). Pasted copies are offset
• Copy/paste works within one document, including across frames

Select, move, resize, rotate, flip in the docs →

Undo and redo

Every edit can be undone, including moves, property changes and frame changes. The history holds 500 steps by default.

Mac

⌘Z

Windows

CtrlZ

• Undo ⌘Z / Ctrl+Z. Redo ⌘⇧Z on Mac. Windows uses the platform redo keys (Ctrl+Y / Ctrl+Shift+Z)
• Undo stack limit default 500, adjustable 1–2000 (Settings → General)
• Viewport pan/zoom and tool changes aren't recorded

Undo and redo in the docs →

Zoom and pan

Zoom in for detail work and pan around large captures.

• Zoom in ⌘= / Ctrl+=, zoom out ⌘− / Ctrl+−, actual size ⌘0 / Ctrl+0, fit to window ⌘9 / Ctrl+9
• Hold Space and drag to pan. There's also a Pan tool
• 'Prefer 100% zoom' setting opens captures at actual size instead of fit-to-window

Zoom and pan in the docs →

Artboard: size, crop and aspect ratio

The artboard is the output canvas around your capture. Drag its handles, type exact dimensions, or lock the aspect ratio to crop or frame the shot.

Mac

B

Windows

B

• Artboard tool shortcut: B
• Auto-fits the capture by default
• A region capture keeps the whole display it was taken on, so the artboard drags back out past your selection, even after you reopen the .hypercapture. Window and scrolling captures keep only what they captured
• Exact width/height input and an aspect-ratio lock
• Maximum 8192 px per side
• Reset Artboard (editor menu) clears background, chrome, shadow, corner radius and padding, and keeps annotations

Artboard: size, crop and aspect ratio in the docs →

Backgrounds

Put your screenshot on a solid color, a gradient or an image, with adjustable padding around it.

• Fill types: None (default, transparent), Solid, Gradient, Image
• Gradient: start/end colors, angle, optional noise texture, built-in presets
• Padding defaults to 75 px per side. Drag the canvas handles to adjust it

Backgrounds in the docs →

Window chrome

Wrap your screenshot in a macOS-style title bar with traffic lights, or a Windows-style title bar, for a polished presentation look.

• Styles: macOS, Windows
• Click the active style again to remove the chrome

Window chrome in the docs →

Drop shadow

Add a soft drop shadow beneath the screenshot, with control over opacity, angle, blur, distance and color.

• Defaults: opacity 35%, angle 90°, blur 90 px, distance 15 px, black

Drop shadow in the docs →

Rounded corners

Round the corners of the screenshot and of the background independently. Hold Shift to link the two.

• Inner (capture) radius and background radius are independent, both default 0
• Hold Shift while dragging to keep a linked 1.4× ratio between them

Rounded corners in the docs →

Rotate and flip the capture

Rotate the captured image 90° in either direction, or flip it horizontally or vertically, from the editor's Edit menu.

Mac

⌘R

Windows

CtrlR

• Rotate clockwise ⌘R / Ctrl+R. Rotate counter-clockwise ⌘⇧R / Ctrl+Shift+R
• Flip Capture Horizontal / Vertical (no default shortcut)

Transparent or flattened export

Choose whether exports keep transparency, so PNG/WebP drop cleanly onto anything, or flatten the editor background color in for an opaque image that's ready for Slack or email.

• Settings → Captures → Export background: Transparent (default) or Background
• Per-document background color is configurable

Copy to clipboard

Click Copy in the editor's utility bar to put the finished image on the clipboard, then paste it into Slack, docs, email or a design tool. Or have every capture copied automatically as it's taken.

• Copied at the current export scale
• Optional 'Copy to Clipboard' after every capture (Settings → Captures → After capture)
• ⌘C / Ctrl+C copies the selected annotations, to paste into another capture

Copy to clipboard in the docs →

After capture: preview, edit, or just copy

Choose what happens after each capture. It can drop into the preview folder, open straight in the editor, or skip both and go to your clipboard with a click-to-edit toast.

