Best Screen Capture Tool for Ubuntu

I am using Ubuntu as my primary operating system for past 5 years and tried out several screen capture tools during this period. There is always some debate on which screen capture tool is the best for Ubuntu or for Linux operations in general. I would like to list down those screen capture tools which I have tried and believe have the capability to match best screen capturing tool criteria.

Screen capture software for Ubuntu is the best tool to capture windows and screens. It will save time when capturing and editing screenshot files. A lot of screenshot tools are available that can be used in multiple devices. In this article, you will find the list of the best screen capture software for Ubuntu.

When it comes to explaining complex topics, nothing beats using a screenshot as a helpful aid. As the adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words after all. Now, as an Ubuntu user, you have plenty of methods at your side to grab a good screenshot: keyboard shortcuts, terminal commands, and more.

But if you are looking for something more than a simple screenshot, say, a screenshot with additional editing or different style effects, then these tools probably won’t suffice. Luckily, Ubuntu supports a slew of screenshot tools that can help you capture a screen on your terms.

Use a reliable third-party app

The perfect screenshot begins with the perfect app and ScreenRec fits the bill. To screenshot on Linux with ScreenRec:

• Copy the following code into a terminal window:
  • sudo wget -qO – https://screenrec.com/download/pub.asc | sudo apt-key add –
  • sudo add-apt-repository ‘deb https://screenrec.com/download/ubuntu stable main’
  • sudo apt update
  • sudo apt install screenrec
• Open The App By Pressing Alt-S
• Select Your Capture Region And Click The Camera Button To Take A Screenshot (Or The Video Camera Icon To Record Video)
• Use The Side Toolbar To Annotate Your Image
• Share By Pasting Your Image Or Link Anywhere

1. GNOME Screenshot App

To start off, we have the GNOME Screenshot app that comes pre-installed with Ubuntu. If you are someone who’s only looking for regular, light-weight work, then this app should work for you in most cases. Some of its features include:

• Multiple shortcuts to take screenshots
• Take screenshots with your mouse
• A handful of editing features
• Comes pre-installed with GNOME
• Option to add borders to screenshots

It cannot compete with other apps in terms of additional editing effects, but if you only need screenshots of email attachments, browser tabs, etc. then this tool will be more than enough.

2. GIMP

GIMP, short for GNU Image Manipulation Program, is a powerful third-party screenshot application available to Ubuntu users. It’s free software, which means that you are free to use, copy, modify, or even make improvements to it.

GIMP is a no-brainer if you are looking for an app with advanced editing features. The app is a whole package. What this means is that regular users and experts can use it alike. Apart from capturing screenshots on Ubuntu, you can also use it for heavy-duty editing tasks, such as:

• Graphics design
• Image manipulation
• Image creation
• Creating icons and clip art

First released in 1998 by a couple of college students, GIMP has come a long way since then and is still going strong. This means it also has the factor of stability in its favor. If you are interested in giving it a go, you can install it directly using the snap command:

sudo snap install gimp

The system will install GIMP on your system in a few seconds.

To take a screenshot with GIMP, launch the application and on its main menu, select File > Create > Screenshot.

In the next dialog box, select the kind of screenshot you want, i.e. whether you want to capture a whole screen or screen clip a particular region. Finally, click on Snap to capture the screen.

3. Shutter

Shutter is another free, open-source screenshot tool popular in the Ubuntu community. It differs from GIMP as it only specializes in screenshots.

With Shutter, you will get the following options:

• Capture the whole window
• Capture a specific screen
• Clip a specific area of a website
• Take a screenshot of a specific menu

And it’s not just a normal screenshot app like the GNOME Screenshot tool. There are other features that let you tinker with those screenshots, such as editing, cropping, and exporting. You can also add plugins to change the editing style.

To install Shutter, type the following commands in the terminal and hit Enter.

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:linuxuprising/shutter
sudo apt-get install -y shutter

The app will install within a few seconds, and you can launch it directly from the Ubuntu Applications menu.

4. Kazam

Kazam is a versatile tool that’s handy for taking both screenshots and screen recordings. If you think that at some point, your work might require recording a video of your screen, you should definitely install Kazam.

To install the app, issue the following command:

sudo apt-get install kazam

The system will install Kazam automatically, and you can then launch it from the Applications menu. With Kazam, you can record the screen or capture screenshots in different ways, including snipping a full screen, a specific region, or a whole window.​​​​​

5. Scrot

It’s a simple and lightweight utility that can capture both screenshots and screen recordings. Also, it’s a bit different from other tools on this list, as it doesn’t have an app with a GUI; you can only use it with the command line.

If working with the command line is your thing, you’ll love using Scrot. Here’s how you can install it on Ubuntu:

sudo apt-get install scrot

After the installation is complete, you can take a screenshot by typing the following command:

scrot

By default, the Home directory will contain all the screenshots that you capture.

If you want to capture a specific region of your desktop, use the -s flag with the default command:

scrot -s

After executing the aforementioned command, click and drag over the area that you want to capture, and then release it to capture the screenshot. There are a lot of different tricks and shortcuts for capturing a screenshot with Scrot.

