Do you want to learn about best tools for Screenshots? Then you are at right place. Most of the people know that there is a tool known as “Print Screen” in our laptop or computer. But not everyone knows about screenshot tools for linux or screenshot tool kali linux. You can use these tools for taking screenshot of your desktop and complete system. These are the best working tools making it easy for us to take the image of complete remaining PC screen.
There are too many screenshot tools in the market, I can’t count. But all of them have a lot of limitations. So I did some research and found out the best screenshot tool for Kali Linux, which is Cara Screenshot. It is free and open source, with an interface similar to Snipping Tool in Windows. Here I am giving it to you, so that you can use it and tell us how you feel about it with your own review, if you want.
Screenshots are captured so we could save, print, or share them easily. On the other hand, screenshots are helpful to make our work a lot easier and faster especially when we need to describe or show a process or workflow. Besides, people can learn how an application works just by looking at its screenshot. However, capturing screenshots is a tricky task of its own. That’s why we need some tools that can help us make screenshots in a more convenient way. We can simply capture anything on the screen without having any difficulty by using the best screenshot tool for linux
Like all operating systems, Kali Linux comes with a number of pre-installed tools and applications that provide it with a multitude of useful functions. One of the most important utilities in Kali Linux is the screenshot creator since it allows the user to capture a screenshot of the operating system and store it as an image file on their computer. A screenshot program is an essential component of all software testing and attack platforms.
Best Linux Screen Capture Tools [Taking Screenshots & Recording Desktop Screen]
1. Shutter
If you are looking for an easy-to-use screen capture tool for Linux, Shutter is one of the most popular options that should not be missed. It will allow you to capture the entire screen or just a portion of it.
One thing that most people enjoyed is how you can immediately edit the images that have been captured. You can highlight specific parts of the captured images and leave important notes. This is unlike in the case of other screen capture tools where you will be required to use an external tool for editing images. It also has an integrated feature that will allow you to easily share the captured and edited images, such as in online forums. Even if it is your first time using this screen shot tool, you will not experience any complication as it is built with the needs of users in mind.
2. Imagemagick
Imagemagick is a free open-source software for displaying, converting, and editing images and vector image files with the support of more than 200 image formats. It also comes with the ability to take screenshots on Linux by using a rich set of commands.
With Imagemagick screen capture tool, you can take a screenshot of the entire screen or the currently active window, or take a screenshot of a selected area of the screen.
3. Gimp
Gimp is one of the most comprehensive and free image manipulation software available on Linux. It is also a free open-source image editor with the ability to edit, resize and retouch images and take screenshots of the whole or fixed area of the screen as well.
Taking a screenshot with GIMP is easy, just click Create Screenshot option from the File menu, and then select the area that you want to take a screenshot. After the screenshot, you can also apply some effects or edit the image per need.
4. Kazam
Whether it is a screenshot or screencast, Kazam will prove to be handy. The video file of the screen recording can be played in VP8/WebM format. Aside from visuals, this tool will also allow users to record accompanying audio from a compatible source. If you are using Ubuntu, to get this app, you simply have to type “Sudo apt-get install Kazaa”.
Kazam is excellent because it offers versatility. If you do not want to record the entire screen, you will have the option to record only a selected area. It is also a good thing that it is a light file that won’t consume too much memory space. However, it does not come without any problem. Many of those who have used such complained about the lack of webcam viewers. It is also not usable in all configurations.
5. GNOME Screenshot
GNOME Screenshot is a default utility that comes along with Ubuntu in GNOME desktop, used to take screenshots or record the screen activity. It is a powerful screenshot tool to capture the whole screen or a particular area of the screen for Linux. You can use the shortcut keys to take a screenshot and record the screencast, or take a screenshot in the GNOME Screenshot GUI.
In the GUI interface, you can choose to grab the whole desktop screenshot, grab the currently active window or select a particular area to grab. You can also set up the effects such as including the pointer or including the window’s border and apply some effects.
You can check the official user guide about how to take screenshots and screencasts with GNOME here.
6. ScreenStudio
This Java-based screen capture application is known for its excellent performance, as well as user-friendly interface. It can be run on any distribution; you only have to make sure that you have “avconv” installed on your computer.
The team behind the creation of this screencasting tool continuously creates improvements for a better user experience. You will be able to record in either MP4 or FLV format. The quality and size of the recording can also be easily changed.