• Settings → Captures → After capture: Preview, Edit, Only Copy
• Separate 'Copy to Clipboard' checkbox for the Preview and Edit modes. It's always on in Only Copy
• Only Copy shows a toast you can click to open the capture in the editor

After capture: preview, edit, or just copy in the docs →

Preview folder (capture history)

After each capture, the image warps into a small folder in the corner of your screen. Hover to fan out your recent captures, then edit, copy, save, drag, reveal or delete them without opening the editor.

Mac

⌘⇧L

Windows

CtrlShiftH

• Show/hide shortcut ('Show capture history'): ⌘⇧L on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+H on Windows (⌘⇧H is Hide Others on macOS)
• Card actions: Edit, Save As…, Copy, Drag, Dismiss, Reveal in Finder/Explorer, Delete. Double-click a card to open it in the editor
• Delete to Trash or permanently, per card or delete-all. 'Delete captures' setting: Ask every time / Move to Trash / Delete permanently
• Position: Bottom-left (default) or Bottom-right
• Multi-frame captures show a frame-count badge
• Appears on the screen you captured on and follows the cursor between monitors
• Also in the tray: 'Show/Hide Folder Pane', Open Recent

Preview folder (capture history) in the docs →

Editable .hypercapture files

Captures are saved as .hypercapture files that keep every frame, annotation and setting, so you can reopen them and keep editing. Finder and Explorer show thumbnails, and double-clicking opens the file in hypershot.

Mac

⌘S

Windows

CtrlS

• ⌘S / Ctrl+S saves the document. ⌘⇧S / Ctrl+Shift+S saves a copy as .hypercapture
• Single file (a ZIP archive internally) with an embedded thumbnail
• Default save folder: Pictures/hypershot (change it in Settings → General → Save directory)
• Reopen from the tray 'Open…' and 'Open Recent', Finder or Explorer
• Unreadable files show an error with Show in folder and Delete options instead of failing silently
• Capture storage inside the file: WebP (default, quality 85, adjustable to lossless) or PNG. Resolution: Original (default) or 1×

Editable .hypercapture files in the docs →

Export to image

Export the finished screenshot as PNG, JPEG or another format your OS supports, at 25–200% scale and Lo/HiDPI resolution.

Mac

⌘E

Windows

CtrlE

• Export Image… ⌘E / Ctrl+E (editor File menu) or the Export button in the utility bar
• Formats: PNG and JPEG always. WebP, HEIC, TIFF and BMP when the OS provides a writer (HEIC typically macOS)
• Export scale: 25%, 50%, 100%, 200%
• Export resolution: LoDPI or HiDPI (default HiDPI)
• Export/copy compression quality 1–100% (default 90)

Export to image in the docs →

Native share

Click Share to send the screenshot through your OS share sheet: AirDrop, Messages, Mail and more on Mac, or Nearby sharing and installed apps on Windows.

• Share button in the editor's utility bar
• Uses the macOS share sheet and the Windows share panel
• Creates a temporary file for the share

Native share in the docs →

Drag and drop out

Drag the finished image straight into Slack, a document or a browser upload field, from the editor, a preview-folder card or a pinned image.

• 'Drag to another app' handle in the editor's utility bar
• Preview-folder cards drag as a native OS drag (macOS and Windows)
• Pinned images have a drag control

Drag and drop out in the docs →

Pin to screen

Pin a screenshot as a floating, always-on-top image to keep it in view as a reference while you work. Resize it, move it, lock it in place, copy it or drag it out.

• 'Pin to screen' button in the editor's utility bar. It pins at 100% scale
• Frameless, always-on-top window with rounded corners. Resizing keeps the image aspect ratio
• Hover controls: scale %, copy, drag, lock, close
• Lock stops it being moved or resized

Open existing images

Open any PNG, JPEG or other image in hypershot to annotate and style it like a fresh capture.

• Tray 'Open…' accepts .hypercapture and image files (png, jpg/jpeg, webp, tiff/tif, gif, bmp)
• Images open as new hypercapture documents
• Drag-and-drop import on macOS

OCR: copy text from the screen

Press the OCR shortcut and drag over any text on screen, even in images, videos or apps that block selection. The recognized text goes straight to your clipboard.

