Documentation

Screention User Guide

Everything you need to get the most out of Screention — from your first capture to advanced workflows.

Getting Started

Screention is a free desktop screenshot tool for Windows, macOS, and Linux. Installation takes under a minute and requires no account or internet connection.

Windows.exe installerWindows 10 / 11 · x64 & ARM
macOS.dmg disk imageIntel & Apple Silicon (M1–M4)
Linux.deb / .rpm / .AppImageUbuntu, Fedora, Arch & more
1

Download the installer

Visit the Download page and pick the package for your operating system.
2

Install the application

  • Windows: Run the .exe installer and follow the setup wizard. Screention installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Screention.
  • macOS: Open the .dmg and drag Screention to Applications. Unsigned builds are quarantined by Gatekeeper — run this in Terminal before opening the disk image, then again on the app if macOS says it is damaged:
    bash
    xattr -cr ~/Downloads/Screention_*.dmg
xattr -cr /Applications/Screention.app
    Also enable System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording for Screention, or captures will be black.
  • Linux (1-Line Terminal Quick Install — Recommended):

    Detects amd64 / arm64, downloads the latest .deb, and installs it with apt.

    bash
    curl -fsSL https://screention.gkernel.com/install.sh | bash
  • Linux Manual DEB (Ubuntu / Debian / Mint):
    bash
    sudo apt install ./screention_*.deb
  • Linux RPM (Fedora / RHEL / CentOS):
    bash
    sudo dnf install ./Screention-*.rpm
  • Linux (.AppImage — portable):
    bash
    chmod +x screention_*.AppImage
./screention_*.AppImage
3

Launch & find it in the tray

After installation Screention starts automatically and adds an icon to your system tray. Click the tray icon to start a capture instantly, or right-click it to open the main window or settings.
Tip
Enable Auto-start on login in Settings so Screention is always ready when you need it — without keeping any windows open.
Note
On Linux, Wayland capture needs grim. If the window is blank, install WebKitGTK 4.1 (libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0 on Debian/Ubuntu).

Capturing Screenshots

Screention's capture engine lets you select any region of your screen with pixel-perfect precision. The live dimension indicator tells you exactly how large your selection is as you drag.

Starting a Capture

Press the global hotkey (default: Ctrl+Alt+A on Windows/Linux, Cmd+Alt+A on macOS), or click the tray icon directly. Your screen will dim and a crosshair cursor will appear.

Selecting a Region

Click and drag to draw your selection. As you drag:

  • A dashed selection border appears immediately
  • A dimension badge (e.g. 1304 × 849) floats near the selection corner
  • The badge auto-repositions so it never clips off-screen

Keyboard Fine-Tuning

KeyAction
↑ ↓ ← →Expand the selection by 1px
Shift + ↑ ↓ ← →Contract the selection by 1px
EnterCopy the capture to the clipboard
EscapePause capture (preserves annotations)
Note
The annotation toolbar sits on the overlay as soon as you have a selection. Annotate in place, copy with Ctrl+C, or save with Ctrl+S.
Tip
Linux Wayland: install grim if capture fails. macOS: grant Screen Recording permission or the overlay will be black.

Annotation Tools

Once you've captured a region, a floating, draggable toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen. Every tool works on top of the live screenshot before it's saved.

Toolbar Tools

ArrowA

Draw directional arrows pointing at specific elements.

Square / RectangleS

Draw outline rectangles to frame and highlight regions.

Circle / EllipseC

Draw circles or ovals over elements to call attention.

BlurB

Redact sensitive data — passwords, emails, personal info.

HighlightH

Semi-transparent color brush to emphasize areas of text.

Color Picker

12 preset colors + custom hex input + recently used history.

Background Styler

Add a padded, colored or gradient background behind the screenshot.

UndoCtrl+Z

Step backward through annotation history.

RedoCtrl+Y

Step forward through annotation history.

Clear AllDel

Remove all annotations at once.

CopyCtrl+C

Copy the annotated screenshot to clipboard.

SaveCtrl+S

Save to the screenshot gallery.

