SnapTray is a free, lightweight screenshot and screen recording tool for macOS and Windows. It lives in your system tray and lets you capture regions, annotate screenshots, pin images, record your screen to MP4/GIF/WebP, and share results instantly.

Yes, SnapTray is completely free and open source under the MIT license. There are no ads, subscriptions, or hidden costs.

How is SnapTray different from Snipping Tool?

SnapTray goes beyond basic screen capture by offering on-screen annotation tools, pin windows for always-on-top references, screen canvas mode, MP4 recording with audio, GIF/WebP export, OCR text extraction, auto blur for sensitive content, QR code scanning, and a full CLI for automation.

Capture. Annotate. Record.

Fast Screenshot Tool for Mac & Windows

SnapTray lives in your system tray and launches instantly when you need precise captures, polished annotations, and high-quality recordings.

Download View on GitHub

macOS 14+ Windows 10+ Qt 6.10.1

Feature Set

Built for fast, professional capture pipelines

From one-shot screenshots to long recording sessions, SnapTray keeps every operation inside a single tray-native workflow.

Capture

Region Capture

Precision crosshair and magnifier targeting. Press F2 to start instantly.

Canvas

Screen Canvas

Draw directly on top of your desktop with Ctrl+F2 / Cmd+F2 and annotate in place.

Pinning

Pin to Screen

Keep reference images visible above other windows. Resize and rotate freely.

Annotation

Rich Tooling

Arrow, pencil, marker, shapes, text, mosaic, step badges, and emoji stickers.

Automation

OCR + Auto Blur

Extract text and automatically mask sensitive faces or credentials for safer sharing.

Detection

Window Detection

Quickly select windows without manually dragging exact bounds.

Recording

Screen Recording

Capture any region and export MP4 with optional audio, or GIF/WebP for silent clips.

Utility

Color Picker

Pick on-screen colors, switch HEX/RGB with Shift, copy instantly with C.

Control

Undo / Redo

Full action history across annotation operations so edits stay reversible.

Sharing

Share URL

Upload captures and generate share links with optional password protection.

Branding

Watermark

Apply custom image watermark overlays to screenshots and recordings.

Workflow

Hotkey First

Region Capture, Canvas, Paste, Quick Pin, and Hide/Show Pins stay one keystroke away.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is SnapTray?: SnapTray is a free, lightweight screenshot and screen recording tool for macOS and Windows. It lives in your system tray and lets you capture regions, annotate screenshots, pin images, record your screen to MP4/GIF/WebP, and share results instantly.
Is SnapTray free?: Yes, SnapTray is completely free and open source under the MIT license. There are no ads, subscriptions, or hidden costs.
How is SnapTray different from Snipping Tool?: SnapTray goes beyond basic screen capture by offering on-screen annotation tools, pin windows for always-on-top references, screen canvas mode, MP4 recording with audio, GIF/WebP export, OCR text extraction, auto blur for sensitive content, QR code scanning, and a full CLI for automation.

Downloads

Install the latest SnapTray build

Get the newest stable release directly from GitHub assets or install from Microsoft Store.

macOS

Desktop Installer

macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later

DMG installer coming soon

Build from source on GitHub

Windows

Store + Installer

Windows 10 or later

Get it on Microsoft Store

Or download from GitHub releases

System Requirements

Platform prerequisites

macOS

macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later
Screen Recording permission required
Accessibility permission for window detection

Windows

Windows 10 or later
Full-trust capability for capture and encoding stack
Microphone permission only when recording audio