Mac

⌘⇧O

Windows

CtrlShiftO

• Default ⌘⇧O / Ctrl+Shift+O. Also in the tray and Quick Access Panel
• Uses the OS text recognizer: macOS Vision, Windows OCR APIs. Hidden if unavailable
• Space toggles freeze while selecting
• Settings → OCR: open the text in an editor after copying (on by default, or a chosen app), and Remove line breaks (off by default)

OCR: copy text from the screen in the docs →

OCR on an existing capture

In the editor, set the artboard around some text and click the OCR button to copy that text from a capture you've already taken.

• Toolbar button 'OCR Artboard — copy text to clipboard'
• Reads the area inside the current artboard crop

OCR on an existing capture in the docs →

Scan QR codes and barcodes

Press the scan shortcut and hypershot freezes your screens and decodes every QR code and barcode it finds. Each code gets a callout with Copy (and Open for links). If there's only one code, it's copied automatically.

Mac

⌘⇧B

Windows

CtrlShiftB

• Default ⌘⇧B / Ctrl+Shift+B. Also in the menu bar or tray and the Quick Access Panel
• Scans every connected screen, starting with the one under the cursor
• Decoding is built into hypershot (zxing-cpp), not an OS feature, so it works the same on Mac and Windows
• Handles QR codes plus common barcodes (the decoder covers formats such as Code 128, EAN-13, Data Matrix and PDF417)
• Recent Codes submenu in the tray keeps copied/opened codes, newest first, up to 50. Wi-Fi and one-time-password codes are never kept. You can turn history off or clear it in Settings

Scan QR codes and barcodes in the docs →

Custom global shortcuts

Every capture action has a global shortcut you can rebind in Settings → Shortcuts. hypershot detects conflicts with macOS system shortcuts and other apps live, and warns you instead of silently swapping your choice.

• Defaults use one family: ⌘⇧ on Mac, Ctrl+Shift on Windows (Win+Shift combos are reserved by the Windows shell)
• Defaults avoid OS-reserved combos (⌘⇧3/4/5/6, ⌘⇧H, ⌘Space)
• Records exactly the keys you press, including system shortcuts, with a keycap chooser for combos the OS intercepts
• Windows conflict guidance (e.g. Print Screen / Snipping Tool) with a link to the relevant Windows setting
• Reset to defaults

Custom global shortcuts in the docs →

Reticle styles

Choose how the selection looks while you capture: a clean Simple border, the animated Intelligence glow, frosted Glass, or a Rainbow sweep.

• Styles: Simple (default), Intelligence, Glass, Rainbow
• Settings → Appearance → Reticle style
• Glass shows a warning that it may affect capture performance

Reticle styles in the docs →

Theme, accent color and UI scale

Use light, dark or auto theme, pick one of 11 accent colors, and scale the interface from 75% to 150%.

• Theme: Auto (default), Light, Dark
• Accent presets: Cyan (default), Blue, Purple, Pink, Red, Orange, Amber, Yellow, Lime, Green, Teal
• UI scale presets 75%, 100%, 125%, 150%. Applies immediately

Theme, accent color and UI scale in the docs →

Native on Mac and Windows

hypershot runs in the macOS menu bar and the Windows system tray, with the same tools, the same platform-matched shortcuts, and the same .hypercapture files on both.

• macOS 14.4 (Sonoma) or later. Separate Apple Silicon and Intel downloads
• Windows 10 or later. Installer and MSIX package
• macOS needs Screen Recording permission (and Accessibility for some hotkeys). Windows needs no permissions
• .hypercapture files are cross-platform

Native on Mac and Windows in the docs →

Finder and Explorer previews

.hypercapture files show real thumbnails in Finder and File Explorer. On Mac, select one and press Space to Quick Look it.

• macOS: Quick Look extension. Enable it in System Settings → Extensions → Quick Look (a reboot may be needed)
• Windows: thumbnail handler installed automatically. Works in all Explorer view modes

Finder and Explorer previews in the docs →

7-day free trial, then a license

Try every feature free for 7 days with no credit card. Then buy a Lifetime or version license. Each license covers 3 devices, and you can manage them yourself on the web.

• Trial: 7 days, full features
• License types: Lifetime, Version (e.g. v1.x)
• 3 device activations per license (FAQ)
• Self-serve device deactivation at hypernuclear.com/license/manage
• After the trial or license ends you can still edit existing captures, but new captures are blocked

7-day free trial, then a license in the docs →