Annotation Colors

Click the stacked color circles in the toolbar to open the color picker. Choose from 12 preset swatches or enter a custom hex value. Recently used colors appear below the presets for quick re-selection.

Default color: Bright blue (#18dcff). Color applies immediately to the active tool.

Tip
The toolbar is draggable — click and drag the empty space between tools to reposition it anywhere on screen. This is useful when the toolbar overlaps your selection.
Tip
Use the Blur tool (B) to redact passwords, emails, or sensitive data before sharing. Blurred regions cannot be reversed once saved.

Background Styler

The background styler wraps your screenshot in a beautiful padded container with customizable colors, gradients, border radius, and shadows. Perfect for social media posts, presentations, and portfolios.

1

Open the Background panel

After a capture, click the Background Styler icon (grid icon) in the toolbar. A popup panel slides up from the bar.
2

Choose a solid color or gradient

Click any of the 12 solid color swatches, or one of the 6 built-in gradient presets. Use the Solid / Gradient tabs at the bottom to switch modes. For gradients, two color pickers let you define the start and end colors independently.
3

Adjust padding, border radius, and shadow

Use the three sliders:
  • Padding — space between screenshot edge and background (0–100px).
  • Border Radius — rounds the corners of the screenshot container (0–50px).
  • Shadow — drop shadow depth behind the screenshot (0–100px).
4

Save or copy

Press Ctrl+S to save to your gallery, or Ctrl+C to copy the stylized image to your clipboard.
Tip
The Recently Used Configs section inside the panel remembers your last background combinations (color + padding + radius + shadow) for instant re-use.

OCR Text Extraction

Screention includes a built-in OCR engine powered by bundled local Tesseract WebAssembly and English models (eng.traineddata.gz). It extracts text directly on your device — completely offline with zero network latency and no cloud API calls.

Using OCR

1

Capture and select the area containing text

Use the normal region capture. Make sure the text is within your selection. OCR works best on high-contrast text at readable font sizes.
2

Press the OCR shortcut

Press Ctrl+E (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+E (macOS). A scanning indicator appears briefly as Tesseract processes the image.
3

Text is copied when it is found

Extracted text goes straight to the clipboard. A short status overlay confirms success, or tells you if nothing was found.

Tips for Best Results

  • Capture at 100% screen zoom for the sharpest text.
  • High-contrast text (dark on white, white on dark) gives the most accurate results.
  • Avoid very small fonts below ~12px on screen — accuracy drops significantly.
  • OCR works on code, terminal output, UI labels, and printed documents.
  • Press Escape to dismiss the OCR result panel without saving.

Barcode & QR Codes

Select a barcode or QR code in your capture and extract the payload to the clipboard — fully on-device with enhanced multi-scale scanning and automatic margin trimming.

1

Select the code

Capture the screen, then drag a tight box around the barcode or QR code.
2

Scan

Press Ctrl+Q on Windows or Linux, or click the scan button on the annotation toolbar. On macOS, use the toolbar button — Cmd+Q quits the app.
3

Copy

If a code is found, the text is copied immediately. If nothing is found, Screention shows a short "No code found" overlay.
Tip
Leave a little padding around the code. Very small or heavily compressed QR codes scan more reliably if you zoom the source first.

Hotkeys & Shortcuts

Screention's global capture hotkey works even when the app is minimized to the tray. The annotation shortcuts are active while the capture window is open.

Global Shortcuts

ActionWindows / LinuxmacOS
Start region captureCtrl + Alt + ACmd + Alt + A

In-Capture Shortcuts

ActionShortcut
Select Arrow toolA
Select Square / Rectangle toolS
Select Circle / Ellipse toolC
Select Blur toolB
Select Highlight toolH
Undo annotationCtrl / Cmd + Z
Redo annotationCtrl / Cmd + Shift + Z or Ctrl + Y
Extract text (OCR)Ctrl / Cmd + E
Scan barcode / QRCtrl + Q (toolbar on macOS)
Upload & copy share linkCtrl / Cmd + U
Toggle background stylerCtrl / Cmd + B
Copy to clipboardEnter or Ctrl / Cmd + C
Save screenshotCtrl / Cmd + S
Clear all annotationsDelete
Retake / start capturePrintScreen
Pause capture (preserves annotations)Escape