There is no need to have the extensive technical knowledge to make the most out of this application. Adding a text overlay is also possible, making it excellent when it comes to customization. If you are using this application, make sure to frequently check for updates to be provided with an improved way of using such a tool.
7. Simple Screen Recorder
As the name implies, it can make a screen recording a task that you can easily accomplish. It was created to offer users a simple app for Linux screen recording. It comes with sensible default settings, which means that there is no need to change any option to enjoy basic screen capture functionality.
Through the improvements, however, the simple functionality has been added with more options for customization, making it a more extensive tool. It comes with a QT-based graphical interface, and it is also faster than the performance of FFmpeg/Avon and VLC.
It also allows recording the entire screen or a portion of it. Audio synchronization is also possible with this screencast tool. There is an integrated hotkey, which can be pressed anytime to pause video recording.
8. Record My Desktop
This is the screen capturing tool that started it all for Linux, as this is the first of its kind. While it offers several options for screen recording, one of its significant drawbacks is that there is no option for just taking a screenshot.
There is also no included webcam viewer. With this tool, you will have the option to pause and resume video recording. The tool is generally divided into two parts. A first part is a command-line tool, which is basically the one that is responsible for capturing and encoding. The second part is an interface that exposes the functionality of the program.
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. Flameshot
Flameshot is an open-source screenshot tool that I personally use because of how quickly you can take screenshots with it. Apart from being quick and easy to use, it also has a fairly good amount of features that can come in handy.
Some of the great features that I use daily are moving the selection area, adding annotations (arrows), blurring, pinning the image to the desktop, adding text, etc. Besides that, it is also available on Windows and macOS. The .deb, .rpm, .image, and .msi files can be downloaded from the official Flameshot GitHub releases page.
Speaking of pages, did you know that you can take a scrolling screenshot on Firefox Quantum’s web pages? Read our article to know more.
How To Install Flameshot?
Flameshot can be installed using the following command.
sudo apt-get install flameshotIt should also be available in the Software Centre and Snap Store.
12. Ksnip
Now, if you’ve been using Linux for a long time, you might think Ksnip is a part of the KDE ecosystem. It’s not. Ksnip is a completely free-to-use, open-source screenshot tool with a respectable number of built-in features like annotations, shapes, blur/pixel blur, and many more.
All you need to do to take a screenshot is open the app, click on new, drag and drop with your mouse to select an area, and save the screenshot or copy it to your clipboard. Once you open the app, you’ll also have the app shortcut in the tray using which you can quickly capture your screen or a portion of your screen. Overall, it’s a pretty well-designed Linux screenshot tool.
How To Install Ksnip?
You can install Ksnip on Ubuntu/Ubuntu-based distros using the built-in software center or the following command. Apart from that, you can also download the .deb and .rpm packages from the official GitHub releases page.
sudo apt-get install ksnipKsnip is also available on the Snap store.
How To Take A Screenshot In Linux?
The default method of capturing your screen on Linux is by pressing the PS or PrtScn (Print Screen) key. You’ll find it at the left of your Num pad. The PrtScn captures the entire desktop and saves the screenshots in the Pictures directory.
That’s not it. Using some of the key combinations, you can choose to capture an active app window, copy the screenshot to your clipboard, and much more. Here are all the key bindings that you must know.
| Key combination | Explanation |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + PrtScn | Copies the Screenshot to the clipboard |
| Shift + PrtScn | Allows you to select and capture a region and saves it to Pictures |
| Alt + PrtScn | Saves a screenshot of the active window to the Pictures folder |
| Shift + Ctrl + PrtScn | Allows you to select and capture a region and copies it to the clipboard. |
| PrtScn | Captures the entire screen and saves it to the Pictures folder |
| Ctrl + Alt + PrtScn | Copies the screenshot of the active app window to the clipboard |
Conclusions
Screenshot capture is a process to take the picture of the content on a display connected to the computer. Taking screenshot of once program or window and saving it in the file is a very common task for all of us. With the advancement of technology, development in software’s, operating systems etc has made easy for users by introducing powerful features like keyboard shortcuts. There are also some professional tools which can help to take screen shot.
If you are working on Linux operating system, to capture your screen may be a challenging task. Many applications are available on the internet and you can use them to make the screenshot. But if you want to use a tool that is just simple, efficient and compatible, that tool is best screenshot tool for kali linux.