Area, window, and fullscreen capture
Capture a selected area, a full screen, or a specific window. The page says captures can be started from the menu bar or a global shortcut, with live dimension display while selecting an area.
Capso
Capso is a native macOS screenshot and screen recording app for capturing, annotating, recording, and extracting text from screen content. It is free forever, open source, and positioned as an alternative to CleanShot X.
Free, open-source screen capture for macOS
Capso is a native macOS screenshot and screen recording app that combines capture, annotation, recording, OCR, and screenshot beautification in one tool. It is presented as an open-source alternative to CleanShot X and is built with Swift 6 and SwiftUI.
The product page emphasizes that Capso is free forever with no trial, feature gating, or subscription. It supports area, window, and fullscreen capture, MP4 or GIF recording, OCR text recognition, and a Quick Access workflow for copying, saving, annotating, pinning, or dragging captures after they are taken.
Core capabilities
Screen recording to MP4 or GIF
Record video or GIF, with support for system audio, microphone input, and webcam overlay. Recording controls include choosing an area, a 3-2-1 countdown, and pause, resume, or restart actions.
Annotation editor
Open captures in a full editor with arrows, rectangles, ellipses, text, freehand drawing, pixelate and blur tools, numbered counters, and highlighters.
Screenshot beautification
Add a background color or gradient, padding, rounded corners, and a drop shadow, with Solid or Liquid Glass styling and real-time preview.
OCR text recognition
Copy text from a selected area using OCR. The page also mentions a visual mode that highlights detected text blocks for selective copying.
Webcam picture-in-picture
Show a draggable webcam picture-in-picture overlay while recording, with circle, square, portrait, and landscape shapes plus snap-to-corner positioning.
Where Capso fits
Fast everyday screenshots
Capture an area, window, or full screen from a global shortcut or the menu bar, then copy, save, or drag the result from Quick Access.
Short screen recordings
Record a product demo, walkthrough, or bug repro as MP4 or GIF, with system audio, microphone input, and a webcam overlay when needed.
Annotated feedback and support
Mark up screenshots with arrows, shapes, text, blur, or numbered counters when you need to explain a UI issue or highlight a step.
Copying text from on-screen content
Extract text from a screenshot or selected screen area instead of retyping it manually, using OCR with selectable text blocks.
On-screen reference material
Pin a capture as an always-on-top reference while working in another app, including lock mode for click-through use.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Free forever with no trial, feature gating, or subscription.
- Open source and built natively for macOS with Swift 6 and SwiftUI.
- Covers capture, recording, OCR, annotation, beautification, and pinning in one app.
- Supports both MP4 and GIF recording with webcam overlay and audio options.
- Signed and notarized DMG from GitHub Releases.
Cons
- The app requires macOS 15.0 or later.
- The page describes a licensing restriction that prevents using Capso as the basis for a competing commercial screen capture product.
FAQ
What is Capso?
Capso is a macOS app for screen capture, annotation, recording, OCR, and screenshot beautification. It is positioned as a free, open-source alternative to CleanShot X.
Is Capso really free?
Yes. The page states that Capso is free forever, with no trial, no feature gating, and no subscription.
Can I use Capso at work?
The FAQ says personal and internal company use is permitted under the BSL 1.1 license. The stated restriction is that you cannot fork Capso and sell it as a competing commercial screen capture product.
Is Capso signed and notarized?
Yes. The page says the DMG from GitHub Releases is signed with a Developer ID certificate and notarized with Apple, so macOS Gatekeeper should open it without warnings.
What macOS version does Capso require?
Capso requires macOS 15.0 (Sequoia) or later. The page attributes that requirement to its use of ScreenCaptureKit, the Vision framework, and modern SwiftUI features.
Quick Facts
- Category
- Screenshot and screen recording
- Platform
- macOS 15.0 or later
- Primary use
- Capture, annotate, record, and OCR screenshots
- License
- BSL 1.1
- Source site
- awesomemacapp.com
- Build stack
- Swift 6 and SwiftUI
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