 6. ImageMagick

ImageMagick is free, open-source software that is popular for creating, converting, and editing raster images. As an additional feature, it also lets users capture a screenshot, which is excellent in its own right.

Similar to Scrot, you’ll have to use the command line for running the ImageMagick app. Also, it has many features in addition to the screenshot options that can come in handy in the future, such as:

• Conversion of one type of image to another (e.g., JPG to PNG)
• Converting a sequence of images into a GIF
• Adding special effects to an image
• Turning specific areas of your image transparent, and more.

To install ImageMagick on your system, type the following command in the terminal and hit Enter:

sudo apt-get -y install imagemagick

To capture the entire screen using ImageMagick:

import -window root file1.jpg

This will capture the entire screen and save the image with the name file1.jpg in the Home directory. There’s a ton of other stuff that you can do with ImageMagick aside from capturing screenshots.

7. ScreenCloud

ScreenCloud a free, open source, simple, easy to use and cross-platform tool for taking and sharing screenshots. It works on Linux, Windows and Mac OS X.

ScreenCloud Features:

• Supports easy sharing.
• Allows you to save or upload screenshots.
• Supports addition of an FTP server.
• Comes with a system tray for quick access and more.

8. Flameshot

Flameshot is a free, open source, simple yet powerful application for taking screenshots. It supports keyboard shortcuts and it’s fully configurable via GUI or the command-line.

Flameshot Features:

• Ity’s easy to use and comes with fully customizable user interface.
• Comes with a DBus interface.
• Supports in-app screenshot edition.
• Allows you to upload screenshots to Imgur.
• Supports a system tray and more.

9. Lookit

Lookit is also a free open source, straightforward tool for quickly taking and uploading screenshots on Ubuntu.

Lookit Features:

• Supports right-clicking on the dock icon to take a screenshot.
• Allows you to capture a selected area on your screen, entire screen, or active window.
• Allows quickly uploading screenshots to an FTP/SSH server, or shared on Imgur and more.

10. Spectacle

Spectacle is a another easy to use tool for taking desktop screenshots. It can capture whole desktop, a single monitor, the currently active window, the window currently under the mouse, or a rectangular portion of the screen.

Spectacle Features:

• Launch in GUI mode (default)
• Capture a screenshot and exit without showing the GUI
• Start in DBus-Activation mode
• Save image to given file format in background mode
• Wait for a click before taking screenshot

11. ksnip

Ksnip is a Qt-based full range Linux screen capture utility that allows you to capture just about any area of your computer screen. With basic annotating features including watermark capabilities, ksnip is an easy tool to use.

Pros:

• Support for X11 and Gnome Wayland desktop environments
• Basic editing options
• Direct upload to Imgur

Cons:

• No screen recording
• Outdated user-interface

12. FireShot

FireShot is another full-page Linux screen capture tool. With this app, you can capture page elements and scrolling areas including floating elements in the active window. Made for the pros, FireShot also gives you extensive editing features like customized watermarking, easy resizing, and optimized rendering.

You can also directly upload to a number of sharing sites, save as a PDF or save as a JPEG, PNG, GIF, or BMP. Unfortunately, these features are only available with FireShot Pro, making FireShot Lite (the free version) extremely limited.

Pros:

• Professional looking full page capture
• Decent editing suite
• Easily upload to sharing sites

Cons:

• Only worth using with premium Version ($39.95 for 1-year license)
• No Screen Recording

13. Shutter

Shutter attempts to give you all the best features you’d expect from an awesome screenshot utility, and it delivers. This easy to use snapshot tool lets you take a snip of your entire screen, a customized area, or a full webpage. Simple editing makes it even better and allows you to spruce up a completely clear image.

Pros:

• Share instantly with email or instant messenger
• Copies image automatically to clipboard

Cons:

• No screen recording
• Messy and outdated interface

14. Full Page Screen Capture

Full Page Screen Capture is a no-fuss Linux snapshot tool that lets you take a snap of an entire webpage. It’s all about scrolling capture to create a single, crystal clear image. No blurred or warped segments, just a complete full-page screenshot. While this app may be free, if you want to add annotations, you’ll have to pay for the premium version.

Pros:

• Takes a cohesive image of an entire webpage
• Can save as PDF file

Cons:

• Can only make edits with premium version
• No way to share automatically

Use the built-in screenshot tool

All Linux users have access to a built-in tool within the Gnome environment cleverly called Gnome Screenshot. It may not have any cool features but it gets the job done. Here’s how:

• Access the tool by using the following command:
  • $ gnome-screenshot -i
• When the window opens, select your capture area and select or unselect your desired options
• Click “Take Screenshot”

All Linux users have access to a built-in tool within the Gnome environment cleverly called Gnome Screenshot. It may not have any cool features but it gets the job done.

Conclusion

Capturing your desktop isn’t a simple task, it requires software. In this article you will find information and rankings of best screen capture tool for ubuntu, best linux screen capture software, best free screen capturing tools, application to record your screens, etc.

Screen capture software is simply a tool to record/capture something, which can be images, screenshots, or parts of the screen. By using such piece of software you can share the multiple things and help others by showing your work, for example: in video tutorials, presentations, blogs or any other way.