Flameshot is an open source screenshot tool that you can use to take screenshots on Linux.
In this tutorial you will learn how to install flameshot on multiple different Linux distributions, and how to use it via GUI and terminal commands.
Install Flameshot on Linux Mint
You can use apt package manager to Install flameshot on Linux Mint. Simply run the command below
sudo apt install flameshotInstall Flameshot on Ubuntu
To install flameshot on Ubuntu, type the following command below
sudo apt install flameshotInstall Flameshot on Arch Linux
On Arch linux you can use the package manager pacman to install flameshot, simply run the command below
pacman -S flameshotInstall Flameshot on Fedora
To install flameshot on fedora run the following command below
dnf install flameshotInstall Flameshot on OpenSUSE
zypper install flameshotInstall Flameshot on Void Linux
To install flameshot on void linux run the command below
xbps-install flameshotInstall Flameshot on Solus
Run the command below to install flameshot on Solus
eopkg it flameshotInstall Flameshot on NixOs
To install flameshot on NixOs run the command below
nix-env -iA nixos.flameshotTake screenshots via Flameshot GUI
Once you have installed flameshot on your Linux distro, you can take screenshots via flameshot very easily, depending the Linux distro you installed Flameshot the app will show up on the Applications Menu.
1)For example: I installed it on Linux Mint, and to find Flameshot I need to open the Mint applications Menu and type flameshot on the search box.
2) Next, Flameshot icon will appear on the taskbar
3) To take screenshot simply click over the Flameshot icon on the taskbar and you should see the option to capture your desktop or software.
Change Flameshot GUI Settings
To access Flameshot GUI settings you need to right click over the Flameshot icon on your taskbar
Or you can run the config command from your terminal and this would open the configuration window directly
flameshot configInterface Window - Allows you to change the UI color and which options you want to have enabled when you're taking a screenshot
Filename Editor - Allows you to set a custom filename for your screenshot or select any of the existing ones
General Allows you to change settings like
Show help message - Enable this if you want to see help messages from Flameshot
Show desktop notifications - Allows you if you want to see a pop up when you take a screenshot, the pop up contains information about your screenshot
Show tray icon - Allows you to set whether you want to have flameshot icon showing on the taskbar
Launch at startup - Enable this option if you want Flameshot to start automatically when you turn on your computer
Close after capture - This option terminates Flameshot process once you take a screenshot, so if you enable this option this means Flameshot process will be running only when you take a screenshot via a shortcut or command on terminal.
Copy URL after upload - Flameshot has a built in feature that allows you to upload the screenshots you take to imgur, this is a good feature if you are trying to show the screenshot to someone else, instead of uploading the screenshot manually you could just send the url of the screenshot provided by flameshot
You can also export, import or reset the configuration file.
Let's say you change some settings and you want the same settings on another computer when you use Flameshot, to do this you have to export the configuration file and then import it to Flameshot on the other computer.
Take screenshots via Terminal Commands
Take a screenshot
This commands does the same thing as if you clicked over flameshot icon, it just launches the Flameshot GUI which allows you to capture which part of desktop or application you want to screenshot
flameshot guiTake a Screenshot of Entire Screen
To take a full screenshot of your Desktop, run the command below, once you run the command Flameshot will take a screenshot and will ask you where you want the screenshot saved
flameshot fullTake a Screenshot After 7 seconds
If you want to take a screenshot after x seconds you can do it by using flameshot delay function -d
flameshot full -c -d 7000The command above will take a screenshot after 7 seconds
Take a Screenshot and save it to your preferred path
Flameshot asks you once you take a screenshot. However, if you want the screenshot saved to the path that you want then use the command below
flameshot full -p /home/OwlHowTo/Desktop/OwlHowTo The command above will take the screenshot and will save it to my desktop to a folder called OwlHowTo
To see the full list of Flameshot terminal commands use the help command below
flameshot --help
Conclusion
By now you should know how to Install Flameshot on your Linux distro and how to take screenshots with it, I also covered the both ways of using Flameshot via GUI and via Terminal commands, you can use whichever method that suits your needs best.