Changing the Global Hotkey

1

Open Settings

Right-click the tray icon → Open Screention, then click Settings in the sidebar.
2

Click Change

In the Global Capture Hotkey card, click the lime-green Change button. The recorder will prompt you to press your keys.
3

Hold and release combination

Hold down your desired modifiers and key (e.g. Ctrl+Alt+S). Release all keys to automatically register and save.
4

Done

The hotkey updates and persists across app restarts immediately. Press Escape or click Cancel anytime to abort.

Settings

Access Settings by right-clicking the tray icon → Open Screention, then clicking Settings in the left sidebar.

Startup

Launch at startup

Start Screention automatically when your system boots. The app docks into your system tray without interrupting your work.

Global Capture Hotkey

Capture shortcut

Customize the key combination to capture from anywhere (default: Ctrl+Alt+A or Cmd+Alt+A). Includes conflict detection and automatic key recording.

Software Update

Check for Updates

Queries GitHub Releases for newer builds. Displays the latest release notes and provides a one-click button to download updates.

About

Version & Developer

View your currently installed version and links to the Gkernel developer website and GitHub releases.

Updates

Screention checks for new releases using the official GitHub Releases repository. You always stay in control of when to download and install updates.

How Updates Work

When Screention starts or when you open Settings, it automatically queries the GitHub Releases API. If a newer version has been published, a banner displays the new version tag and changelog notes.

Clicking the Download update button opens GitHub Releases in your browser so you can grab the new installer and install it directly over your current version.

Manual Update Check

Open Settings in the desktop app and click Check for Updates at any time. Screention will report whether your version is current or display the latest release.

Troubleshooting

Most issues can be resolved quickly. Here are the most common problems and their solutions.

Global hotkey doesn't trigger a capture
Another application may have registered the same shortcut. Open Settings → change the Global Shortcut to something unique. On macOS, check System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and ensure Screention is listed and enabled.
macOS: 'Screention cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified'
This is Gatekeeper on unsigned builds. In Terminal run: xattr -cr ~/Downloads/Screention_*.dmg then xattr -cr /Applications/Screention.app. You can also right-click the app → Open → Open.
Windows: 'Windows protected your PC' (SmartScreen warning)
Because Screention is an independent open-source build without an enterprise Microsoft signature certificate, SmartScreen may display an unknown publisher alert. Click 'More info' and then select 'Run anyway'.
macOS: 'Screention is damaged and can't be opened'
The quarantine attribute is still set. Run: xattr -cr /Applications/Screention.app then open the app again.
macOS: capture is black or empty
Grant Screen Recording in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording. Toggle Screention off and on, then restart the app.
Linux: capture does nothing on Wayland
Screention uses the native XDG Desktop Portal for screen capture on Wayland compositors (GNOME, KDE Plasma, Sway, Hyprland). If portal capture is not configured on minimal compositors, install grim (sudo apt install -y grim). Screention automatically falls back to grim, gnome-screenshot, scrot, or import.
Linux: Missing WebKitGTK library dependencies
On minimal Linux installations that do not include standard GTK desktop libraries, install WebKitGTK with: sudo apt install -y libwebkit2gtk-4.1-0.
Linux (.deb): 'dpkg: dependency problems'
Run: sudo apt --fix-broken install after the dpkg command. This resolves missing library dependencies automatically.
Screenshots not appearing in the gallery
Check that ~/.screention/screenshots/ exists and is writable. Restart Screention after verifying permissions.
OCR text output is inaccurate
Capture at 100% zoom with high-contrast source material. OCR accuracy is highest on dark text on a white background at standard font sizes (14px+).

Still having issues?

Open a GitHub issue with your OS version, Screention version, and steps to reproduce.

Report a Bug on GitHub